MBB: College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin

[usee]

Coach Harris comments on the game:

he thought his team didn't know they needed a 3 on last possession. Harris thougt they should have won. a few key missed free throws and several missed layups.

"delp killed us"

standard made his last two free throws after his tooth was knocked out on the foul.

Harris critical of Raymond on the last possession...."we needed a 3...I don't know what he was thinking"

"i was proud of how we played with that intensity and togetherness. if we play with that kind of intensity and team play I will be satisfied"

[Gotberg]

Final from Chicago

NPU 70
NC 68

[usee]

On Wheaton/IWU at the shirk harris says

"if we control Zach Freeman we will do well. If we don't it will be a long drive back from Bloomington"

"about the only thing good about this game is that its the last time we have to face Zach Freeman. he is one of the great players in the country and has been for 4 years"

[usee]

Final from Chicago

NPU 70
NC 68

crazy conference. NCC sweeps Wheaton who sweeps NPU who sweeps NCC. go figure.

[Dennis_Prikkel]

Elmhurst was in control almost the entire way in their 20-point win over visiting Carthage.  The Blue Jay guards were the story with Burks with 16, Bacon off the bench with 14 and Lee with 11.  The big men for the Jays were not an offensive factor in the game.  The Jays made their first six three-point attempts in the game and missed their last 12.

Schlemm scored a lot of points for Carthage, but his lack of team play and an over-abundance of unforced turnovers doomed the Red Men. 

Elmhurst maintained a 10 point lead throughout much of the last ten minutes of the first half and the first 13 minutes of the 2nd half.  Carthage managed only a couple of free throws in the final seven minutes of the game.  If the Redmen had been able to convert even half the free throws they missed when the game was close the game might have been closer than it finished.

But Schlemm, who played inspired in the first 20 minutes, had a bad attitude in the 2nd stanza which his teammates caught like the measles.  It wasn't pretty - as the Reds tried to out do each other on one on one basketball throwing up the first open three pointer they saw.  It wasn't pretty.

MW 70:3

[mr_b]

Final from Chicago

NPU 70
NC 68

Wild finish at the Crackerbox.  The Cards led 32-31 at the half and pulled out to a double-digit lead about midway through the second stanza.  The vikings finally started to find their range and took the lead for good on a Uriah Rice basket with 0:11 left.  The Cardinals were charged with an intentional foul on an inbound pass with 0:03 remaining to add to the drama.

For North Park, Nick Williams had 16 points, Anthony Lenoir 12 off the bench, Rice with 11, Joe Capalbo 9 (on three treys), and Jason Gordon added 8.  The Cardinals were paced by their big three -- Krumtinger, 19; Walton, 18; and Simmons, 16, but all three were in foul trouble during most of the contest.  Mitch Raridon chipped in 9.

Congratulations to the Vikings on their "lucky 13th" win.

[dansand]

Coach Harris comments on the game:

he thought his team didn't know they needed a 3 on last possession. Harris thougt they should have won. a few key missed free throws and several missed layups.

Coach Harris was right. Wheaton let the Vikes off the hook tonight, and Augie took advantage (although it took them a while). The Thunder missed a bunch of layups, especially in the first half.

It was a weird game. Some illnesses/injuries forced Coach G to go with a strange lineup. Both the Swetallas were on the bench with Joe Caricato and Alex Washington in their place. Dain played only 11 minutes in very short spurts, but was reasonably productive for such limited playing time (7 pts, 5 rebs), Nate had 2 points and no rebounds in 22 minutes. They were both obviously off their games.

Drew Wessels took on more of scorer's role tonight and finished with 14 points, eight assists and just one turnover--another fine game. He also did a pretty good job on Kent Raymond although Raymond did have some success early breaking down the Viking defense off the dribble.

Jordan Delp struggled a little bit with Wheaton's bigger guards on him (I think it was Panner most often). His usually very effective mid-range game was stifled, but he did slip away for some huge threes down the stretch.

Like I said, I think Coach Harris hit it on the head. If the Thunder had made a few of those missed layups they'd have won the game.

[tjcummingsfan]

Man does it feel good to win a close one at home!  

It was ugly basketbal for a solid 2/3 of the game, and North Central benefitted from that more often than not.  North Park made more stupid mistakes, and gave up unforced turnovers than usual, which was extremely frustrating.  The North Central big men just killed us tonight.  I haven't seen the box score but I can't imagine they have less than twice the rebounds North Park (as a team) has (and I mean just the 3 big guys, Krumtinger, Simmons, and Walton), and they easily have 3/4 of the Cardinals points combined.  They just owned us, plain and simple.  Walton really impressed me, he's composed, plays hard, and not cocky at all, he's the kind of basketball player I love to watch.  

A couple of things that North Park needed to do to run away with this game (and they probably should have)... run run run.  In the starting line-up the only player who couldn't easily beat their man off the dribble was Capalbo, and he drained a couple 3's in the face of his defender, so it didn't matter.  The should have used their speed to drive to the basket all day.  The other thing is simply take care of the ball, when Simmons, Walton and Krumtinger got in foul trouble North Park wisely tried to work the ball in to the men they were guarding, but we ended up throwing it away more often then we got the pass in their.

The huge huge huge bright spot in the game was the fact that the Vikes went on a 16-0 run at one point to take a 3 point  (61-58) lead after being down by 13 (45-58) led by their 3 star freshmen Capalbo, Williams, and Stevens (along with Lenoir and Rice).  Knowing we have freshman who have the poise to take over a game like that and play with the intensity they did  is so exciting.  Hopefully they can play with that kind of intensity this Saturday against Elmhurst, we're going to need it at their place.  

[79jaybird]

Great game at Elmhurst tonight as there was physical play, a halftime half court shot for a $1,000 savings bond, and good to see Elmhurst knock off their arch rivals at home.
First half was pretty close and the Redmen were getting open looks.  Ryan Burks was a big factor hitting outside 3 pointers.  Elmhurst was not getting too many looks inside, but was able to find Ruch, Michael, and Hintzsche*.  Jared Hintzsche came up big in the 2nd half with some strong rebounds and strong pushes to the bucket.
As Dennis points out.  I think the real key for Carthage was Schlemm.  In the first half, Schlemm was "on" and finding scores inside.  He drew a couple of fouls and was playing the way he is capable of playing.
The second half, Schlemm's "antics" were quite visible and his team started to pick up on that.  As a team, the Redmen just seemed to "give up" (even when it was still a 6 point EC lead) and this "downer" was instigated by Schlemm.  C'mon Brian,  you're a Senior and don't be afraid to put your team on your back.
Glad to hear that NPU scored another win.  I know Saturday's game is a doozy, as the Vikes will be thinking "revenge" after EC narrowly escaped the Crackerbox with a win early.
What's happened to North Central?  The preseason CCIW pick to win the conference is in danger of not even making the tournament.  Just goes to show how strong this conference is.

[knarocky22]

Not much to say about the Augie/Wheaton game tonight except that a win is a win.  Wessels had a solid game tonight.  The offense just doesn't run as smoothly when he's out of the game.  Delp was fairly quiet until down the stretch when he was simply the man.  The Wheaton announcers didn't really have any room to be complaining about the refs, Raymond was getting away with a lot all game until the end when they finally called a couple on him.  With a 1.5 game lead and 3 to play, the race is Augie's to lose.  You can't ask for more than that. 

[tjcummingsfan]

The Wheaton announcers didn't really have any room to be complaining out the refs, Raymond was getting away with a lot all game until the end when they finally called a couple on him.  

Sounds about right...

[Titan Q]

A couple questions from the North Park/NCC box...

http://www2.noctrl.edu/athlet/basketball_m/06-07/m2-7.htm

1. Why did Brandon Smith and Chris Drennan not play?

2. Were there really 1200 at the Crackerbox?  North Park reported 1600 for the Carthage game, 1600 for Elmhurst, and 1600 for Wheaton.  Are those correct too?  What is the official capacity?

[Titan Q]

IWU picked up a nice road win tonight vs Millikin...

http://www.millikin.edu/athletics/mbasketball/m-mil21_013.htm

After giving up 41 points in the 1st half and 8 3's, IWU gave up just 19 in the 2nd and zero 3's.  Defense won this one for the Titans, who were once again led by Zach Freeman (24 pts).

[diehardfan]

The Wheaton announcers didn't really have any room to be complaining out the refs, Raymond was getting away with a lot all game until the end when they finally called a couple on him.  

I hate to say it, but the Wheaton broadcasters this year are not only awful, they're unprofessional homers. I miss Holmgren.

[Titan Q]

The battle for the final two spots in the CCIW tourney is getting very interesting...

Augustana 9-2
Elmhurst 7-3

Wheaton 6-4 (@ IWU, Millikin, @ Elmhurst, @ Carthage)
Carthage 5-5 (North Central, North Park, @ Millikin, Wheaton)
North Park  5-6 (@ Elmhurst, @ Carthage, IWU)
North Central  4-6  (@ Carthage, Elmhurst, @ Augustana, IWU)
Ill. Wesleyan  3-7 (Wheaton, Augustana, @ North Park, @ North Central)

Millikin 2-8 


Millikin is out of the race, but everyone in that cluster of 5 is still alive.  I like Carthage for the #3, but #4 could come down to a 7-7 tie-breaker.