MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[donho]

rmc1982, yes I will be at the game.

[Ralph Turner]

Nice win by the Quakers 69-51 over HSC!  They pulled away in the last 5 minutes.

[hasanova]

Nice win by the Quakers 69-51 over HSC!  They pulled away in the last 5 minutes.

It was, Ralph.  Thanks for posting the score, which is very deceptive!  From 46-45 Guilford with 10:54 to go, it was pretty much all Quakers the rest of the way as they went on a 23-4 run to go up 20 at 69-49.  It was still fairly close at 55-49, but a final 14-0 Guilford spurt put it away.

There were a number of lead changes and ties well into the second half and I was worried Clay Henson's cold hand (5-15) and the Quakers weak FT shooting (10-17) would be their undoing.  In the end, however, Clay got hot for a couple of threes (13 points), Sanborn was stellar (19/15 with 3 blocks) and the Tigers went stone-cold (5-20) in the second half.  After it was 35-33 Quakers at the half, HSC only scored 18 after the break.  Neville (12/9) continues to be a force ... George, shirts and skins, you're one of my picks!

I was very impressed with King (19/9) and Jessee had a few nice shots, but, honestly, most of the other Tigers were simply cold or inconsistent ... at least tonight.  Guilford survived despite a terrible shooting night by Henson.  The Quakers won the boards, 45-35, and played good defense (the Tigers were only 18 of 54). 

It was very nice to meet poster Brian Hamilton and his family tonight ... the Tigers always have great fan support!  Guilford improves to 13-3, 6-1, while Hampden-Sydney now stands at 8-8, 3-4.  The Tigers are a team to be feared ... and I'm wary of the return trip to Fleet!  Now, on to BC on Wednesday night ... 

[odacfan1225]

im crazy for predicting it but if im right im a genius if im wrong it was expected.  and when you put out the rest of the schedule it does seem tough but if RMC takes it 1 game at a time they absolutely could finish the season undefeated.

[sludge]

Yah, hasanova, that Guilford game over HSC was much closer than it looks at the final.  It felt like a 2 point game mostly.
Turner King is an amazing player.  He's much better than you'd think he would be, just looking at him.  He has great moves and court sense.

Finally, though, HSC had no answer for the Sanborn-Neville-Stephenson front court game.  HSC couldn've sure used Troy Kaase in this one.  Sanborn had a great game.  And Henson, Bonner, and Lowder kept the pace moving right along.  Good hustle all over the place by Guilford.  Deep bench too.  I like this team!  If they work hard and the stars line up right, they could give many teams a bit of trouble, you bet.

[hasanova]

Yah, hasanova, that Guilford game over HSC was much closer than it looks at the final.  It felt like a 2 point game mostly.
Turner King is an amazing player.  He's much better than you'd think he would be, just looking at him.  He has great moves and court sense.

Finally, though, HSC had no answer for the Sanborn-Neville-Stephenson front court game.  HSC couldn've sure used Troy Kaase in this one.  Sanborn had a great game.  And Henson, Bonner, and Lowder kept the pace moving right along.  Good hustle all over the place by Guilford.  Deep bench too.  I like this team!  If they work hard and the stars line up right, they could give many teams a bit of trouble, you bet.

Hey, sludge, it was good to see you tonight as well.  I like this team, too.  There were a lot of questions after losing Ben, Caleb, Eric and Ray, but, actually, the 2008-09 Quakers are one up on the 2007-08 squad at 13-3 versus 12-4.  Now, I don't think this team will win 16 in a row like last year, but I think they'll be in the thick of things when the dust settles.  If I were the Yellow Jackets, Generals or Maroons, I'd be looking over my shoulder like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid asking "Who are these guys?!"

Sanborn has gotten so much better and Clay is, well, streaky.  Stephenson, Lowder, Neville and Bonner are all great pieces of this team.  I was also very impressed with Eric High's time on the court - I counted two solid steals - now if he could've finished that fast break!  Anderson, Engebretsen, Monroe and Stanley also all had solid contributions.

Speaking of Kaase and other Tigers, the current squad has a lot of hustle and unselfish play, but there isn't as much muscle underneath as I've seen in the past.  Consequently, Sanborn was a force with his fifth straight double-double.  Turner King is super ... his 7 for 13 stands out on a subpar 18 for 54 night for the Tigers.

Hope to see you again, especially on the 31st.  I'm trying to get tickets in advance ... I think Ragan-Brown will be packed.

[HSCfan]

A great grind it out win for the Quakers last night against H-SC. While I agree that the 18-point margin on the final scorecard was not indicative of how most of the game was played, I do feel that the 18-point margin was warranted with how dominating Guilford was on the offensive boards (20 offensive rebounds, UNREAL!!). I said at the outset that Sanborn could single-handedly beat the Tigers, not with his scoring, but with his offensive rebounding...here's the stat:

Sanborn had just one offensive board in the first half, where the Tigers trailed by just two. He had SIX o-boards in the second half, where H-SC was outscored by 16. You expect Sanborn to clean the defensive glass just for the simple fact that he is bigger than everyone else. But to allow him to get his shooters second chances and himself easy putbacks is a recipe for defeat.

I don't think that this Guilford team is as good as we have seen in the recent past, but they are very solid at all positions and do excel at one thing: they have players that take advantage of what other teams give them.

Sanborn required a lot of attention by an undersized H-SC team, and George Neville (12 and 9) really made H-SC pay for leaving him open early on. Martin Stephenson had two huge offensive rebounds and stickbacks during the deciding run. I felt that H-SC, with Shane Payne and Karlis Trops rotating responsibilities, could shut down Henson, and they did that. Without two wide open threes with about 3 minutes left, Henson would have finished in single digits. He was forced into some really bad shots after scoring 7 points super early in the game.

One thing the Tigers did not do well was keep Rhett Bonner in front of them. He had 5 assists, but I think if one looks at the tape, they will see that he was responsible for even more open looks by getting deep into the H-SC zone and drawing multiple defenders. I was impressed with his quickness and savvy.

Something that I think was for sure, Turner King was the best overall player on the court. Sanborn is 6-10, so you would expect a double-double out of him every night, especially against smaller teams (I think only R-MC with Braxton inside can really account for Sanborn). Henson didn't really let the game come to him and I felt forced some bad shots. Bonner was a menace, but struggled with his shot and uncharacteristically at the foul line. King was steady and again, shot over 50 percent, not only on a night when his team shot 33 percent, but also against a team that was focused on stopping him and him alone.

He also had 9 rebounds, and at just 6-3, going against a front court like Sanborn and Neville, that is a huge feat. King is truly special.

[hasanova]

im crazy for predicting it but if im right im a genius if im wrong it was expected.  and when you put out the rest of the schedule it does seem tough but if RMC takes it 1 game at a time they absolutely could finish the season undefeated.

Okay, I'm calling it:  the sun will not come up tomorrow morning.  If I'm right, I'm a genius ... if I'm wrong, then the sun was expected to come up.  If the sun doesn't come up, you can find me dead with a smile frozen on my face in front of Crenshaw staring toward the east.  If it does come up, however, you can find me at Ragan-Brown (also with a smile on my face), buying a ticket for the January 31 game versus the Yellow Jackets!  

[Jacketlawyer]

R-MC's not gonna sneak up on anybody, that's for sure. 

My point exactly.   Yes, the 31st.  Will be a big fat date with destiny for both teams.

Like 1225's faith and passion though! 8)

[Brian Hamilton]

Not much to add to comments on the HSC-GC game that has not already been said.  The one thing I would mention is that HSC killed themselves at times with some lazy passes or unforced turnovers.  They also seemed, with about 6:00 left and a 6 point deficit, to start pressing on the offensive end and forcing some shots.  I have to give Guilford some of the credit because they were playing really tough defense and were disrupting passing lanes, but the Tigers must be selective and work through the offense for good shots.

Hasanova was a very gracious host and it was really nice meeting him.  I really liked the Guilford facilities and enjoyed everything but the outcome!

[HSCfan]

Two interesting match ups on Wednesday night. I think that Eastern Mennonite is very vulnerable at Emory and Henry, a very tough place to play on a Saturday, much less a Wednesday night. Also, Randolph-Macon at Virginia Wesleyan. Macedo will have his team as ready as they can be, but Rhoades has instilled that killer instinct into a team that should finally get him over the hump in late February.

I like...

Guilford over Bridgewater (although a good rebounding team, Bridgewater won't have much of a chance on the boards in this one)

Roanoke over Randolph (bad match ups all over the place for the Wildcats...but when do they ever really have good ones?)

Hampden-Sydney over Lynchburg (Wooldridge will cause problems at the outset for a Tiger team thin on the inside, but H-SC prevails at home behind a big night from King)

Randolph-Macon over Virginia Wesleyan (odacfan, let's be the first and only two to hop on the 16-0 train now )

And the upset:

Emory and Henry over Eastern Mennonite (the Wasps play well at home and I just get the feeling that they are due for one of their patented surprises)

[donho]

  Hey Jackets, you did not make d3hoops top 25! Go out this week and prove to your own teammates that you belong! GO JACKETS

[hasanova]

Hasanova was a very gracious host and it was really nice meeting him.  I really liked the Guilford facilities and enjoyed everything but the outcome!

Thanks, Brian ... and I do understand your feelings about the outcome.  It was a long trip for you and the game was truly nip and tuck for 34 minutes - the final margin was not indicative of the overall competitiveness of the game!  Speaking of Guilford's campus in general and Ragan-Brown in particular, I wish everyone in the ODAC could visit.  I think the campus is beautiful and the basketball arena, while not unique (because there's a similar facility at Amherst), is definitiely distinctive!  A great sports venue!

[hasanova]

Sixteen wins is a Jacket prediction!
Stinging pride or pure prescient conviction?
"I don't know," some said meekly,
"There are hoop rents bi-weekly ...
And ten landlords all set on eviction!" 

[sludge]

Loved that one, hasanova.  Kind of a rappish rhythm.

I'll bet you a nickel Guilford doesn't overlook Bridgewater.