MBB: NESCAC

[donho]

   OUCH!!!!!!!!! That hurts.

[magicman]

Middlebury and Ithaca in a barnburner as Joey Kizell hits 2 free throws with 1.8 seconds left to defeat Ithaca 73-72.

Nolan Thompson with 6 three pointer and 20 points
Jake Wolfin with 6 three pointers and a total of 20 points
Joey Kizell with 13 points 


Travis Warech led the Bombers with 19 points
Eli Maravich had 17 points
Frank Mitchell had 11 points
Sean Rossi had 10 points.

[nescac1]

Wow, Ithaca bailed Midd out there at the end.  Ithaca had a great score to go up by one with six seconds left, Kizell was dribbling totally out of control and headed for a TO it seemed, but an Ithaca guy sort of got into his way and fouled him (and yes, it was certainly a foul), Kizell hits the two clutch free throws.  NESCAC two-for-two in the Elite Eight.  Hoping Williams can make it three.  Midd was on fire from three -- most of the looks were wide open, often set up by Kizell (he had a great game initiating the offense), Ithaca was extremely slow to rotate defensively and seemed to purposefully be leaving Wolfin open for a good chunk of the game, that strategy backfired.  Ithaca played very well offensively and Midd, like Ithaca, strangely left Maravich wide open from three on multiple occasions.  The Warech-Thompson battle in the second half was a good one, as Warech was able to use his strength to score some very tough shots, but Thompson really made him work for everything.  Midd was owed a bit of good fortune in a close game, and the Midd senior guards Thompson and Wolfin were simply on fire.  Congrats to Midd for making Salem two times in three years, no easy task!

[old_hooper]

Midd pulls it out...congratulations...2 CAC teams in round of 8 and trip to Salem.  Amherst first half was almost perfect basketball.  Looks like the schedule has worked in their favor as they have been as sharpe as they have been all year.  As a follow up to Midd senior class stellar record now 104-13, that is hard to do.  In the Crotty era at Williams, it looks like 103-14,  Amherst seniors on the 07 championship team 111-13 and the class of 08 111-12.

[Charles]

Wow, Ithaca bailed Midd out there at the end.  Ithaca had a great score to go up by one with six seconds left, Kizell was dribbling totally out of control and headed for a TO it seemed, but an Ithaca guy sort of got into his way and fouled him (and yes, it was certainly a foul), Kizell hits the two clutch free throws.  NESCAC two-for-two in the Elite Eight.  Hoping Williams can make it three.  Midd was on fire from three -- most of the looks were wide open, often set up by Kizell (he had a great game initiating the offense), Ithaca was extremely slow to rotate defensively and seemed to purposefully be leaving Wolfin open for a good chunk of the game, that strategy backfired.  Ithaca played very well offensively and Midd, like Ithaca, strangely left Maravich wide open from three on multiple occasions.  The Warech-Thompson battle in the second half was a good one, as Warech was able to use his strength to score some very tough shots, but Thompson really made him work for everything.  Midd was owed a bit of good fortune in a close game, and the Midd senior guards Thompson and Wolfin were simply on fire.  Congrats to Midd for making Salem two times in three years, no easy task!

should have been a no call. hate to see the refs decide the games. again...

[Pat Coleman]

No way that should have been a no-call. Kizel was fouled at least twice coming down the floor. Poor defensive approach for Ithaca.

[nescac1]

Yeah, they certainly could have called a foul even earlier on a prior player, that would have been more borderline but arguable either way, but Kizell was definitely hacked by the third guy.  If the refs fail to call an obvious foul, they are just as much deciding the game as if they call a foul on a questionable play.  There is no NCAA rule that I'm aware of that you are allowed to foul a guy without consequences so long as fewer than three seconds remain on the clock. 

What i really didn't understand is what the heck was Ithaca's coaching strategy down the stretch?  With a minute left, Midd ball, Ithaca not yet in the bonus, and Midd up I think one, Ithaca started intentionally fouling.  Huh?  Why not just play defense and try to get a stop ... even if Midd scores, you can still tie with a three, and if they don't, you have the ball with a chance to win.  Now, it almost paid off since Midd missed a few front-end of one-and-ones, but it was one of the weirdest coaching decisions I've ever seen.  Not only did they not even try to get a defensive top, they ended up eating up a ton of game clock since they had so many fouls to give.  Utterly inexplicable.

Amherst looks scary good right now.  The week-rest-between games has seemingly revitalized Toomey, he is once again driving and hitting high degree of difficulty inside shots, and when he does that (he wasn't very often late in the season), he is basically unguardable.  Their starting five plus Kalema and Green gives them seven true offensive weapons, and they will have mismatches at at least two positions vs. any team.  I think Cabrini might have the best hope of beating them (if they get by Wooster) due to their tourney-tested toughness and overall athleticism, but right now, I hate to say it, but Amherst looks head and shoulders above any other team in the country, at least any that I've seen ...  they can beat you in so many ways, with outside shooting from Toomey, Green, Killian., with athletic drives from Workman, Toomey, Williamson, or on the interior with Kaasila.  I'm not really sure what strategy I would employ defensively. 

[magicman]

Another excellent basketball game as Williams leads Virginia Wesleyan 40-39 at the half. Back and forth for the 2nd half of the period after the Ephs jumped out to an 11-2 early lead. Up 17-6 and 19-10 the Ephs couldn't hold off the Marlins who came back to tie the game at 21 with 9:45 to play. From that point it was nothing but ties and lead changes until the end of the half.

Nate Robertson with 11 and Taylor Epley with 10 to lead the Ephs.

Chris Astorga with 13 and Colby Heard with 8 to pace Virginia Wesleyan.

[nescac1]

Great first half in Williamstown.  Both teams played very well and the game is very even.  Nate Robertson has been great for Williams, looking for his offense, with great success.  Daniel Wohl also had a strong first half.  Virginia Wesleyan is very aggressive defensively, which the Ephs were able to exploit, unfortunately several shots seemed to agonizingly rim out.  VWU giving Williams trouble on the other end with quickness and good ball movement.  Ephs need to really bear down and keep VWU off the glass, no easy task, but too many second chance points.  I expect this game goes down to the wire.  Interesting that Wooster-Cabrini (another top-notch match-up) has the exact same half-time score. 

[marlinpg10]

Great first half between 2 very good teams.. haven't seen Williams enough this year to know how well they played that half but that was a sub-par half for VWC.. Woodmore and ford have to play better if VWC is to win this game.. 2nd half will come down to the battle of the PG's.. If Robertson continues to outplay ford Williams will win this one!!!

[nescac1]

Marlin Faithful, Williams could play slightly better, but honestly, not THAT much ... I was happy with the Ephs' play for the most part.  If VWU plays substantially better in half two, Williams will indeed be in trouble as I'm not sure how much higher then can elevate their game.  Ephs need to get the ball to Mayer and Epley inside. 

[nescac1]

Congrats to the Ephs, three NESCAC squads in the Elite 8, WOW.  Second time in three years!  What did Massey rank NESCAC as a conference, again ? 

All five starters played great ball but game ball clearly goes to Taylor Epley who was a MAN today.  Played great D, and did it from all over the floor, posting up, tough TOUGH shots off hard cuts to the basket, and from deep.  Used his strength to fight off defenders swarming on him.  Key play of the game was Epley's DEEP NBA range three, with a man on him, to put Williams up by three.  As Bill Rafferty would say, kid's got onions!!  His second half line was insane: 6-6 from the field, including two threes, 2-3 from the line, and many of those shots were hotly contested. 

Nate Robertson was masterful directing the offense, penetrating into the teeth of the defense throughout the game, Michael Mayer was a beast inside include a big momentum-changing dunk, and James Klemm kept his strong streak of tremendous deep shooting going. 

VWU is legit and Williams had to play their best in the last ten minutes after falling behind by six, and they did ... the Ephs other than maybe one or two TO's were basically flawless down the stretch, patient, beautiful offense and VWU just could not get many clean looks at the basket, plus the Ephs did a great job on the defensive glass. 

I am fairly certain that BOTH Epley and Klemm went over 1000 career points in that game!!!  Incredible.  I think Epley has benefited from five games vs. Workman and Thompson this year.  He now has a much better understanding of how to use his strength, savvy, and touch against quick, athletic defenders.  He has been playing lights-out ball and today may have been his best game as an Eph.  Very timely. 

Look forward to seeing / meeting lots of NESCAC fans in Salem!!!

[jumpshot]

Exceptionally well-played game won by Williams 84-75 against an extremely quick and talented Virginia-Wesleyan team. Big plays made by various individuals on both sides; a real team win for Williams. Congratulations to the EPHS!

[nescac1]

Should be very, VERY intriguing match-ups for all three NESCAC squads.  Amherst will have to face Cabrini, which made it to last year's championship and beat three very good teams on the road to make it to Salem.  Aaron Walton-Moss and Allen Williamson can go head-to-head for title of best athlete in D-3 hoops.  Midd, it looks like, will probably face number two North Central, a very balanced and talented team from the CCIW.  Williams will likely have to face number one St. Thomas, which is two years removed from a national championship.  If they are play the same style as I remember, they are very quick, very relentless, bring waves of players and apply a ton of ball pressure.  Difficult team to deal with to say the least.  All could be really great games.

Williams really was incredibly composed down the stretch vs. VWU.  VWU seemed faster and more energetic to start the second half and the Ephs had a ton of foul trouble.  It honestly did not look good.  Somehow, they clamped down and really focused in on defense, and just executed time and again on offense.  The Ephs got exactly the shots they wanted ... three pointers and layups off cuts, and they did it with a lot of patience on offense, exploiting VWU when they overcommitted on D and using the size/strength advantage Mayer and Epley had inside.  VWU seemed to be continuously attacking one-on-one, while the Ephs were getting baskets off motion and passing, for the most part.  Really, really well-coached game by Williams, a perfect game plan to attack a damn good team. 

Only concern -- Sean Hoffmann injured his ankle and only briefly returned.  I don't think he played at all in the second half.  Hopefully he is OK given that the Ephs are only playing seven guys right now. 

[nescac1]

I almost spoke too soon, but St. Thomas held on to win by one vs. Calvin.  Ephs have not had it easy making it to Salem, but this will certainly be their toughest challenge yet. 

The Eph webcast, by the way, was excellent I thought tonight.  Yes, the cameras and sound are still not as sophisticated as would be ideal, but there were no problems at all with the broadcast, and I thought the broadcasters were very good, very objective / balanced, and knowledgeable about both teams.