MBB: NESCAC

eclinchy · November 29, 2008, 04:43:54 PM

Tufts-Brandeis tomorrow. Pierce enters the game with 996 career points.

nescac1 · November 29, 2008, 05:59:03 PM

Williams blows UMass Boston out today. Much more balance with four guys in double figures and good contributions from the bench. Nice weekend for the Ephs with two easy road wins w/out big Joe. Yes, these aren't great teams, but they are credible opponents, not the sort of joke squads Amherst and some other NESCAC teams have beaten up on. Ephs have been playing pretty efficient on offense even w/out their top interior player, and Maker's system seems to be effective against a wide variety of defenses. Snyder and Schultz are both on pace for first-team all conference years if they can continue this type of production in NESCAC play. Frosh big man Emerson had a nice contribution in limited minutes today; he could be one to watch, although doubtful he'll see a lot of minutes this year especially once the other forwards are healthy. Given the struggles of other NESCAC teams in the early season, Ephs are as good a bet as any to contend (although hard to tell just how good Amherst will be until they start playing some better opposition). Ephs still need to improve rebounding and interior scoring, but that should come naturally as Whittington gets more minutes and of course when Joe returns.

Hard to believe that Tufts could put Brandeis in an 0-4 hole. Considering Brandeis still has to play a UAA schedule along with teams like Amherst, that would make it nearly impossible for them to make the postseason absent a UAA championship, which is no easy feat. Look for the judges to be very fired up; it will be a big challenge for Tufts.

eclinchy · December 01, 2008, 03:46:59 AM

This might be old news by now, but had anyone seen/heard about this? Interesting stuff:

Israeli pro basketball team signs alum Jordan Fliegel

topoftheworld · December 01, 2008, 12:57:00 PM

clinchy any news on beyel getting demoted to the bench and only seeing 13 minutes despite no foul trouble?

eclinchy · December 01, 2008, 01:54:09 PM

Day-to-day with a calf contusion.

CCsalive · December 02, 2008, 09:40:48 AM

Conn is now 3 wins and 2 losses after back-to-back OT victories over Roger Williams and Eastern Connecticut. The Camels host Wheaton tonight.
I love my team winning OT games. The veteran trio of Karis, Veras, and Bernier are certainly to thank. Billy Karis is shooting 65% from three-point on the year (13-20)...those are Casnocha numbers. Bernier is averaging 16ppg.
Most intriguing, in the win over Eastern Conn, freshmen Demetrius Porter notched 15 points and six rebounds in only 21 minutes.

Watch out for the Camels is NESCAC.

eclinchy · December 02, 2008, 10:59:10 AM

Quote from: CCsalive on December 02, 2008, 09:40:48 AMBilly Karis is shooting 65% from three-point on the year (13-20)...those are Casnocha numbers.

They're also numbers that can't possibly last.

Wouldn't you rather be saying "we're not even shooting that well but we still find ways to win" than "we're shooting out of our minds and we're still only 3-2?"

Good defense, good rebounding and good teamwork on offense can be sustained over time. 65 percent threes cannot.

CCsalive · December 02, 2008, 02:02:44 PM

eclinchy,

You are the next coming of Hubie Brown...keep up the ingenius analysis.
These are Karis' 3-pt stats from last year: 43-87 .494
The kid shoots threes better than you dunk drafts in the waste basket.

nescac1 · December 02, 2008, 02:36:39 PM

in defense of eclinchy, your pro-conn hyperbole is a WEE bit over the top CC Alive. Barely eeking out victories over mediocre-to-poor teams is hardly grounds for the rest of NESCAC to "watch out" especially when Conn already has two losses to no one special. If you guys convincingly beat a very good Wheaton team tonight, then you can crow a little. But until Conn earns a quality win, or at least blows out a mediocre team, hard to say they are a force to be reckoned with -- especially without any interior presence whatsoever. They are clearly better than Wesleyan, but based on early returns, you'd have to project them as fighting to even make the conference playoffs.

Bad loss for Colby last night -- kind of surprised they aren't doing better, seems like Choice's numbers are off a bit from last year?

Tonight should be interesting with most of the league in action including the aforementioned Conn-Wheaton match-up and Amherst facing its first decent opponent. Anyone know if Aaron Smith is back for Midd, or how badly he is hurt? They have been a totally different team without his presence inside.

CCsalive · December 02, 2008, 03:53:06 PM

Fair enough. I'm prone to hype my team despite their obvious position in the botton half of the league for the past six years. Hyperbole, however, is not the case. There's nothing hyperbole about Karis shooting 65% from behind the arc.
For the record, Conn did defeat Eastern CT who beat Trinity.

eclinchy · December 02, 2008, 04:56:55 PM

The same Trinity that's 2-3? Including a loss to Albertus Magnus (who hasn't beaten anyone BUT Trinity)?

Rick Vaughn · December 02, 2008, 06:23:22 PM

Someones gotta hype CC...He does have a point with the freshman Porter. Great athlete and great touch around the bucket. He banged head-to-head last year with Whittington in a Williams JV vs. Salisbury School game and more than held his own.

eclinchy · December 02, 2008, 09:24:49 PM

Tufts beats Lesley. With ease.

Amauris Quezada is now the Jumbos' fourth-leading scorer behind Pierce-Beyel-Gallant. He had a RIDICULOUS night. First three shots were long threes, nothing but net on each one. He finished 4-for-6 on threes (Billy Karis-esque?) and 4-for-4 from the line. His lone two-point field goal attempt was a SICK backdoor cut/reverse layup move that would make Allen Iverson jealous. 18 points total. Game high.

Speaking of freshmen, James Long continues to impress. Only shot 2-for-6, but he was aggressive in taking it to the hole -- the layups will start rolling in with time. He was really physical and grabbed every rebound in sight.

Dan Cook shot the lights out. 4-for-7 on threes. Pierce was awesome when he played (16 points, 18 minutes), but he called it a night with about 10:30 left (as did Selby). No reason not to -- this one was over early. It was 26-3 midway through the first half.

Also pretty nice to see Max "I Play Tight End, Too" Cassidy pick up 4 points and 2 boards.

ac08 · December 02, 2008, 09:41:08 PM

Amherst over Lasell 104-77. The purple rain (as described by the announcers) really came down tonight, but it was their D in the second half that pushed the game out of the Laser's reach. Glenn Wong had another great game. 16 points (4-4 from the arc) in 13 minutes. Mike Holsey continues to fill a stat sheet. 9 pts, 6 boards, 5 dimes, 4 steals, and 2 blocks.

If they can hone in on defense more consistently, I think they will be playing in March.

nescac1 · December 02, 2008, 10:34:20 PM

CCAlive, you jinxed your boys who had an awful shooting night costing them a chance to upset a solid Wheaton team.

Ephs lose to a Framingham team they beat just a week ago. Not a game the Ephs should lose, but they shot awfully from 1, 2, and 3, with Snyder and Schultz picking a bad game to both have their first truly off nights of the season. Ephs down both starting big men with Dodson joining big Joe on the bench with an injury (not sure how bad Dodson's is). Hopefully they can squeeze out a win next week and heal up in time for the meat of the schedule.

Impressive win for Amherst. Looks like Amherst will not have the inside power they've had in recent years but man can they light it up with four shooters on the floor at any given time. With almost every team in NESCAC with multiple losses while Amherst has none, they look like the favorite yet again, although Bowdoin looks solid yet again and Midd and Williams could be tough once they heal up.