MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[KnightSlappy]

Brad Schnyders reckless style that has actually served him very well this year got him into trouble more than a few times today.  turnovers, bad shot selection, etc.  

Yeah, but Brad also seemed like the only Knight on the floor who was interested in playing with energy at several points in the game. I'll take a few TO's and tough shots from a guy who's willing to take it to the hole.

How long has Pat Stegeman been a ref?  I hadn't seen him ref before.  Even though he seemed to be fair, it brought back memories of how I really, really, really, really, really dislike him. 

At a crucial point in the game, Andre Evans, Olivet's talented pt guard was called for an intentional foul on a fast break.  He responded immediately following the free throws by ridiculously overplaying a handcheck defense and immediately getting tagged for another foul.  He then responded the next play by playing defense with his hands clasped behind his back, almost to mock the refs.  Not exactly the leadership Olivet needed at that point of the game from their floor general. 

The officiating was a bit of an adventure at times, for both teams. From my vantage point, the intentional foul on Andre Evans was terrible. Sure, he made quite a bit of contact, but he was certainly going for the ball to prevent the easy layup. No malice intended.

Much of the game seemed to be the classic "let lots of contact go.... and then call something... then let more go... then whistle something random"

[arena]

[quote author

From my vantage point, the intentional foul on Andre Evans was terrible.

From my vantage point, it was an intentional foul.

looked intentional to me as well.  I didn't see him playing the ball at all.

[ziggy]

looked intentional to me as well.  I didn't see him playing the ball at all.

That is such a tough call to make in general. If you're going to foul you have to make sure the shooter doesn't convert the layup. Whether the call was right or wrong, I know I would have hated it if it was called against my team.

[ziggy]

Glad to escape today with a W.  Down 17-4 out of the gates, it looked like the Knights left all their energy on the floor Wed night.  Crucial to close the gap to 5 at half and then came out of the locker room after halftime on fire.  Some thoughts:

McClary is a really really good player.  My front runner to win MIAA MVP this year.  

He certainly deserves to be in the discussion. Right now Bunn, Mantel and McClary are all clear cut first teamers with the final standings probably playing a big role in deciding who ultimately wins the MVP.

Brad Schnyders reckless style that has actually served him very well this year got him into trouble more than a few times today.  turnovers, bad shot selection, etc.  

Perhaps, but that first half would have been even uglier without him. I thought he was the biggest spark plug in digging out of the 13 point deficit.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Looks like GVW reads Posting up....he took my advice with three min left in the game and put Jared Mysliwiec as point.... looked good.  Other than the thumbs up to the refs.  Way to go Jared.

I seriously doubt he does that - and Jared's thumbs up to the ref was given immediately after Hope tied up the ball, and Jared was signaling a jump ball in the officials direction, totally a natural reaction.

All in all today was a good effort by the Dutchmen.  Coming off a loss at Calvin, a win, along with some hot shooting, and a true team effort (34 baskets with 24 assists) is exactly what Hope needed.

[sac]

Halftime in Kzoo

Kzoo 31 Adrian 28

Kzoo was down 6 early and had 21-2 run and led by 13 at one point.

[goodknight]

Calvin's shooting touch, which was so deftly effective on Wednesday night against the Dutchmen, went south today -- especially in the first half.  I didn't count all the missed puppies, but it had to be a half-dozen or more this afternoon.
As others have noted, McClary is a superb player -- but I don't understand why the Knights didn't double down on him in the late stages of the game.  Evans had cooled off by then, so make him launch a three instead of seeing McClary drop in bucket after bucket in the paint.
The Comets have another budding star in Jennings.  He's a very nice-looking freshman who plays with intelligence and composure, not always a hallmark of Olivet basketball.
As for the officiating team, it seemed to me that the two Hope grads pretty much let John Creek call the game today.  I know a lot of Calvin fans really, really, really, really dislike Todd Geerlings, but I don't have any issues with him, especially when he  swallows his whistle.  This was my first look at Stegeman since he wore the orange and blue, and he was far more impressive in those colors than in the black and white stripes.  Still sports the butchwax flat-top do.
It wasn't pretty, but it's good to be 2-0 against Hope and Olivet, and holding serve at the VNA.

[sac]

The Comets have another budding star in Jennings.  He's a very nice-looking freshman who plays with intelligence and composure, not always a hallmark of Olivet basketball.

Jennings is Jr. eligible player, he's a JC transfer from Muskegon CC.

[goodknight]

The Comets have another budding star in Jennings.  He's a very nice-looking freshman who plays with intelligence and composure, not always a hallmark of Olivet basketball.

Jennings is Jr. eligible player, he's a JC transfer from Muskegon CC.

Thanks, sac, for the correction. 

[sac]

Kzoo 65 Adrian 61

Prepolec 14, Clark 13, Fishman 12 for the Hornets

Jovon Mosley with 27 (newsflash this kid can play), Ramsey 13

Kzoo hits and misses more than a couple FT's in the final minute to eventually seal it.
......a mild upset perhaps?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standings  + for road win/ - for home loss

Albion 2-0     +2
Calvin 2-0       0
Kzoo 2-0      +1
Hope 1-1       0
Adrian 1-1      0
Alma 0-2       -1
Olivet 0-2      -1
Trine 0-2       -1

Next week's action

Wednesday, January 13
Calvin at Trine, 7:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo at Albion, 7:30 p.m.
Alma at Adrian, 7:30 p.m.
Olivet at Hope, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, January 16
Trine at Olivet, 7:30 p.m.
Kalamazoo at Hope, 3 p.m.
Albion at Alma, 3 p.m.
Adrian at Calvin, 3 p.m.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Stinger must be on cloud 9

The Hornets start the league 2-0

[goodknight]

Stinger must be on cloud 9

The Hornets start the league 2-0

After a celebratory beverage or two from Bell's Brewery, I imagine Stinger will elevate to Cloud Ten, and deal with you then.

[sac]

Stinger must be on cloud 9

The Hornets start the league 2-0

The Hornets have quietly put together some good defensive numbers against a pretty challenging schedule, they just haven't won much.  They've really struggled on offense, but the MIAA doesn't appear to be very good on the defensive end of things this year.

[Pat Coleman]

Thanks for the note, good tidbit for the front page.

[HopeConvert]

A pretty solid performance by the Dutchmen today. All year I've thought that Hope hasn't been able to find someone to take the leadership role left by Jesse Reimink. Today and the second half of the Calvin game it has become apparent that Peter Bunn is starting to take on that role, which is as it should be as he is Hope's most skilled player. This could augur well.

I thought Snuggeruud turned a bit of a corner in the second half after sitting a good part of the first one. Once he realizes it's not enough for him merely to start, he could become an important contributor. I also am quite fond of Mysliwiec's game.

Good to have Stinger back. I missed him.