MBB: American Southwest Conference

[finnman]

McM leads by 4 with 4 minutes to play.

[dballa]

Great 2nd half effort by HPU to pull out the win today.  The first half i don't think either team played very well at all.  HPU outscored HSU 48-33 in the 2nd half, some of that came from late free throws when HSU had to foul.

HPU:  J. Johnson 20 pts  Wheeler 17 pts 8 rbs  Zinser 8 pts 13 rbs 4 stls

HSU:  Pickelman 17 pts 8 rbs Mardochee 16 pts

HPU's conference tourney hosting is in their own hands the rest of the way.

[finnman]

McM misses one of their FT's and the other Hooper makes a 3 at the buzzer to beat the Indians...107-106.  What a disappointment after leading by 14 at half and by 20 with about 16 minutes left.


NOT A GOOD ROADTRIP!

[finnman]

Holmes says he is not sure it was a 3 and there was still over a minute left on the clock but the time ran out before McM had a chance to do anything.  You can tell he is disappointed but classy as always.

SRSU scores 69 points in the half.  Still the same old break downs in defense.  And FT's percentage was down.

I can't figure this team out...maybe just getting into the postseason tourney is a good goal now.  That is now 2 winless road trips in a row.





 

[etbualum]

Poor 2nd half free throw shooting and clutch shots by MC did in ETBU.  Best defensive job on Cedric all year.  Tigers have to get over this one and play well against Ozarks.

MC is very very deep

[Aerie Head]

UTD 63, Ozarks 55.

(All this is from looking at the box score)
UTD had four players in double figures:  Milson, 17 pts.; Carruthers, 13 pts; Swafford, 11 pts.; Bush, 10 pts.

Habeeb Kareem is all Ozarks had, apparently -- 17 pts.

Looks like another poor shooting night for the Eagles -- 40% overall, a dismal 17% (4 of 23) on 3-pointers.  FT shooting was lame, too -- 50%.  Looks like it was mainly a bad first half -- the Eagles were down 30-23 at halftime.

I'm with you, finn -- I can't figure this team out, either.  It sounded like from the broadcast on Thursday that they pretty much took command of the UTT game against a team with a better record than UTD. But I guess anybody can come out flat . . . . . at least ETBU lost too, so we're still hanging in for second place.  But that kind of luck can't last forever . . . . . Thursday's game ought to be really interesting (and darn it, I'm going to miss it because of family obligations, the kind of thing you can't get out of without making people mad!)

[Ralph Turner]

finnman, I was in the stands behind the SRSU basket when the final shot went thru.

The SRSU news release is imprecise in its information.

As I looked thru the net on the SRSU end, I could see the clock at the other end.  The ball cleared the net with 00:00.9 secs.  I guess we can give the clock operator the benefit of the doubt in that he was not paying as close attention as we McMurry fans would have liked.

Coach Holmes was thus quite gracious in his comments.

This referee crew missed a blocked shot by Dan Jean who could not imagine that his arm span was that long on the block, late in the half.  The foul call shifted the momentum at that point of the game.

The pace was quite fast, and I think they had trouble calling fouls at the pace of the game.  The athleticism by both teams had the crew running.

[cp1123]

Ozarks' and ETBU's losses sets up a showdown of sorts next Thursday in Clarkesville for 2nd place in the East. 

[Ralph Turner]

Rockland, it was great to see you on Saturday.  I was glad to hear all of your good news!

The Gallego Center is a nice facility!  I really like the quaint old brick cabins as well.  I hope that they don't bulldoze all of them!

[Aerie Head]

Ozarks 69-Austin 56.

Austin led at halftime, 29-27, but Ozarks came out with a 12-0 run at the beginning of the second half.  Austin got it back to within two, 52-50, with 5 and a half minutes to play.  But Ozarks picked up the intensity to go up by 10 over the next minute of play, and Josh Joyner padded the lead with 6 of 6 free throws at the end.

Habeeb Kareem, 17 points
Josh Joyner, 11 points, 9 rebounds
Chris Clark, 11 points
Brad Johnson, 10 points

For Austin, Kyle May had 11 points.

[EagleCoach]

I don't know what is wrong the McMurry.  I know HPU and Gallego Center are really tough places to play, but you really need atleast a split on that roadtrip.  They really need to get it together or they will find themselves out of a playyoff spot. I saw this team practice the first day and I was very excited about what I saw. Don't let each other down and go out there and play like a team, not for individual accolads. You must win the next two. Gatlin has been an Indian killer the last few years, I have heard is inelligable, that will help.

[warped]

Do not count the Cru out just yet Eagle Coach, they are 2-0 w/o Gatlin, and it seems like Coach Deweese has instilled a type of mental toughness that i have never seen in a UMHB team, this is a big week for the Cru..I will be at the games in Abilene this week..to see how things go..i just hope the officials do no get involved like they always seem to do in Abilene

[Ralph Turner]

..hope the officials do no get involved like they always seem to do in Abilene...

or Belton or Alpine or Brownwood or Clinton or Pineville or Marshall...and on and on...

It just seems to be a way of life in the ASC.

[bcal]

McMurry can not worry and be distracted about how the game is being called.  They are going to have some go their way and some (on the road) that will not go their way.  The team has to adjust to the calling and play within themselves. 

The season started 6 and 1.  Since the HSU game on 12/12/05, the Indians have gone 2 and 5.  The losses have all been on the road.  With McMurry fighting to be in the tournament, there are no throw away games left in the final 11 on the schedule.  Each contest now has a greater importance than before.  6 of the 11 are in Kimbrell.  1 is at HSU.  The schedule may be slightly in favor of McMurry.

Regarding last saturday's game in Alpine.  Sully scored 69 points in the second half and shot 74% from the field.  That type of shooting is strong indeed!   If the Lobo shooters were on fire from the outside and could hit nothing but the bottom of the net from any place on the court, that is one thing.  If, however, the points were coming in the paint, that presents a different picture for the McMurry coaches to work on.

Ralph, you were in Alpine.  Were the shots in the second half from close or beyond the 3 point line.  If they were, the Lobos won the game.  If the points were in the paint?, your thoughts please.

[Ralph Turner]

bcal, I had the pleasure to meet SR51Lobos at the beautiful "Pete P" on Saturday.  I digress, but Rockland Owens is on my all-ASC Opponent team for the man he is, and the man I want him to become!  I am Christian!  I can say this "out loud"!    God has blessed him in so many ways, and I pray he will bear fruit, 30-fold, 60-fold, 100-fold!

Back to basketball...as I second-guessed that game, I can see numerous places where we could have executed fundamentals in the game plan and won! We missed 2 of 4 free throw attempts in the last 25 seconds.  The defense broke down on numerous occasions, but SRSU was that hot, both in the paint and beyond the arc.  I did not see any shots that were incorrectly called as 3's.

I was most frustrated by the 00:00.9 secs that were left on the clock after Richard Hooper's 3FG went thru and the clock just wound down.

As for the conference, both McM and HSU need to defeat HPU when they come to town.  HPU has at McM at HSU and at SRSU on Feb 9th, 11th, and 13th.

Three HPU losses might have HUGE playoff and title implications.

This race should be knock-down drag-out!


http://www.sulross.edu/docs/athletics/srmmm114.htm#GAME.BX2