MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Phew.  Williams recovers to dominate down the stretch and pull away late, winning comfortably.  Colby visibly seemed to run out of steam after expending a TON of energy (again, kudos to them, they worked their butts off out there) to get back in the game, and Williams just sort of calmed down and played with more composure. 

Kudos to not only the Ephs but to the color man for using the expression Gordian Knot for, perhaps, the first ever time in a hoops broadcast.  Well-played, sir. 

Game ball goes to Bobby Casey for his HUGE second half, including back-to-back pure threes to push the lead up to 8 and basically break Colby's back.  When he starts feeling it, oh boy ... He also had the play of the game on a nifty behind-the-back-dribble-blow-by-toss-the-ball-high-off-the-glass-Stephen Curry-esque thing of beauty.  Finished with 12-3-4 plus 2 steals and a block off the bench.  Aronowitz cooled down considerably but still finished with 20 points, 14 boards, 2 assists, 2 blocks and a steal, big overall game for him even if he had trouble getting to the rim as much as he usually does.  Cole Teal was big in the second half, finishing with 15 points, all on triples, most of them in critical situations.  Ed Flynn had 11 points and 8 boards but really could have used a few more touches close to the rim.  Finally, although Kyle Scadlock had probably the roughest game of his young career on offense, he did a tremendous job on Ryan Jann in the second half, limiting him to extremely tough shots after he lit the Ephs up in the first.  While he only had 1 steal and 1 block, it sure seemed like he made a bigger impact than that defensively. 

Downside for the Ephs -- 16 turnovers.  It's probably going to be an issue that continues to plague a very, very young team which still has a tendency to lose composure in stretches. 

For Colby, Wilson, Jann and Westman were all excellent, but they just didn't have enough support without the two other starters.  No one else really  stepped up to fill that big void and if Hudnut and Stewart are out for awhile, Colby could be in big trouble. 

Big game vs. Bowdoin coming up for the Ephs.  I wonder if we will see some of Scadlock on Hausman if he can stay out of foul trouble early.  Otherwise it will need to be a committee approach because I don't think any of the Eph guards have a prayer of sticking with him the way he's been playing. 

[JEFFFAN]

Tufts upset by Middlebury in OT by three.

Amherst crushes Wesleyan by I think 19 that wasn't that close. Love to shoot those threes and George was dominant inside.

[GoWesYoungMan]

So Amherst wins 68-40 and it truly wasn't that close. Give Amherst credit for using their length and discipline to force tough shots, but it also required a combination of poor shot selection, woefully inaccurate shooting and maybe a little bad luck for Wes to go 11/53 and 0/13. Wes literally did not have a single player make more than two shots from the field. Can't blame it on the refs as Wes went to the line 29 times and Amherst only 4. That's right...the team that went to the line 25 more times lost by 28 points. Amherst had 15 assists to a measly 3 for Wes, but you can't get an assist if the ball doesn't go through the hoop.
The chemistry at the end of last season that allowed Wes to find the open hot shooter is missing. Wes fed on an easy non-conference schedule and will now need to do some real soul searching to make a stand in the NESCAC. It better happen quick because Trinity is on deck tommorow.

[amh63]

All dressed players got a few minutes on the floor for Amherst tonight.  Big news for me is that Amherst's  freshman Big Man....really the tallest player...was put in both halves. Needs the floor time and get use to the quickness of opponents and awareness of defensive players.  One TO led to a a layup...happen on a short pass to his PG at the top of the key.  Wes player made a steal.
This was the game that counts in the the conference standings.
The two teams play again in Middletown early next week.  Yes, the strange schedule for Amherst .
Next game on Sat against Conn College.

[Vandy74]

Regardless of outcome with Tufts, Middlebury better than anyone thinks.

I hope a few more people know that now lumbercat.  It's what I've been saying all along.  Joey Kizel and Jake Wolfen in the stands.  Ten Panthers played their hearts out tonight.  Matt Daley in street clothes so FY Eric McCord starts in his place.  17 big minutes.  Stats can impress.  They can also deceive.  36 points off the bench.  Nobody carried this team tonight.  Everyone pulled their own weight.  Jeff Brown basketball.  Fun night in Pepin.   

[Old Guy]

Great game at Middlebury. Big win for the Panthers - Tufts is a really good team. Palleschi, Pace, Haladyna are a powerful core. Pace tied the game in regulation with a long three on the high pick and roll - then in OT when both defenders stayed with Pace he found Palleschi on the three point line and he nailed the outside shot to bring the Jumbos to a one possession deficit. Midd (without Matt Daley - leg injury) doubled and triple teamed Palleschi whenever he got the ball low and he did well to find their shooters. Frosh Eric McCord started underneath and was relieved by sophs Adisa Majors and Nick Tarantino. Majors hit a huge shot in the OT. Kids!

The game was tied at the half 40-40, tied at the end of 40 minutes 72-72. Midd had a six point lead with under than a minute to go in OT but went 1-2 and 1-2 from the line and gave the Jumbos a chance to knot it up. Haladyna's open look from the corner at the buzzer (Pace was double-teamed) was well-stroked, looked good, but found iron and slipped off. Big crowd, especially at the end, as the men's hockey game ended with time left in the hoop tilt - Midd was down 2-0 against (Plattsburgh) at the end of the second period and many of the hockey fans stayed with the hoop game rather than return to the rink (adjacent venues at Midd) as the game was so exciting, played hard, back and forth, lots of emotion. Tomorrow afternoon: m/w squash, women's hockey, a track meet, swim meet, men's hoop (Bates) all going on under one roof, more or less, in adjacent spaces - an indoor sports carnival at Middlebury!

Haladyna played straight up on St. Amour and played him very tough; Matt had no open shots (17 pts - 6-19, 1-5), played fiercely throughout, and had big hoops down the stretch. Jake Brown, though ill, continued his sterling play(10 pts, 5 boards, 5 assists, 3 steals), running the show, pushing the ball constantly - one turnover! Zack Baines had 9 points and 10 rebounds. Baines had a spectacular block on a breakaway - he's something! In crunch time, end of regulation and OT, Midd had two frosh on the floor most of the time (Baines and McCord). Jack Daley again had a fine all-round game, playing hard-nosed defense and scoring 13 points (5 rebs, 5 assists, 3 steals). Pretty strong backcourt play overall.

Neither team shot well from the line: Midd (50%) especially poorly in the first half, and Tufts (55%) was hampered in the second. Midd had a rebounding edge, 53-44, something of a surprise, and was a little better taking care of the ball (15 TOs vs 20).

Very exciting game. Now we have to take care of business at home against Bates, a winner at Hamilton (how do you like that road trip the Maine teams have to make this year - Hamilton-Midd?). Clinton NY is 6 1/2 hours from Lewiston, 400 miles.

[pinseeking1]

Yes, 400 miles to Hamilton followed by another 185 miles (3.5 hours) to Middlebury. I'm sure the team is thankful for iPads, etc. No offense intended, but doesn't Hamilton really belong in the Liberty League?

Anyway, Bates did a nice job of working the ball inside tonight and will need to continue this on Saturday to compete with a Middlebury team that is looking pretty good right now.

[P'bearfan]

Tufts upset by Middlebury in OT by three.

Looks like we're in for another crazy year in NESCAC basketball.  Should be fun!

[amh63]

I agree!

[Bucket]

Hoops alumni weekend at Midd—so much fun to see familiar faces run the court, just like it was yesterday. Nolan Thompson, Ryan Sharry, Joey Kizel, Tim Edwards, Jamal Davis, Ryan Wholey, Kyle Dudley, Andrew Plumlee. I know it was killing Jake Wolfin that an injury was keeping him off the court.

Wholey is reffing DIII games in the Boston area now, traveling as far as Maine, where he whistled the Bates-Norwich matchup earlier this year.

Wolfin, Thompson, Kizel, Edwards, and Davis all play on the same city league team in New York. Adam Choice (Colby) is also on the squad, as was Ben Rudin, until he ruptured his Achilles. Troy Whittington and James Wang have also suited up for the team. Talk about a squad that would be fun to watch!

Chatting with Wholey today about last night's game with Tufts, we talked about how important the contributions were from guys in relatively limited minutes—Tarantino, Jones—and what an outsized impact they had on the overall game. Tarantino, 9 rebounds in 9 minutes of play; Bryan Jones, 9 points on 4-5 shooting in 8 minutes. Not only did they provide big sparks when they were on the floor, they gave regular rotation guys very valuable minutes of rest in an intense game.

Today should be a good one, as well. As someone else posted, I expect Bates to feed the interior early and often, so once again the frosh McCord and Baines, along with Huff and Tarantino, will need to step up, especially if Matt Daley is again unable to go.

[JEFFFAN]

If Connor Green doesn't understand that he is not the best player on the Amherst team, they will never go far this year.   His shooting the last two games has been abysmal yet in each game he leads in shots taken.   His Achilles Heel is his insistence on taking the three pointer so much.  He is such a strong player that he could get inside and score from the 10 foot and in range, but he keeps shooting the threes.   The comments on this site and others have been on target.  A very good player who has to stop trying to be The Man.

Nice game from Conn College today.   After a strange win over Wesleyan last night (strange defined as great defense and awful shooting by Wesleyan), CC came out and put up 86 today against the Jeffs.    It is clear that CC is better than they have been for years.   It was a terrific basketball game all around.

[Old Guy]

Credit a very tough Middlebury man-to-man defense today in Midd's 73-61 win against Bates - a number of shot clock violations and hurried shots. Zach Baines had two spectacular blocks, one on a dunk by one of the Delpeches that brought the crowd to its feet. Bates frankly looked a bit tired - that Saturday afternoon game on the road is tough. Malcolm appears limited by injury, played only 14 minutes. Surprising that Bates didn't work the ball inside more against Midd's green trio at the 5 spot (McCord/Majors/Tarantino).

Britton and Darling, two backcourt players, each went 2-2 from three, but other than that, Bates looked like a team that doesn't shoot the ball well (small sample size, I realize). Boornazian, in his frosh and soph years, was very effective against the Panthers, versatile, big, able to get to the basket or shoot the three. Not much a factor today(6 pts, 0-3 from three, 1 rebound).

Jake Brown had a terrific weekend (10 points, 7 assists today, 3 TOs today), though ill. He is anything but cautious, seems to be challenging the defense all the time, pushing the ball, taking it to the trees, pulling it out if nothing's there, but consistently makes good decisions. 4-4 from the line today, a good sign. Matt St. Amour was 3-7 from three, tough shots at opportune times. 17 points.

The game started slowly, both teams cold. Midd heated up with the insertion of Bryan Jones, instant offense. Hit a couple of big threes and two other buckets to ignite Middlebury (11 points total in 15 minutes). Kudos also to soph Adisa Majors, 6'5, 210 (at least!), whose aggressiveness is really valuable, he was a handful (3 fg and 4-4 from the line, in 15 minutes.)

Fun to see the alums always - Watching Ryan Sharry, Nolan Thompson, Tim Edwards, Joey Kizel, Jamal Davis, Ryan Wholey, from those great teams, a few years later, all in great shape was a treat. Congratulations to Coach Brown - 300 wins!

One game this week, Williams at Midd on Saturday. The Ephs destroyed us last year at Chandler, hoping for some payback.

How about Amherst beating ConnCollege by just two at LaFrak. That's a surprise - maybe someone will be able to beat the Jeffs.

[nescac24]

If Connor Green doesn't understand that he is not the best player on the Amherst team, they will never go far this year.   His shooting the last two games has been abysmal yet in each game he leads in shots taken.   His Achilles Heel is his insistence on taking the three pointer so much.  He is such a strong player that he could get inside and score from the 10 foot and in range, but he keeps shooting the threes.   The comments on this site and others have been on target.  A very good player who has to stop trying to be The Man.

Nice game from Conn College today.   After a strange win over Wesleyan last night (strange defined as great defense and awful shooting by Wesleyan), CC came out and put up 86 today against the Jeffs.    It is clear that CC is better than they have been for years.   It was a terrific basketball game all
around.

Was in attendance for Amherst-Williams game in Lefrak last weekend. Favorite moment came early in 2nd half of a still-close game when Green air-balled a very deep, heavily contested three. One of his much younger teammates immediately gave Green the universal hand signal for ``pass the ball,'' and Green just smiled at him, as if to say, that is not happening. Everybody who has ever dribbled a ball has memories of a teammate like this.

[Bucket]

Credit a very tough Middlebury man-to-man defense today in Midd's 73-61 win against Bates - a number of shot clock violations and hurried shots. Zach Baines had two spectacular blocks, one on a dunk by one of the Delpeches that brought the crowd to its feet. Bates frankly looked a bit tired - that Saturday afternoon game on the road is tough. Malcolm appears limited by injury, played only 14 minutes. Surprising that Bates didn't work the ball inside more against Midd's green trio at the 5 spot (McCord/Majors/Tarantino).

Britton and Darling, two backcourt players, each went 2-2 from three, but other than that, Bates looked like a team that doesn't shoot the ball well (small sample size, I realize). Boornazian, in his frosh and soph years, was very effective against the Panthers, versatile, big, able to get to the basket or shoot the three. Not much a factor today(6 pts, 0-3 from three, 1 rebound).

Jake Brown had a terrific weekend (10 points, 7 assists today, 3 TOs today), though ill. He is anything but cautious, seems to be challenging the defense all the time, pushing the ball, taking it to the trees, pulling it out if nothing's there, but consistently makes good decisions. 4-4 from the line today, a good sign. Matt St. Amour was 3-7 from three, tough shots at opportune times. 17 points.

The game started slowly, both teams cold. Midd heated up with the insertion of Bryan Jones, instant offense. Hit a couple of big threes and two other buckets to ignite Middlebury (11 points total in 15 minutes). Kudos also to soph Adisa Majors, 6'5, 210 (at least!), whose aggressiveness is really valuable, he was a handful (3 fg and 4-4 from the line, in 15 minutes.)

Fun to see the alums always - Watching Ryan Sharry, Nolan Thompson, Tim Edwards, Joey Kizel, Jamal Davis, Ryan Wholey, from those great teams, a few years later, all in great shape was a treat. Congratulations to Coach Brown - 300 wins!

One game this week, Williams at Midd on Saturday. The Ephs destroyed us last year at Chandler, hoping for some payback.

How about Amherst beating ConnCollege by just two at LaFrak. That's a surprise - maybe someone will be able to beat the Jeffs.

Yes, the last time Marcus Delpeche had a breakaway attempt blocked was probably...never. Amazing athleticism from Baines, and he is just becoming more and more comfortable on the floor.

Again, Bryan Jones doing his best Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson impression this afternoon. He had a burst in the first half when he seemed to score about 8 consecutive points, in spectacular fashion, to really give the Panthers a lift when they were trailing early.

Adisa Majors's mid-range game is really a lost art, and it's really fun to watch his play improve.

I don't know if I've ever seen a faster Panther point guard, end to end, than Jake Brown. Almost always in control, and so explosive to the basket when he's going full speed.

But the story of the game today was the Panther defense. They suffocated the Bobcats; rarely did Bates have a good look at the hoop. My favorite two possessions of the game were mentioned by Old Guy, when the Bobcats, trailing by 17 midway through the second half, were forced into back-to-back shot clock violations.

[amh63]

Watched the game with Conn College and agree with Jefffan that it was a terrific game in that it was a shootout at first glance and yet there was good defense played....strange game too. Will try to explain.
Conn College has some terrific players that have been flying under the radar.  Their record is also hard to figure....up and down.  The roster shows a D1 transfer player that is a leaper.  A front court player that is big and that made a three...a player about 6'8" .....yet there is no player listed at that height.  They have a   non starter that is about a 40 percent three point shooter...Messier..and was hot in the first half...leading his team in scoring.  They have terrific small guards that scored inside and outside. Amherst was down by 4 at the half...45-41.  Amherst tried to keep up and caused a number of TOs when Conn could not score within 30 seconds.  It costed when JMac and George picked up fouls and went to the bench.   Amherst was well scouted and had trouble getting the ball inside to George and Conklin.  kudos to CC coaches.  Racy making 4-5 threes kept Amherst within striking distance.  I thought it was going to be a close game....a hot team in CC hitting on all cylinders and Amherst playing well in spurts.  Amherst tied the game quickly in the 2ndhalf and it was back and forth.  The game also had a group of men in stripes that seemed lost at times.  Both sides puzzled by calls.  No calls on some hard contacts and also touch fouls at other times.  Three examples.  There was a CC layout with the ball bouncing around.  Another CC player goes up to tip it in and ends up hanging on the rim...ball goes in with the rim bent due to his hanging on.   No basket interference..two points for CC.  Just before the half, a CC shot after the lights go on....signaling time over.  Refs allows the shot over Amherst's objection.  The last one happened at the end of the game.  Conn down two with less than 5 seconds to go.  Green between two CC players steals the ball and falls down in the scramble.  Buzzer goes off...game over!   No!  Green called for a walk when he fell down..helped a bit, I think.  Three stripped men confer.  Point 0.5 seconds added to the clock.  Conn gets the ball behind the basket.
Play drawn up does not work.  Amherst wins a game that many could say could go either way....me included.
Next game is with Wes who lost to Trinity today in Hartford.  The Wes game is in Middletown and will not count in the standings..only for Little Three bragging rights.  Again will point out that West won the CAC title over Amherst in OT last season AFTER being crushed twice.

I do suspect that Amherst may have some more "strange" games this season