MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[sludge]

... with more depth on this team than they've had over the past two years.

Crikey, I've haven't seen VWC to have a noticeable depth problem in the past!

[hasanova]

Guilford got by Villa Julie 87 - 52.  It was a three-point game at halftime, but the Quakers came out with a lot of energy in the second half.  Guilford had good ball movement with 27 assists, and looked deep too.  Both teams move the ball quickly.

I could rave about particular performances, but I'll leave it there.   Great play, guys.

The chemistry is coming along all right.

Hey, sludge, sounds as though the Quakers really played with renewed energy in the second half as they corraled the Mustangs 49-17 in the last 20 minutes.  You may be reluctant to mention individual performances, but I'm not.    Granted, I didn't see the game in person, so I'm depending on the recap and boxscore, but it looks like Ben Strong did nothing to hurt his case as a preseason AA.  Ben had 29 points (11 straight early in the second half), 16 rebounds and a career-high eight assists.  Tyler Sanborn, in his first college start, had 14 points and 13 boards.  At 6'11" and 6'10", respectively, those two will be very tough for DIII opponents this season!  George Neville was also stellar, coming off the bench for 20 points (9 of 15 from the floor and 2 of 2 from the line).  With the Quakers dominating the rebounding game 60-27, I bet Neville must have also had a great game underneath.

Appalachian State QB Armanti Edwards rushed for 157 yards and four TDs in the Mountaineers' 37-17 win over UT-Chattanooga yesterday.  It was a great trip, but I have to say I kept wondering how the Quakers were doing!  See you at Hanes Gym at Greensboro College on the 28th!  The Pride, by the way, got pounded yesterday 92-59 by Plattsburgh State at a tournament in Old Westbury, NY.  With that being said, however, you and I both know how Greensboro gets up for Guilford in all sports, so it should be an intense game, especially at their gym.

Go Quakers!

[sludge]

Hey, nova, thanks for the update.  I noticed a couple of things.

If you remove Sanborn and Strong, Guilford still outrebounded Villa Julie.  So, the entire team knows how to play the boards.  Admittedly, Villa Julie is smaller this year, but even not counting the trees, our guys did a great job on the boards.  We crushed the offensive boards.

Another is that after VJ was astonishing from 3-point range in the first half, hitting 60% of three pointers!  In the second half, they hit 0%, which showed a great step-up by the defense.

The freshman gotta be pleased with their defense, rebounds, and steals.  Lookin good.

Washington & Lee lost two close road games.  I hope those guys aren't discouraged at all by that.  I wouldn't be.

[DeWayneCarter]

... with more depth on this team than they've had over the past two years.

Crikey, I've haven't seen VWC to have a noticeable depth problem in the past!

I wouldn't exactly call it a problem... but it just seems to me that they could put more players in the game during longer stretches of time and not have a noticable drop off of talent and productivity. These guys are an incredibly deep team.

[Jacketlawyer]

Bob Johnson sounds tough as nails and has a great attitude to boot.  My prayers are with him.

It sounds like R-MC had a great game with a new team, to push good John Carroll team so hard.  Way to go, and I'll bet the team is only encouraged by that game.

VWC in a come from behind victory.  It sounds like business as usual to me.  You need to use a silver stake to finish the game on those guys.

E&H winning, great way to start.

So, ODAC 2, Infidels 1, but I just about consider the R-MC outcome a moral victory.

Thanks Sludge.  We did manage to win the consolation game, so we're 1-1 to start off a very young season. 8)

[algernon]

Bridgewater went 1 for 2 at Penn State Behrend.

Lynchburg lost to Southern Virginia, 101-66.  Last year, the Hornets won this game (in OT), so it is not a promising start at all.

Roanoke beat York (PA) and Shenandoah .... a good start for them!

The Tigers go to Averett on Tuesday evening.  Averett is the USA South's preseason #1 pick, has been ranked #16 in the Basketball Times preseason poll, and almost made the d3hoops preseason Top 25, but dropped their season opener to the Maryville Scots, 74-60.  I'm sure it'll be a great game.

[steelyglen]

I would like to add my prayers for Coach Bob Johnson and his family...terrific coach and an even better person!

[jdubyadubya]

Coach Johnson is one of the world's nicest men. He always showed an interest in Pete when we'd visit there, especially. One time before a game Carol and I walked by his office and he made a point to get up and come say hello to us in the hall. When the visiting teams would complain that it was too hot in his gym, he'd just smile and say it was just right I pray he'll be OK.

[Hampton U SID]

JWW...love to hear your take on the Builders.....heard good things after the weekend.

[jdubyadubya]

Dear nnasid - We were unable to attend the Tip Off Tournament this year. 

[Brian Hamilton]

I hate to be the one to post this, but HSC lost by about 15 (I think it was 98-83) to Averett.  They were down 1 with about 12-14 minutes to go and then Averett got hot.  I think they then hit 3-pointers on their next 5 possessions.  The announcers made it sound as if they were well covered but just making shots.  It is a rough start, but it is just that, a start.  The game pointed out some issues that the team definitely needs to work on, but it is hard to beat a good team like Averett when they are shooting the way they were tonight.  I think they were something like 62% from 3 land and had 18 or 19 for the game.

For HSC, Paul Matthews, HSC's freshmen from Pennsylvannia, scored 22 and Turner King had 24.  Kasse had 13, but only played 5 minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble.  The Tigers have 11 days to prepare for their first home game against Emory and Henry on December 1 and then a rematch with Averett on December 3 at home.  I hate having to play Emory and Henry this early.  The point guards could really use a little more adjusting to their increased roles, but this may be just the thing to get them going.  Lawton and Robertson played well against E&H in the ODAC tourney last year.

[FortyFour]

VWC knocks off CNU 88-79 tonight.  Balenga dropped 29, including 6 of 9 from three.  Fantin added 12 points and 6 boards, and Dixon added 11 points and 7 assists.  Julius Carlton looked pretty good tonight, giving the Marlins 9 points off the bench - including a monster jam late in the second half.

[sludge]

Over on the USA South board, a CNU fan is saying that VWC has adjusted to the loss of Adair and Sumpter.
Unfortunate news, that.   

[algernon]

I hate to be the one to post this, but HSC lost by about 15 (I think it was 98-83) to Averett.  They were down 1 with about 12-14 minutes to go and then Averett got hot.  I think they then hit 3-pointers on their next 5 possessions.  The announcers made it sound as if they were well covered but just making shots.  It is a rough start, but it is just that, a start.  The game pointed out some issues that the team definitely needs to work on, but it is hard to beat a good team like Averett when they are shooting the way they were tonight.  I think they were something like 62% from 3 land and had 18 or 19 for the game.

For HSC, Paul Matthews, HSC's freshmen from Pennsylvannia, scored 22 and Turner King had 24.  Kasse had 13, but only played 5 minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble.  The Tigers have 11 days to prepare for their first home game against Emory and Henry on December 1 and then a rematch with Averett on December 3 at home.  I hate having to play Emory and Henry this early.  The point guards could really use a little more adjusting to their increased roles, but this may be just the thing to get them going.  Lawton and Robertson played well against E&H in the ODAC tourney last year.

Averett set a school record with 19 3-pointers.  That's 57 points from beyond the arc, hitting 62% (31 attempts).  Many of their shots were not very well defended.  One guy, Frazier, hit 7 of 9 from beyond the arc.

Paul Matthews looked great and is going to be a tremendous addition.  He had 22 points, hitting 5 of 7 from behind the arc, even though he was only in the game for 16 minutes.  It's going to be hard to keep him out of the starting lineup.  Turner King had 24 points and looks better than ever.  Troy Kaase is back and will compete at an All-ODAC level.  Tyler Murray has picked up where he left off at the end of last season.  Drew Prehmus was not hitting his 3s, but that's the way it goes at times.  The Tigers appear to have most of the pieces in place to have a great season, but they will need better floor leadership in the future to make their offense work right.

[FortyFour]

Sludge,

It looked to me like they have adjusted, well, about as good as a team can adjust to losing a player of Adair's calibre.  Last night, the team looked really, really good at times on both ends.  Defensively, I think they looked as good, if not better, than in the past, and on offense they have adjusted their identity somewhat.  Julius Carlton showed flashes, and I think he is going to be a really good one before it's all said and done.