MBB: NESCAC

[eclinchy]

The Jumbos have beaten Trinity the last 3 games .

Actually 4.  This year's senior class has never lost to Trinity -- in fact, Weitzen went for 20 and 10 in his first Trinity game as a freshman.

[Pat Coleman]

2-point game, 1:10 left
http://www.d3hoops.com/audio/

[eclinchy]

Lord Jeffs ultimately escape with the six-point win... nice effort in the final minute to pull it out.

[JeffRookie2]

Just got back from Chicopee. Walters was nasty down the stretch, pretty much putting the team on his shoulders. Olson scored his 1,000th career point.

[FormerPolarBear]

As a former bowdoin polar bear (hence the name) I would like to give some love to those guys in Maine.  They are currently 12-2 which is their best start in some time.  I realize that they have not played the toughest competition, but they can only play who is on the schedule and they have taken care of business almost every game.  They very easily could, and in my opinion, should be 14-0.  I was at the Elms game and they should have never, never lost that game.  As for the other lost, Bates, I heard Bowdoin let the game slip away, so they could have easily won that game too.  They have a very solid team, without any big time stars (except for maybe Hippert).  They are deep and it seems like a different guy steps up each and every game (Sargenson, Hauser, Jackson, Fliegel, etc.)  Keep in mind they have been winning without their best player Hippert, who is expected to be back for the big games this weekend against Middlebury and Williams.  At worse, Bowdoin splits this weekend, but if they do sweep, I think they should really be considered a threat to win the NESCAC.  I know I am extremely bias, but hopefully this weekend will prove exactly what I believe: that Bowdoin is a contender this year.  I am going to Maine this weekend to check out the games and will report my bias opinion when I return.  Good luck Bowdoin! 

[ILive4This]

Im usually not one to say this, but I told you so with the spread for this game, 20+ was simply way to high. This is a team that plays tough. When they played Brandeis I will admit I did not think it would be a 2 point overtime win, but I did expect it to be a tough game.

Has a spread been made for the trinity/tufts and tufts/amherst games this week

[JeffRookie2]

Other things of note from the game...

Marcus Bradley played significant minutes in a close game. He looked pretty solid out there. On the flip side, Hopkins sat down the stretch which I thought was interesting.

Walzy, any update about David Waller? After you posted about him, someone said they had heard otherwise. Wondering if you could shed some light on the situation. Also, out of curiosity, what is Amherst's record against your spreads so far this year?

I like the idea of every team having one player from the last 2-5 years as their representitive on this site. Tim Jones used to post for Amherst, and Russell Lee made a brief appearance after his graduation, but I would love to see a John Casnocha take up a regular posting gig.

[fpc85]

Lord Jeffs ultimately escape with the six-point win... nice effort in the final minute to pull it out.

Escape is correct. If this team took the judges to OT then there is no way we should have won. Good job Jeffs!

Just got back from Chicopee. Walters was nasty down the stretch, pretty much putting the team on his shoulders. Olson scored his 1,000th career point.

Wide shoulders he has. Congrats to Andrew. Well deserved!

[JustAFan]

Amherst was not the only other team to escape tonight. Williams and Tufts both overcame first half deficits to eek out wins. Williams was down 3 at the half but outscored Lasell by 13 in the second half while Tufts overcame a 6 point halftime deficit to beat Maine-Farmington 78-72. This was Tufts 6th straight road game, and I'm sure that's beginning to take a toll. O'Keefe didn't play, and you have to wonder what kind of basketball shape he'll be in come league play this weekend.

Meanwhile, Trinity looked very good in a convincing 83-74 win at WPI over a solid (11-4) Engineer team. Both teams shot over 50% in the first half en route to a 53-42 Trinity lead, and both cooled off a lot in the second half. The difference was Trinity's 48-31 advantage on the boards, led by Russ Martin with 13 boards to complement his 16 points.

[Agent_Zero]

hoopjunkie, i agree with what you said in your most recent post that Tufts has a lot more than Jon Pierce. Jake Weitzen is just as key to their success i feel. the reason pierce is having such a dominant year is because of weitzens play making ability and leadership. that might get overlooked because hes not putting up 23 and 9 a night like pierce is, but i know that its no less important to that team. jeremy black has also played really well. and their bench has stepped up, with some of the younger guys making significant contributions in different games. and where did all this talk about pierce going for 60+ this weekend come about?? if he gets his average, that wouldnt even be a 50 point weekend. i mean, the kid is having a nice year but to think hes just gonna walk into amherst and trinity, two really tough spots to play and against two top tier teams and drop 30+ on each of them...well arent we getting a little ahead of ourselves?? i mean, of course i would love to see that, being a tufts fan but also, im trying to tamper my expectations of that kinda scoring.

but hey...here's to him proving me wrong

[La Verdad]

On the flip side, Hopkins sat down the stretch which I thought was interesting.

Quite interesting.  Perhaps Hopkins has found his way into Hixon's doghouse, or maybe this is a sign that Hixon doesn't feel comfortable with Hopkins on the floor at crunch time. 

Oh, or it could be that Kevin is just getting over a nasty little bug and doesn't have his wind back.

[hoopjunkie]

Agent -no question Weitzen is one of the top players in the Nescac .I also feel the Jumbos NEED to get a big weekend from 6`9" Pat Sullivan . He is their only true big man & needs to be a force against Amherst sick huge front line .
My question is Amherst too big??

[JeffRookie2]

On the flip side, Hopkins sat down the stretch which I thought was interesting.

Quite interesting.  Perhaps Hopkins has found his way into Hixon's doghouse, or maybe this is a sign that Hixon doesn't feel comfortable with Hopkins on the floor at crunch time. 

Oh, or it could be that Kevin is just getting over a nasty little bug and doesn't have his wind back.

so he feels good enough to play 20 minutes, but not 25?

[Agent_Zero]

hoopjunkie, agreed, weitzen is a top force in the conference. and yes, the jumbos need a big game from pat sullivan...and weitzen...and pierce...and black...and anyone who steps on the floor. amherst is the defending national champion, on their home floor, first nescac game, etc etc. jumbos have to play an amazing game. that being said, they play amherst well so anything could happen. the amherst front line is huge...but when you think about it, weitzen and pierce's versatility should negate some of that advantage. for instance, hopkins barely played in the game last year and i cant see him getting much burn in this years match up either. he cant defend either pierce or weitzen, in mho.

[La Verdad]

so he feels good enough to play 20 minutes, but not 25?

Umm....yes?

Does that idea seem far fetched?  Don't you think coaches can see their players getting fatigued?  And is it not possible that a player could have lost some of his wind during a sickness?  Also, look at the flow of the game down the stretch.  It was chaos out there.  Elms was trapping and going for steals; why wouldn't Hixon take out his 6'10 center and put in a better ball handler/free throw shooter?  I guess it seems far more likely that Hixon doesn't trust him or is unhappy with his performance, especially considering Hopkins has been playing better defense and rebounding more as of late.