MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[Johnny Augie]

I've had those cookies and they are some of the best.

You've had my cookies? Really? I haven't given them to too many people... a couple of the Thomases, and Dave Wrath... hmm.... do I know you? 

I ate one of the cookies that you gave to the Thomas family.

[Stat]

Good thing I am not a grudge master.

[arnoldfanclub10]

I believe "stat" has a very good argument that some blame should rest of trost's back for tonight titan's loss. i mean, not trying to be bias but arnold plays harrigan well all night and has a solid night on the offensive end. he blocks harrigan's shot right before the end of regulation. arnold then comes back in OT to hit  two big free throws and then trost puts in fisher who fouls twice in 4 positions giving them an easy 4 points while arnold who played his ass off on the defensive end all night is sitting and watching... come on now

[Gregory Sager]

Carthage 72
North Park 68

Brett Mathisen, 23 pts, 9 rebs
Jay Alexander, 20 pts, 10 rebs
Bjorn Berg, 18 pts

Trey Bowens, 19 pts
Scott Hood, 15 pts, 5 asts
Billy Jacklin, 10 pts, 7 rebs

This was a bitter one to take. NPU played their best half of the season, continued it right on into the second half, and had their biggest lead of the season, 19 points, at the 15 minute mark (50-31). At that point I turned to Mark Erickson and said, "Now we'll see whether or not North Park can hold a big lead." A minute and a half later Carthage went into a press, and I knew that the Vikings were in trouble.

The fact that they blew a 19-point lead isn't the only galling part. After the Red Men stormed back and tied it up at 57-57 at the 7:23 mark, NPU rattled off seven straight points. They finally solved the press by getting the ball into Jay Alexander's hands at midcourt and letting him attack the basket. But then the Park blew that lead, too. Carthage came back and tied it up at 66, and again at 68, and then the Red Men took advantage of one final NPU turnover on the press to take their first lead of the entire game at 70-68 with 29 seconds left on a Billy Jacklin layup. One last NPU turnover and two Scott Hood FTs later, it was all over.

NPU blew their best effort of the entire year, and it was their most glaring weakness -- the lack of sound PG play -- that did them in.

The first half was a study in contrasts: NPU played smart, patient, and effective basketball, running the best halfcourt offense I've seen them play in years. Berg was raining threes, Mathisen was having his way down in the blocks, and Alexander was scoring from everywhere. The Red Men, on the other hand, all looked as though they were mulling over whether or not they'd set their TiVos for Law and Order this evening. I've never seen a more disinterested bunch of ballplayers. The only Red Men who weren't inert bags of protoplasm were Hood and Keena Johnson.

The second half? Well, when Carthage put the press on, Jacklin, Hood, and Trey Bowens basically took over. Bowens demonstrated why Bosko's proclaimed him Antoine McDaniel's heir apparent -- the kid is smooth, smart, and incredibly dangerous with the ball in his hands from just about anywhere on the floor. And NPU freshman point guard Keith Willert was simply overwhelmed ... again. Not that he had much help from his teammates. The onus for losing the game doesn't fall completely on his shoulders, as it was a team effort. Berg had a couple of crucial turnovers in the last two minutes, and Alexander turned it over as well and took an ill-advised open ten-foot jumper from the baseline with a minute left and NPU up by two when he should've either gone to the hoop or pulled back to run some clock.

But it was the press that did in NPU. The Vikings ended up with 19 turnovers for the game, but they didn't have any at all for the game's first eight minutes, and only five TOs total in the first half. The press turned the game 180 degrees. People were talking about Brenegan being outcoached, but how do you coach something that you don't have? The Vikings don't have any reliable ballhandlers, period. Brenegan can draw up press breaks in the huddle until his markers run out of ink -- but if his guards keep dribbling into traps, or passing the ball into the corner on an inbound, or turning the wrong way into a defender, what is he supposed to do? If you're going to blame Brenegan for this defeat, blame him for not being able to get a bona-fide CCIW point guard on campus this year.

Instead, just give Bosko credit. I asked him after the game why he'd waited so long to put in the press, and he said, "My guys are only capable of playing the press for a few minutes at a time. We had to pick the right spot in the ballgame to use it." They used it wisely. Not that they were running out of time -- he put in the press at the 13:30 mark, and it took Carthage only six minutes to completely dissolve the 50-34 lead NPU had at that point -- but if he had waited a little longer NPU might've made the margin insurmountable. The Vikings were playing that well, and Carthage was playing that poorly. A press not only gets a team back into a ballgame quickly in terms of points, it gets them back into a ballgame quickly in terms of enthusiasm. And Carthage very badly needed some enthusiasm at that point.

Lost in all that was how well Mathisen and Berg played in their final home game. And Alexander was mostly terrific; it's becoming increasingly apparent that he's going to be one of the league's better returning players next season. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Park's unsung hero, Mike Ventura. The skinny freshman forward has been everybody's whipping boy down low all year in the CCIW, but tonight he rose to the occasion and put the clamps on 20.7 ppg Carthage star Kyle Jeffery. Jeffery scored nine points on the night, but only three in the 25 or so minutes that Ventura guarded him. It was one of the best defensive performances I've seen by a big man over the past few years.

It was a tough one to lose.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Augustana on winning the CCIW title outright. What a remarkable season: They not only dethroned an Illinois Wesleyan squad that nobody thought could be stopped, they swept them. Plus, they swept Elmhurst -- no mean feat in and of itself. Grey Giovanine is clearly the CCIW COTY, regardless of whether or not there's a stupid rule that says he automatically gets it for coaching the championship team.

Good call on Agnew. I imagine those who knew the source are all around 50 years of age or older.

I knew the Agnew/Saphire quote and I'm "only" 41.

Ditto ... and I'm only ever-so-slightly older than Dan. 

[iwu70]

Congrats to Augie on their CCIW championship.  They've had a great season and met the test on many levels.  I'm an ardent IWU fan, but my hat is off to them tonight!

I had the pleasure of seeing three IWU games during my recent US visit.  They were all exciting and thoroughly entertaining games, especially the Elmhurst-IWU game at the Shirk.  Truly one of the best DIII games I've ever seen.

In watching these games, I must admit that I share the view that Trost is part of IWU's problem now.  He yells and screams at his top players making them play nervous and tight.  Perhaps some players react well to this, but I can't imagine who those players might be . . . .

Let's hope the Titans can regroup now, have a good CCIW tourney and get into the dance for a good, long run in March.

Again, congrats to Augie and the Augie fans.  A championship season to be sure.

[David Collinge]

Good call on Agnew. I imagine those who knew the source are all around 50 years of age or older.

I knew the Agnew/Saphire quote and I'm "only" 41.

Ditto ... and I'm only ever-so-slightly older than Dan. 

Count me out of the "around 50" group as well.  Of course, you don't join that august assemblage until the day after your 50th birthday.  You're not likely to hear many 49-year-olds describe themselves as "around 50!" 

[iwufans]

As for IWU....I was unimpressed with the play of Adam D and Keelan...If they are as good as they are said to be then they should have taken the game over in the OT period...

So does that mean that you are not giving your team credit for good defense on Keelan and Adam?  You think IWU should have one this game if they had played better???  Interesting. 

Congratulations to Augustana for winning a hard fought game and coming away with the outright championship.  It should be a terrific CCIW tournament.

[Gregory Sager]

Congratulations to Augustana for winning a hard fought game and coming away with the outright championship.  It should be a terrific CCIW tournament.

Yes, it should. I'm bummed that I'm going to have to miss it, but the NPU women's team is going to be in the CCIW women's tourney (most likely at King Arena), and I have to support our ladies.

[Titan Q]

A long and nasty ride home due to some very icey roads for about 50 miles outside of Rock Island.  Traffic was going 40 MPH on I-74.

Just wanted to post a big congrats to everyone associated with Augustana for the CCIW championship.  The Vikings played very well tonight and took down a tough group of Titans in a great game.

No question on the M.O.P. in my mind...Rick Harrigan locked it up tonight.

[veterancciwfan]

IWU 70: I'm sure you would make a better coach for IWU than Trost. Why don't you apply for the job and move back to the states?

Close game at Rock Island tonight. Could have gone either way. I talked to 2 former high school coaches who both said the intentional call against Schweer was not correct as he was going for the ball. But Schweer was overely and needlessly agressive after getting his hand on the ball I thought. The call that was inexcusable was the lack of traveling in the first half on an Augie player (I can't remember who) who took at least 3 steps, bumped into an IWU player, and a foul was called on IWU. Trost was vehement. I can't remember if the play cost IWU any points.

The difference in the game for Augie was Brusveen. I guess all the kids from Nequa Valley can shoot the 3.

No doubt that Augie is a better team as the 2 wins show, but not by much. The good teams win the close ones. The not so good ones don't. It's that simple and it's been that way forever. But the 4 top teams in this league are so good and so evenly balanced that it's impossible to predict anything when they play each other. The old cliche, "there's a thin line between winning and losing" has never been more true this year in the best D3 league in the nation.

I've seen Augie play 4 times this season and I'm guessing that their offensive performance tonight was probably 50% better than any game they have played this season. My guess is that they will never play a more effecient offensive game the rest of the year, but Brusveen improves their offense immensely in my opinion.
Congratulations to Augustana. You earned the championship.

[Gregory Sager]

No question on the M.O.P. in my mind...Rick Harrigan locked it up tonight.

At least you get the consolation of having a fellow Brother Rice alumnus win it. Perhaps we can add an Assistant Coach of the Year award to our annual CCIW Chat awards so that you can vote for Paul Ferguson as well. You could always justify it by saying that it's a roundabout way of giving Bill Harris credit for a great season in which COTY is nevertheless out of his reach.

Hey, never let it be said that I don't know how to spread the love around the CCIW!

[iwu70]

Vet, sorry, I'm happy with my Hong Kong perch.  No good Chinese food in Bloomington.  Trost will  have to rise and fall on his own, but it's pretty clear screaming and yelling at his very accomplished players is not entirely working for him.    Of course, Trost has done a great job these past few years.  His record is clear for all to see.  But, what the fans see is what the fans see.  I hope he watches the tapes of his own "play" as I'm sure he expects the players to watch their own tapes.  He's being outcoached during games as his temper seems to be one element that gets in his way.  Just a thought. 

Congrats to Augie.  Hope the Titans can win out and get back into a good run of wins.

[Gregory Sager]

Vet, sorry, I'm happy with my Hong Kong perch.  No good Chinese food in Bloomington.

He has to say that. Otherwise, his Internet provider will rat him out to the authorities in Beijing, and he'll get shipped off to the laogai. 

[crusaders]

Is anyone else sick of what Saigars has to say?