MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hopefan]

Sorry guys, I won't have time to do a Eureka - Mac prelim.....   suffice to say a more wide open game is expected....   which team will control the pace of the game....  will Eureka value the ball enough to limit turnovers, get good shots... if so, the game will be a good one.....

[ec_fan14]

Dont worry hope i'll take care of it 


12/2  EC at Mac

Eureka wins the game by 15.  Bell Zasada and Kindred all have solid games for the Red Devils.  Lee was still on Mac at the time and had a solid game but got hurt.  No one else really stood out for Mac. Both teams shot about the same percentage but Eureka dominated from the foul line.

1/27  Mac at EC

This game I was at.  Eureka dominated the first half by opening up a 20 point lead going into halftime.  2nd half Mac came out strong but Eureka didnt value the ball as hopefan says they need to do.  Mac hit a last second shot to tie it to send it to OT and then hit a shot late to win it in OT.   Slagle really came alive for Mac in this game.  Eureka's big 4 all had good games.  Sichting Robertson and McClellan all played well for Mac.

Potential Matchups

Mac- McClellan  EC- Kindred    Edge- Even
Mac- Slagle       EC- Leppard   Edge- Even
Mac- Robertson EC- Bell         Edge- Eureka
Mac- Sichting     EC- Zasada   Edge- Eureka
Mac-Randle       EC- Lessen    Edge- Mac

Should be one heck of a semi final game.

[hopefan]

EC   you better hit the road soon if you're making the opening tip!!!

Thanks for the prelim!!!!

[eurekafan2233]

unable to make the trip tonight...hopefully Eureka can bring the same game they played last Saturday vs. Westminster...if this is the case should be a real good game for them...Hopefully can get an update as soon as possible to know the outcome.

[eurekafan2233]

Listening to it on the internet.....77-67....Eureka with around eight minutes left

[eurekafan2233]

Eureka 87-72 3:30 left in the second half

[eurekafan2233]

98-78 EC....good job boys...hopfully hope can give us a good recap only got to listen to the end of it....and hopefully they can bring it on Saturday also.

[Into_the_Blue]

Wc up 48-31 at half. Up 56-35 with 17 to go

[Into_the_Blue]

59-48 westminster with 13 to go

[Into_the_Blue]

 65-53 wc 8 to go

[Into_the_Blue]

75-61 wc with 3:30. Millard is taking over!

[Into_the_Blue]

87-69 final. Gilmore had a dunk and 1 on a Webster player to seal the deal. Good win. 

[ac slater]

I was in attendence for the Westmin-Webster game. Gilmore's dunk over a Webster player was the best dunk I have ever seen. Crowd went crazy. Good win for Westmin

[hopefan]

Will write lots more later... good of Blue and EC to post updates
EC with 5 starters scoring 15 or more.... who needs the bench?

Westmin... Millard lives for the conference tourney... super last year, super last night....

Good D3hoops turnout... Blue, Furbug, Watchdog got us the stats... wish Yjak could have come, hope he was on the site....  AC, wish we could have connected to say hi....  we're all a team

Championship game could be outstanding if both teams play at the level they did last night...  they were at their best...

Also great to see Westmin students turn out... great atmosphere.....

[Into_the_Blue]

I was hoping to make it earlier to the tournament last night to see a little bit more of Eureka vs Mac.  I got there with about 8 minutes to go and it was an 8 point game I believe, but from that point on Eureka piled it on.  Kindred was outstanding, Bell had a very nice game as well.


As for Webster vs Westminster, what a game.  Great atmosphere, the students handed out shirts to make the gym a white out.  Impressive showing by the students.  They really got into it during certain times in the game, if only they were that loud all game it would really make "the nest" a tough place to play for 40 minutes.  It was obvious the crowd and Westminster's athleticism were frustrating Websters players when one of the Gorlocks let his frustration out and got a technical for a push and yelled at the crowd.  The refs and Coach Bunch were there to talk to the player and it wasn't anything different than what a lot of young athletes feel when frustration sets in.  Kudos to Coach Bunch for talking to the player for a minute and letting him know what he expected.  

As I said before, Westminster is so athletic.  And their athleticism goes deep into the bench.  It seemed like every shot around the basket that Webster took was altered in some way by one of Westminsters players.  Webster had to work extremely hard around the bucket to get things to go in.  Drew Moore started off hot and got Webster into a lead but when he went out mid way through the first half Westminster took control and never let off.  

In the first half Vislay got a break away that looked like he would have trouble finishing but he just jumped up off two feet and stuffed it one handed.  That caused a Webster timeout and the blue jay fans were rockin.  Westminster took a 17 point lead into the second half and quickly pushed it out to 22 but Webster then scored 17 points in 3 minutes to get it down to a 9 point game.  Restoff hit some big open three balls.

That is when Ky Millard took over for WC.  Some on here doubted him as first team all conference worthy because of his lower yet more diverse stats but when he wants to he can control the game through offense and defense.  He showed last night why he is the winningest player in Westminster history.  The kid just knows how to get it done.  He hit many tough shots when Webster was making its run and also set up some key baskets with drives all while playing good defense.

Vislay ended up with another emphatic dunk, two handed to keep the crowd rocking.  Then the D3 sportscenter top play of the night, Justin Gilmore came down and threw a two handed dunk down on top of being fouled by a Webster player.  One of the better dunks I have ever seen in college basketball.  That pretty much sealed it for Westminster and both teams let their subs finish off the game.  

Tolson and Kovach were impressive in handling the ball all night and Kovach has great body control around the basket, he had some really nice finishes.  Crawford was a killer on the boards, he hustles more than anyone out there, Vislay is clearly a great athlete and changes a lot of shots, Rudd and Gilmore both showed they could play at a high level, literally.  Rudd missed a dunk that might have caused a technical on the crowd, I thought they were ready to storm the floor.  Mallette was such a key in what Westminster wanted to do.  Early on he hit a couple of big shots to get them going and displayed throughout the game the unselfishness that WC has shown all year in its success by cheering on teammates even though he didnt get a lot of minutes.  

One complaint I had with one of the refs was his inability to communicate with the players with his mouth, he used his whistle instead.  At one point Vislay shot a three and was clearly fouled but not called.  On the way back down the floor he said something to the ref (could have been a question or a statement) but the ref didnt respond until Vislays man caught the ball.  Jake guarded the guy like the refs had let all day, no hands just in the mans face and the ref blew a foul right away, in what looked like an effort to prove to that he was in charge of the game.  Then I couldnt help but notice that all night that ref continued with every call he made look as though he was showing the player up.  I dont complain about refs much, they have a very tough job, but I never agree with a ref whos there to show players up and not officiate the game.  If you have a point to prove, call the captains over and tell them what youre thinking but dont act like that.  Ok Im done.  

Anyway I wish I could make it Saturday.  WC and Eureka both played extremely well.  EC will run but I think WC is athletic enough to handle it, Mac didnt look like they were.  WC will have to rebound well and play unselfish ball like last night.  They have the edge with the crowd and should have a little chip about getting spanked at Eureka.  On the other hand Eureka will have some confidence from that game.  I think the team that wins will be whoever keeps turnovers to a minimum and who can finish at the rim.  Hopefully the refs let these teams play, this game is going to be a barn burner.  

Lets hope these guys realize its not about whos all conference (even though we talk about it here) or all tournament or who scores 25, its about getting to represent your conference in the national tournament.  These teams get to choose when their season ends, hopefully they both bring their best efforts tomorrow!

Hope nice to chat with you!  I didnt get introduced to Furbug....
Hope fill in where I left out!