MBB: NESCAC

[middhoops]

It's uncomfortable (for a non Willams fan)  to think how good the Ephs are going to be when Mayer returns. 

[grabtherim]

Watched the finish of the Bates/Bowdoin game.  This is why I could care less about watching 99% of NBA regular season games where guys are talented beyond belief but play with the passion of a stone.  For those of a slightly older generation, play the last 20 seconds of that game and put Jim McKay's timeless intro to Wide World of Sports over it:  The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Exhilirating and hearbreaking all at the same moment.  Congratulations to both teams.  Well done.     

[Bucket]

They crushed Castleton.

I wouldn't say that Skidmore crushed Castleton; the game actually sounds like it was a lot like ours. Tied at the half, Skidmore slowly pulls away to win by 15, just like we slowly pulled away to win by 10.

That said, I might give Skidmore a slight edge today, provided they are healthy. They've always played the Panthers tough, they always get up for this game, and I believe that this is the best team they've had during that stretch. Daley's athleticism and scoring ability will be sorely missed; obviously the same goes for Sinnickson.

The key, to me, will be how Midd handles adversity. I expect Skidmore to go on runs and for the gym to be loud, rocking. How Midd handles these moments should determine who emerges with the W.

[madzillagd]

Too bad this game isn't available on video. 

I'm assuming it will be on their feed.  http://www.livestream.com/skidmorevideo

[amh63]

Middhoops...nice!  Homework!  First cut to your request.  Early in the season for all teams involved.  Size wise, even.  Tufts adjusting to lost of two key players and team roles.  Lost on the road.  Narrow margin.  Emerson, lost on the role in local tournament to cardinals by larger margin. Though not unusual for games on the road vice at home...Wesleyan is the team that has under achieved,IMO based on talent on hand.  Amherst's game is on the road so will watch how the 3's fall for green, Kalema and others.  Also to see if Killian and Pollock gets PT.  Emerson has strong front line it seems.
Schedule for games today allows me to catch a number of games.
Madz....thanks and welcome back.  Now if only Walzy will post again.  Me thinks his new career and life style has re set his priorities for now.  Saw him in Salem and his face in Atlanta...sitting among his classmates behind the Amherst Bench....talking to Olson and others.

[lumbercat]

Surprise- Jim O'Brien's Emerson team upsets Amherst.

[madzillagd]

Surprise- Jim O'Brien's Emerson team upsets Amherst.

The scoreboard is screwed up, the game is just starting now.

[JustAFan]

Correct, that's the score of the Emerson win over Fisher earlier this week, not the Emerson/Amherst game that just tipped off. I had the same reaction when I first saw it! The NESCAC scoreboard and Livestats both have it wrong.

[Panthernation]

Interesting find online: Looks like Logan Buckner, who was not listed on Amherst's roster, had surgery on his knee, and is making trick shot videos with his (quasi-famous) brother: http://instagram.com/p/hjO2xZK4tq/ Maybe eligible for a fifth year?

[madzillagd]

Emerson 44, Amherst 41 @ halftime.  Toomey has been pretty passive in the first half and I'd expect him to take over in the 2nd. 

[nescac1]

Had my first chance to see extended Amherst action, they are down three at the half vs. a solid and very game Emerson squad.  Killian and Pollack both out with injuries for Amherst. 

A few thoughts: Toomey and Green are both absolutely dominant offensive players.  Green has obviously turned into a go-to guy as expected and can do it all, shooting, mid-range game, driving, he makes it look easy.  He has certainly never seen a shot he doesn't like.  David George is the kind of guy you simply don't see in D3.  He had a ridiculous alley-oop dunk in transition (it was a scary play as he landed on his hip but was OK) and actually bent the rim with another dunk.  A third monster dunk somehow rimmed out.  He just looks like a D-1 guy between his size and athleticism, and even hit a smooth-looking mid-range jumper.  Once he develops some more post moves he'll be scary.  I can't recall another frosh quite like him in NESCAC.  Pollack is a very good player, but I have a feeling he may be Wally-Pipp'd. Reid Berman looks like a very capable pass-first point guard, he is crafty.  He's no Toomey, of course, offensively, but will be a solid starting point guard in the future and does a nice job getting to the hole with change-of-pace dribbling.  He's a very solid back-up at this point.  No one else on Amherst really stood out much other than Kalema on defense, he is by far Amherst's best perimeter defender. 

Amherst did however miss Killian and Pollack's inside presence on defense and the boards.  Emerson got a LOT of second-chance points and also scored a lot in the post.  George will be an elite defender but had some lapses it seemed, no big surprise for a frosh, allowing guys to get uncontested offensive rebounds.  I am sure Hixon will have a lot of words about that at halftime and Amherst will work to correct that issue next half. 

One other thing: kudos to the refs for swallowing the whistles in this half.  They let the guys get into a rhythm and weren't calling touch fouls on every other play.  Basically reffed the game like last year.  I hope a sign of looser reffing to come due to the backlash against the initial rule interpretation changes. 

[madzillagd]

Emerson 44, Amherst 41 @ halftime.  Toomey has been pretty passive in the first half and I'd expect him to take over in the 2nd.

I love the fact that I made such a benign comment as this and it got me a smite.   Somebody needs to add a little fiber to their diet.

[nescac1]

Looks like the champs are about to go down.  Very impressive free throw shooting down the stretch by Emerson once Amherst started fouling.  Emerson once again outplayed Amherst on the interior this half -- lots of great post-up buckets, lots of second chance points, along with one guy who was on fire from outside.  Emerson really played with a lot of passion, and Amherst hasn't been able to get into any sort of groove. 

[madzillagd]

Toomey playing hurt?  He did get up more shots in the 2nd half but never got into a rhythm.  Announcers made mention of his knee brace.  I think Amherst beats Emerson 8 out of 10 tries but this happened to be one of those where the shots didn't fall and Emerson pulled it out.  Emerson had 11 offensive rebounds and it seemed like it was even more.  I'm guessing they converted at least 8 out of those 11 into points. 

[amh63]

Amherst loses to Emerson 90-79 at Emerson and their 29 winning streak ends hard.  To put this game in perspective, the Emerson pre game announcers thought it would be a blow out of at least 30 pts of THEIR team.  The final score according to the after game announcers was the highest score of the year by Emerson and the lowest score by Amherst. 
Amherst simply got beat by a team that out played them throughout the game.  George, Toomey and Green were in double figures.  Toomey led all scorers with 24, but his outside shot was off.  Green hardly touched the ball in the last 3-4 minutes on offense.  As previous posters pointed out, Emerson got too many defensive boards and offensive tap ins after misses....Amherst front court players did not box out well and was out hustled by a determined Lions' team.  Amherst should be worried with it's depth unless someone steps up.  Gach was put in but lost his man too often and provided no defensive boards.  IMO, the weakness today was Kalema who made too many questionable decisions throughout the game.  Missed at least 3 layups.  Late in the second half on a break away and Amherst was within 5-6 points, he drives to the basket covered by two defenders and misses the layup.....should have pulled up for Amherst to set up after a hard earned TO.  Near the end of the game, when Amherst was fouling in order to stop the clock and get the ball back, the Emerson player missed...a rarety... foul shot.  Instead of Amherst getting the ball, Kalema grabs the ball with NO defenders around and then loses the possession.  Costly mistake when your team down at least 5 and time running out.  TO resulted in Emerson going up by 7.
Forgot....Congrats to Emerson's players.....they were the better team today! 
Hope Amherst learned something about themselves.  Time to start another win streak!