MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[bcsportsinfo]

BC defeats Randolph
Final score 75-66

[HSCDad]

H-SC 85  E&H 74 Final -

5 H-SC players in double figures - very balanced day against the "new" E&H

E&H did not play their run and shoot game and it worked for awhile as only a one point game at halftime

[rmc1982]

Jackets VERY fortunate to win-62-58...didn't catch anything but the end of this one....help me out those who saw....looking at the stats we shot over 50% but turnovers were bad.......

[stillfamily]

not much insight on this one.
emu 70 vwc 63
emu was 5-15 from the ft line
emu outrebounded vwc
it was a great road win for emu.  vwc will be a very scary team for anyone in the ODAC tourney

[emufan]

Any details regarding the EMU-VWC game today would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[sludge]

not much insight on this one.
emu 70 vwc 63
emu was 5-15 from the ft line
emu outrebounded vwc
it was a great road win for emu.  vwc will be a very scary team for anyone in the ODAC tourney

You're doing pretty well if you can shoot 33% from the FT line and still win.

Guilford shot 24 of 25 from the line (96%) in beating Washington and Lee today, 75 - 61.

The game was incredibly much closer than the final score.  It wasn't settled until very late.
I think defense and FT shooting won it for Guilford.
The Generals shot 81% from the line and outrebounded the Quakers.

[DeWayneCarter]

Any details regarding the EMU-VWC game today would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

The game was a pretty good one, EMU just made crucial plays at crucial times. There would be times where VWC would make a run and close the gap, but EMU would negate it by going on a run on their own.

One thing I will say is that VWC's Donald Vaughn had a coming out party. Starting in McDuffiie's absence, Vaughn scored around 20 points. He had 3 really nice dunks, including a two handed jam in traffic on 2 EMU defenders. The place went crazy. Travis Meyers also had a good game in Paul Meredith's absence also. But the Marlins made too many little mistakes that the Royals were able to capitalize on.

[HSCfan]

Good win for the Tigers today. Although they did turn the ball over 21 times, they were very poised during the one big run midway through the second half which ultimately sealed the game. Putting five guys in double figures really helps your cause. H-SC did all of the little things right today to pull out the win; they hit free throws down the stretch, outrebounded the Wasps by 17, and shared the ball with 16 assists.

Shane Payne had 11 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists. Ben Jessee 18 points and 5 assists. Jon Mudd and Turner King played very well as did Karlis Trops, who looks like he's finally all the way back from his injury early in the year.

[HSCfan]

With W&L and VWC losing once again, and my Tigers currently holding onto the No. 8 seed, something just crossed my mind...have some of us posters jinxed our beloved teams?

I know I did so in the preseason when I picked H-SC to finish third in the league...picking with my heart and not my brain!

Since posters began to put some belief in W&L, the Generals have gone 0-4 and have now slipped to seventh in the standings (baselinejam, I was sweating it for a moment there and was ready to concede my underestimating your squad...now the jury is still out )

Some posters began to claim that VWC would run the table the rest of the way, and since, the Fish have fallen to 6-7 in the league with three straight losses to Emory, Bridgewater and now EMU.

What a crazy conference we live in! Just makes me even more excited for tournament time because I believe this could be one of the most fun tourneys in recent memory.

[smithgraham77]

Jackets VERY fortunate to win-62-58...didn't catch anything but the end of this one....help me out those who saw....looking at the stats we shot over 50% but turnovers were bad.......

LC played as good as any team in the ODAC this past week, that's not an opinion, that's fact, just look at the results. The fact of the matter is that LC simply outplayed the Jackets in the second-half. The Hornets played good D today - the shooting percentage is misleading because all the Yellow Jackets baskets were either well earned from their excellent ball movement or they converted tough shots. LC drew several charges and forced RMC to make difficult passes after they picked up their dribble. It's not like forcing turnovers is unheard of out of Lynchburg - going into the game they were forcing over 17 turnovers a game. Could RMC have done better? of course, but credit has to go to the Hornets for bringing their A game and nearly pulling off the upset of the year in the ODAC (they have a tendency to play them Jackets tough don't they?).

The Hornets are just now beginning to realize their potential. If they can learn how to win games (which is one heck of an ordeal considering no one on the team has one more than 6 games in one season at LC), this team is a potentially dangerous team and is playing their best basketball of the season with relatively little contribution from Mason Wooldridge. I don't think anyone in the ODAC will want to play a Hornet squad that learns how to win games and can get their two best players going at the same time - that combination right there has the potential to beat every single team in the ODAC.

Steven Echols has quite possibly been the best player in the ODAC since he completely dominated HSC six games ago, has been simply unguardable in several games, and has recently outplayed three of the front runners for ODAC Player of the Year: Justin Short, Curis Peery, Turner King. Some of the performances he has put on (@ hsc, EMU, and second half today) have been nothing short of absolute beauty. A fade away three from the corner with 20 seconds left in the game and down by 4 to cut the lead by 1 against EMU? That is simply special stuff right there.

Players that haven't been providing much all season are stepping their game up and providing valuable contributions late in the season and the team defense has been very solid lately. Jack Burgess has averaged 10 points a game in the last three games and has been very aggressive on offense and defense. Eric Burnett came off the bench today and was also very aggressive on offense, tying his season high with nine points. Brad Kenney came off the bench to provide six points and seven rebounds. Jeff Langrock comes off the bench and is your typical energy, do the dirty work player, going into the paint against the big boys and grabbing offensive rebounds and diving all over the floor to get steals or cause jump balls. The role and bench players have been the key to the improved play along with Echols playing on a whole different planet.

Hilliary Scott is quickly changing things around here and LC is no longer a team you look forward to playing because they will not just roll over because they have quit on the season like the past three years. This isn't your John Swickrath Hornets who quit because the coach gained zero respect from his players, Hilliary Scott is getting this team to play defense, rebound, and execute on offense, three things which Swickrath never could accomplish and this team has even less talent than they did last year, yet Hilliary Scott is getting this squad to play more competitively than Swickrath could get a more talented squad to do last year. Trust me when I say Coach Scott is righting the ship and this program will become increasingly competitive from here on out once Coach Scott brings in the type of players he needs to run the system he ideally would like to run. You'll be wishing John Swickrath, Drew Miller, and the previous coaching failures were still coaching here when that happens - gone are the days when you can virtually mark LC as an automatic W

[3sdown]

Smithgraham77--

After reading your post I had to go look at Lynchburg's record.  1-11 in the ODAC. 3-18 Overall.  While I do not want to dispute that perhaps LC is playing some better basketball at this point in the year there is still a long way to go.  I mean they are 1-11 in the ODAC.  Yes, Hilliary Scott is a good coach with some good experience.  However, there is a loooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggg way to go.  You mention recruiting...Next year will be a "tell tell year" to see if Coach Scott can bring in some solid freshman talent that can make an impact at LC and in the ODAC b/c quite honestly the talent that is at LC now does not equate to the talent throughout the rest of the ODAC.  Yes, Scott is a major upgrade to recent coaches that held the post at LC, but this doesn't always translate into more winning.  Usually a number of factors must come together in order for a "losing" program, such as LC, to be turned around on a year-to-year basis.  It would be great to see a more consistent program at LC and in particular for an ODAC guy, such as Scott, to get it done.  But, not to be as harsh as Steelyglen used to be when he had a normal presence on this board, we are talking about Lynchburg College.   

[sludge]

Hey, Smithgraham, a stronger Lynchburg is good for the ODAC, although we won't like those Ls when they hit us.  Glad to hear the coaching is good. Regarding Wooldridge, I think he's still near the top of quite a few statistical categories, so he must still be a factor.  Echols is pleasure to watch; I don't have a strong sense about the rest of the crew, so thanks for the report.

One more word about W&L, they seem like a very dangerous team.  Guilford was fortunate to play them at home (not to mention RMC!).

A lot of folks picked RMC, Roanoke and Guilford in the top three preseason, but who would have picked EMU and Bridgewater as the next pair?  Pretty cool. 
Unfortunately, Guilford meets the revitalized EMU on the long road trip on Wednesday.

[hasanova]

To give the LC fans a perspective on how long it takes to transform a program, look at Guilford:

1998-99  3-21, 2-16  Coaching change after the season.
1999-00  6-18, 4-14  New coach had little opportunity for recruiting.
2000-01  10-14, 9-9  Most significant changes came from frontcourt transfers, made ODAC tournament.
2001-02  15-11, 10-8  First overall and ODAC winning season in many years.
2002-03  12-14, 8-10  Hard to sustain steady progress without consistent recruiting.  Tom Palombo hired after the season.
2003-04 15-11, 11-7  Blend of new recruits and existing players.
2004-05 15-12, 9-9  Notable transfers such as Jordan Snipes ... arrival of Strong, Kimbrough and Belkoski as freshmen.
2005-06 13-14, 10-8 Learning curve season included 7 losses in a row.
2006-07 24-5, 15-3 Arrival as a major ODAC (and USA) team ... contender for title.
2007-08 24-5, 16-2 Senior-laden team with stars ... underclassmen in the wings.
2008-09 17-4, 10-2 "New look" team, but momentum is here for sustained program.

You've got to energize the coaching, the players and the fan base.  It can be done, but it is usually not an overnight transformation.  It's like a person hoping to lose weight:  it took ten years to gain it, now it'll take some time to slowly (and in a healthy way) lose it.
   

[hasanova]

Sludge, EMU's a "trap" game.  The Royals are a lot better ... I saw it coming last season; it's a LONG trip from Greensboro, especially on a Wednesday night; and both teams are still in the hunt for the ODAC title.  There's not a lot of difference between 10-2 and 8-4 at this juncture in the season.  Go Quakers!

[hasanova]

not much insight on this one.
emu 70 vwc 63
emu was 5-15 from the ft line
emu outrebounded vwc
it was a great road win for emu.  vwc will be a very scary team for anyone in the ODAC tourney

You're doing pretty well if you can shoot 33% from the FT line and still win.

Guilford shot 24 of 25 from the line (96%) in beating Washington and Lee today, 75 - 61.

The game was incredibly much closer than the final score.  It wasn't settled until very late.
I think defense and FT shooting won it for Guilford.
The Generals shot 81% from the line and outrebounded the Quakers.

sludge, it was indeed a lot closer than the score would indicate.  With 5:39 to go, a Jason Cimino jumper gave the Generals a 59-58 lead ... but Guilford went 17-2 down the stretch.  W&L was forced to foul and when your opponent goes 24 of 25 from the line, you're probably going to lose.  Meanwhile, the Generals missed the front end of a one and one three times during that span, so they had their chances.  One curious thing in the game:  Isaiah Goodman fouled out of a very close game with about ten minutes to go.  I wasn't sure why Coach Hutchinson had him on the floor so much when the team seemed to be holding their own with him in the wings.  He knows his bench and I don't, however.  I was impressed with how the Generals defense took Guilford out of its rhythm, but the Quakers adjusted at the half and started pounding it inside.  Sanborn was in some foul trouble early, so that disrupted Guilford's first half plans, I think.