MBB: St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[hs_pg_qb]

GC over FU 75-69
I'm sure hopefan will follow with details

[Into_the_Blue]

Mac comes back and gets a huge win at eureka in OT. Did I read right they were down 11 at half?  Or maybe 6. My memory fails me.

[ec_fan14]

Blue try 20.  Same story as Blackburn i assume ( i wasnt at BC but was there tonight) Big time let down could have really put some distance between Mac and Web with Webster losing tonight.  Instead McClellan hits a shot with 3 sec left and beats EC.  Not much else to say will post more description of the game tomorrow.

Bed Time for this disappointed Red Devil Fan

[furbug]

could have really put some distance between Mac and Web with Webster losing tonight. 

Webster losing tonight  Try 20 on that one also, with a Webster win.

[hopefan]

Past Hopefans bedtime    great doubleheader at Fontbonne, two fun, close games, lots of good conversation with Coach McK, Coach Barber, FCnews,  and a couple of other regular posters, and a not so pleasant conversation with the expelled Josh Branch    and I'm never one to back down from heated debate.....    will write tomorrow regarding the game!!!!

[Into_the_Blue]

i see now that it was 50-29 ec fan.  i saw the halftime score on sliac.org and then refreshed and it gave me the final score.  i didnt want to go overboard by saying something like 20 so i gave a more modest guess as to not rile anyone up. 

At what point did Zasada foul out?  Had to be late, he played 39 minutes.

Zasada 24 and 15 and Bell 23 and 12.  These guys must get after it. 

Looks like Slagle had a nice game for Mac.  McClellan didnt even leave the floor.  45 minutes is a lot of time to play in a tight game. I see Kindred played the whole game too.  Would have liked to be at this one. 


The whole group fell back one tonight.  Greenville still has a fighting chance.  Big game for WC this weekend to give themselves a 3 game lead.  WC is playing great right now but with the way the SLIAC usually goes, it wouldnt totally surprise me to see Spalding get the upset, just to keep the standings close. 

WC has three very winnable games in a row to pretty much seal the conference tourney in Fulton... vs Spalding, vs Blackburn and @ Fontbonne. 

Webster has mac at home this weekend, big game! Webster then has Greenville who is playing well and then Webster and Eureka match up. 

Eureka should win their next two with Blackburn and Fontbonne at home. 

Mac at webster, prin at home and then at spalding.  couple of really tough road games.  we'll see if they can stay on track after that great win last night....

[Into_the_Blue]

The whole group fell back one tonight. 

I dont even know what I meant by that.  I guess that the whole group is now bottlenecked together.  But Mac and Webster didnt fall back...  Its early

[ec_fan14]

Yes sorry I see now that i made the mistake.  Webster won I was thinking that when someone said Greenville won, i thought they beat Webster but really they beat Fontbonne.

1st half of the game last night Eureka dominated in every way.  They got basically whatever shot they wanted and were definitely out hustling MacMurray.  Mark Lessen started the game off with a couple of hoops that really got EC going.

2nd half started out slow.  Both teams trade baskets for the first few minutes.  Kindred throws an alley-oop to Zasada that he hammers home, really gets crowd into the game.  I thought from there Eureka would coast to victory.  Mac hangs around with about 13 min left and slowly begins to chip away at the lead.  Bell missed a couple of key free throws down the stretch that might have iced the game.  McClellan hits a desperation 3 over Kindred with about 10 sec left.  Eureka turns the ball over before they can get a shot on their next possession.

Overtime Mac gets the 1st to buckets.  Eureka stays with it though and a Zasada 3 made it a 1 point game.  Next possession he fouls out with about 3:30 left in ot.  Bell tied the game with a free throw with about 25 sec left.  Mac takes a timeout and sets up a pick and roll with McClellan and Robertson.  CJ hits a jumper inside the top of the key with 3 sec left.  Kindreds desperation heave from the volleyball line clangs off the rim.

One thing i would like to note is that the officiating was inconsistent in this game for both teams.  1st half they let the kids play and bang in the post.  In the 2nd half it seemed like they called every ticky tack foul on both teams which really hurt Mac (Sichting fouled out) and EC (Zasada fouled out)

MacMurray is a very scrappy team and i give them credit for not packing it in when down 20 at half.  This is the 2nd game for Eureka that they have blown a big lead.  they will have to learn how to play with a lead if they want to compete for the conf championship.

[hs_pg_qb]

hopefan-  anxious to hear how your chat with Josh went...If it was anything like the same reason he was 'expelled' from the team, it should be pretty amusing!

Not having seen a lot of college ball games, this was about as bad as I've seen as far as shot selection and the number of turnovers.  I really don't like to be negative but I certinaly didn't see anything very positive on the FU side.  I did enjoy watching ex-player turned asst coach Patrick McKoy really getting into the game.  (Keep going coach!  Hopefully some of that passion and fire can get absorbed by the players)

Also-
A couple of comments about previous statements I made earlier about Coach McKinney-

I paid a little bit more attention to the sidelines during the game.  He is absolutely doing his very best with what he has.  

However, and I'm going to qualify this next argument by saying that I know it is probably narrow-minded, that obviously, every coach has 'rebuilding' years and I'm just being argumentative to get chatter going but....

It was argued earlier that coaching is 50-80% recruiting.  If this is true, then Coach McK must have been a great coach the last three years...

Does this mean he is a poor coach this year?  Because looking down the bench, unless he gets some good talent in almost every position next year, or some of his players really hit the courts and gym hard during the off-seaon, I don't see FU becoming the powerhouse it was in a while.

Thats looking at the big picture of coaching.

Looking at the small picture, as in games, I still don't see a lot of actual plays being run.  Not looking at any box scores (simply because I don't know where to look) or averages, it seems to me that Forrest and Sheetz are FU's biggest scoring threats, yet I don't see a lot of plays designed to get them shots.

Yes, Coach McKinney is a good coach.  You have to be to win 750 games.  But does going from winning the tournament one year to probably not even making the playoffs the next say something more about the coach or the players?

[hopefan]

hsqbpg   -  I've thought long and hard and have decided to keep Mosh Birch's (one of his demands was that I never use his real name again)  chat with me on the confidential side... he's an angry, seemingly misinformed young man who can only express his emotions with vulgarities...  I can only hope he gets some help and can find happiness the rest of his life, because he obviously isn't very happy now...  hang in there Mosh...

Notes on last night's game...

Son of a gun...  I agree with what someone else said... Fontbonne is not letting down.....  but the results are showing as hsqb suggested that the talent level is down to a point where they come close, but can't find a way to win.
Fontbonne led much of the game by close scores.... solid job by Chris Forest to keep them there, Nolan Zoellner started out well, Jamal Thomas was steady as was Frank Sheetz... good job off the bench by Hamilton and Buford....  but they simply fell apart in the last 5 minutes....  a couple of shots blocked, a critical turnover, a rushed shot on the break.... those kinds of things lead to close losses.   Disappointing in a couple of final possessions was that the ball never found its way to Forest...  people other than him were taking shots or making turnovers....  the ball has to find its way to your key offensive player in the clutch, OR, the key offensive player has to demand the ball........

I like the extra minutes some of the bench guys get now - Buford looked confident handing the ball and his distribution rather than worrying about shooting the ball himself may be a big help over time.  Rapp, while he had one or two nice moves to the hole, should not be taking 11 shots and missing 9 - I don't think that's the best shot he can get his team.   Hamilton continues steady.

Daniel Lisch  -  right now, he is really messed up... very uncertain when to shoot...let it flow Daniel  -  he had a couple of beautiful assists.   Nice to see Melloway hit a critical 3...   Thomas tries hard on the boards, but he's not a physically strong individual... he needs help.


Greenville played a very different game than their game with the one I saw with Webster....  much more under control, and they got a win for it.....  The key was Rashod Seaton - he was flawless last night with 0 turnovers, 1 for 3 from the field,  and 3 assists in 29 minutes rather than the 3 turnovers and 6 missed shots in 30 minutes vs Webster.

Greenville and Eureka are just fun to watch  -  both go to the basket hard  -  Hilliard and Agomo are always there, taking runs at offensive rebounds and penetrating with the ball...   And of Course Laphonso Ellis is a constant - offensive minded, could be the most creative offensive player in the conference (By creative - I mean at ease in getting a decent shot in a one on one situation).

Greenville - I commented about my positive feelings regarding their prayer circle at home games- I noticed something else last night . WHENEVER a Fontbonne player went to the floor after contact, a Greenville player would rush over to help him up - noticed at least 4 times last night...   Coach Barber really does something right over at Gville.

Incidently  - girls game was a blast last night too... Gville hits a three to go ahead under 30 seconds, Fontbonne sticks one in right back at them.....  I commented over on the ladie's side - the ladies conference tourney should be great because it will be SO even.....

Back to men  -  Gville 2 games out but with some momentum....  who can they catch?  Kind of early, but one key could be for them to focus on Webster and Mac, both of whom they already beat  -  if Gville was to beat them a second time, they would have the big tiebreaker in their favor should it end in a tie ...   Spalding becomes a key spoiler, though I could still see Fontbonne winning a game, or even Blackburn


And wow  -  the other two scores... super win for Mac, and it gives Eureka something now to think about....they are the team currently in a slide.....
AND  Bunch does it again - every time you start going against Webster, they come back.... holding BC under 60 at BC - CRAZY!!!!  AND a career night for John Ortworth - good to see - very uderrated player - Bothersome though - a bland game from Jones... hope he isn't just a one night wonder.

Saturday games
Mac at Webster  -  breaks the tie
Spalding at Greenville - Make or break for Greenville
Fontbonne at Eureka - Now critical for Eureka - they should win by double digits
BC at Westmin - This one won't be close....

and on Sunday   Fontbonne at Grinnell.....  Grinnell is down this season  -  thank goodness

[I_HAD_GAME]

Must of been aninteresting night at Fontbonne. A very diplomatic decision Hopefan. Sometimes I think what is printed here fuels fires. That situation does not appear to need fuel.

I thought FU could get one last night. But as Hopefan said 2-11 from Rapp is not going to win games. Sheetz 3-10 doesn't help. A good shooting night for Foresst. But, in the two games I saw this year (Eureka and Principia) Foresst did not demand the ball at all down the stretch. Seniors have to step up. Do you think Fogerty would have been letting Rapp put up 11 attempts? Did McCoy want the ball in his hands down the stretch? Did Storandt get a block or a big rebound when the game was on the line? Seniors are suppose to leaders. Lead please.

Hs_pg_qb - Now you have seen what I have watched for 10 years. McKinney is the hardest working sideline coach I've seen in the SLIAC. And, even at his age I would not want to meet him in a dark alley, if I had it coming. In the past this passion has been absorbed by his teams. And, the reason other programs hated to lose to him. I learned from day one that if we beat Fontbonne it was a good year. I never figured out the hatred part, but your in for a fight when you run into Fontbonne.

This year not so much!

I learned this weekend that Coach McKinney is setting at 798 wins. Surely this team can squeak out a couple of more.

[distantobserver]

to I_Had_Game - VERY WELL SAID!! 

[furbug]

Yes sorry I see now that i made the mistake.  Webster won I was thinking that when someone said Greenville won, i thought they beat Webster 

ec_fan14, that is what is called "wishful thinking" 

[Into_the_Blue]

WC gets another nice win at home over a good Spalding team. 

A source there told me McAfee is for real and played really well.  For his size he really finishes well around the bucket.  He also said Spalding is really solid and gave WC some fits throughout the game. 

WC was up two late, Spalding turned it over, Kovach went up for a shot and when he saw how well guarded he was he kicked it to Stan Crawford for a three to put the Jays up 5 and ultimately seal the win. 

Is Spalding eligible for postseason next year? 

Think if Maryville was still in this mix....

[hopefan]

Spalding is not eligigible for the conference tourney (this year and I believe the next two years), but as the standings indicate, wins and losses against them count - performance against them will be very big in the final determination of placement in the conference standings....