MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[jeloesel]

Yesterday's action: 

Emory & Henry def. UVA-Wise, 105-84

[hasanova]

The Quakers open ODAC play tomorrow with LC coming to Ragan-Brown Fieldhouse at 3 pm.  I've heard from a half dozen people who said they were going to be there.  Cooper, Ryan, et al, any sense on how well the students might turn out?  Guilford has a very good team this year, so I hope they have very good support, but it's Guilford and sometimes they can be a bit apathetic about sports.

I really miss the days when I was an undergraduate and people were actually turned away from the old gym by the fire marshal when it was (often) overcrowded.   I recognize it was a different era (no ESPN every night) and a smaller venue, but gosh what a great atmosphere for a game!  In the 60's and 70's, it was the small college equivalent of going to Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.  One side would start a cheer and the other side would finish it.  The fans were right on top of the action and literally could (and did) bump up next to the opposing bench.  The football players or baseball players would sometimes sit on extra bleachers at the end lines and mess with the shoelaces of a guy on the opposing team while he was making an inbounds play.  Some of that stuff was easier to do when there were only two referees and everyone was yelling at the top of their lungs.  If you were in the middle of the quad, you could tell if we were winning or losing my the level and type of noise!  With at least a half dozen future NBA players (and some on other teams), the level of play was phenomenal!

Well, that was then and is this is now.  I'm telling all the Guilford students, alumni and friends - you have a very good team!  Turn out in great numbers this year and see how the team positively responds to your support!  Go Quakers!

[baselinejam]

The conference season kicks off tomorrow. Everyone has had a chance to get a feel for their favorite team - so here's how I pick the ODAC:

1.VW
2. HSC
3.GC
4.W&L
5. E&H
6. R-M
7. RC
8. BC
9. EMU
10. LC

  8)

[BballFan1]

Congrats to E&H for defending the ODAC honor.

Looking forward to the Guiford - Lynchburg game tomorrow.  Picking Guilford by 8.

[FISHTANKFAN]

 Good luck to all the teams today and to my Marlins:  Stay humble and focused..every team will be giving you their "A" game and there will be no  freebies this year.. the whole team has to work even harder than last year..not an easy task but ooh the rewards will be great.   Good Luck!!!!

[hasanova]

Guilford pulled away from Lynchburg in the 2nd half and won this afternoon in Greensboro, 102-80.  Lots of Quakers off the bench as everyone played.  Ben Strong led GC with 24 points/11 rebounds in just 21 minutes.  George Neville chipped in 22 points and 11 rebounds off the bench on 11 of 14 shooting.  Danny Reed led LC with 22 and Greensboro Grimsley HS alumnus Evan Fancourt chipped in 15 for the Hornets. 

Guilford held an 8-16 point lead in the 1st half, but LC got it back to five at the half on some hot 3-point shooting and defensive lapses by Guilford.  The Quakers dominated the 2nd half, however, and pulled away.  In one fast 2nd half streak, Ben had a couple of dunks and three blocks that pretty much sent a statement to LC that they were not going to get back in this game.  The Quakers were 43 of 77 from the floor, but a disappointing 9 of 17 from the line, although quite a few of those misses were by some guys who might be a bit rusty because they haven't had as many minutes.  Hopefully, this good play will carry over to the away game at HSC Wednesday night.  Go Quakers!

http://www.lynchburg.edu/documents/Athletics/basketball_m/2006-07%20stats/gcm-04.htm

[Tigerfan]

Since no one else has posted it yet: the Tigers win at E&H, 113-102.  That was an ODAC win H-SC didn't get last year.  Its good to get that annoying game out of the way.

[Tigerfan]

The Marlins really laid the wood to the Maroons today, 67-34.  That Averett loss must still have VWC p.o.'ed.  34 total points is the lowest total for a team in an ODAC game that I remember seeing.  The Marlin defense must have been incredible, or Roanoke is going to struggle for points this year.  Maybe the Fish will relax some for the Generals tomorrow.

[sludge]

I think the story of the Guilford/Lynchburg game was

• George Neville's potent double-double (11 of 14 from the floor, what's up with that?).
• the lovely balanced scoring
• respectable team defense and rebounding.  Nice work by many, including Caleb Battier taking 2 or 3 charges.

Strong with only 21 minutes was unusual, and it worked.

Next up is a whole different scene away at H-SC.  I'm picking Guilford by 6 in a dogfight.

Sounds like E&H got caught up in another defensive struggle, with only a combined 215 points scored in the game against HSC.  I know E&H will go off at some point though.

Marlins/Roanoke sounds like the Maroons got smoothered by Fish.  I know the Marlins can really throw a team off their offense sometimes.

[hasanova]

I think the story of the Guilford/Lynchburg game was

• George Neville's potent double-double (11 of 14 from the floor, what's up with that?).
• the lovely balanced scoring
• respectable team defense and rebounding.  Nice work by many, including Caleb Battier taking 2 or 3 charges.

Strong with only 21 minutes was unusual, and it worked.

Next up is a whole different scene away at H-SC.  I'm picking Guilford by 6 in a dogfight.

Sounds like E&H got caught up in another defensive struggle, with only a combined 215 points scored in the game against HSC.  I know E&H will go off at some point though.

Marlins/Roanoke sounds like the Maroons got smoothered by Fish.  I know the Marlins can really throw a team off their offense sometimes.

I'm not trying to take anything away from Ben Strong or George Neville (who both had double-doubles for the Quakers with 24/11 and 22/11, respectively), but Lynchburg did a poor job of boxing people out under the boards.  My brother and I were watching and could see it unfolding as it happened.  We were calling the rebounds and what the GC rebounder was going to do with it.  LC has a couple of big guys, but they have to box people out or I predict the Hornets are going to have another lackluster season.  Just calling it the way I saw it. Peace   

[sludge]

I'm not trying to take anything away from ... but Lynchburg did a poor job of boxing people out under the boards.

Good point, hasanova, and we can't expect that kind of largess from H-SC.

[hasanova]

I'm not trying to take anything away from ... but Lynchburg did a poor job of boxing people out under the boards.

Good point, hasanova, and we can't expect that kind of largess from H-SC.

Absolutely.  One of the reasons the Tigers are so good is because they DO know how to box out.  I predict a tough game, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[stillfamily]

EMU spit this weekend, losing to greensboro by 8, in a game they could have won....and they beat valley forge by double digits....up and down for the royals this weekend, but a win is a win.. the young guys looked better today.. they are so young, having three freshman on the court a lot during the game is unusual to see...another tough road game against W&L wed.....

[steelyglen]

ODAC Guru's....although I haven't seen much of it this year ...there can be no more jokes about how old Jason Sager (EMU) is in relation to other ODAC players. Attended the BC v. Valley Forge and EMU v. GC games last night. Nice win by the Eagles by the way! A 53-20 second half punctuated a 41 point win (93-52)...but I'm getting away from my point. Greensboro College has a 6-4 forward who attended the same high school as a certain former ODAC POY (Raleigh Leesville Road). Now while this player was year behind him in class he was a year older than #44. This player was never quite good enough to make the Leesville Road High School varsity, but never quit playing. While looking at the program last night sure enough there he was, a 6-4 SOPHMORE forward for the Greensboro College Pride! Now #44 has been out of BC for 4 years now so that would make The Pride forward at least 27-28 years old. I guess its never too late to start, but that seemed a little odd (and funny) to me.

By the way...my hats off once again to the folks at Bridgewater College, the basketball program especially and Coach Bill Leatherman, Assistant Coach P.W.Weller and Mark Griffin in particular. They had a very nice presentation for the former, well, you know celebrating the 56 point performance in '02. Mark had collected numerous newspaper articles, photos, box scores and the like and had it all framed very nicely and presented it to #44 at halftime of the BC v. Valley Forge game. Just a class gesture by a class basletball program at a first rate college. It was great to see so many good friends last night!

as for the Eagles, my first glimpse of them up close and personal. Coach Bill Leatherman is just one damned fine basketball coach. He's got such a young team and I wasn't in the locker room at halftime, but the poor defending, no rebounding, soft, slow-footed team I saw in the first 20 minutes got on a bus and went somehwere. The team that played the second 20 minutes got after people on defense, rebounded, found open man after open man and just wore an outmanned Valley Forge team out in the second half. Josh Fox must have taken a Clay Michael e-mail to heart. Michael had written an e-mail to Coach Leatherman earlier wishing the team well and telling Leatherman to tell Fox to "...grow a pair and get tough inside the paint..." and that's just what the young man did in the second half. Michael Oblightey and Dominic Trawick are as athletic a pair as I have ever seen at Bridgewater. I like the toughness and agressiveness that Andrew Cathlin showed in his minutes last night. I'm not predicting a run at the ODAC crown but for those of you who keep thinking of BC as 8th or 9th in the ODAC...keep thinking that way and let me know what you think at years end! They are young and will be inconsistent, very good at times and not so good at times. But I think under Leatherman's watchful eye, this team will get  better and possible beat a couple of teams they shouldn't! More later...just good times in the Valley!

Finally, I see that they lost to Greensboro College today 68-52. One of those "not so good days"!...

[BballFan1]

That young Bridgewater team shouldn't get discouraged by the Greensboro College loss.  I saw Greensboro play, and they were quite athletic.  Quite a handful.