MBB: Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association

[sac]

Alma 65 Hope 64 F

Alma outscored Hope 19-3 the last 8 minutes of the game.  Kleiver tear drop in the last 10 wins it.  Hope ominously repeated their season long struggles from the arc and FT from last year.  Fix that, fix everything.

Preston Granger did not play for Hope, and about 5 or 6 others were not available due to protocols.


Hope:  Beckman 11, Bikus 11, George 10, Thomas 10, Lilja 8
Alma:  Kleiver 23, Williamson 10, Rake 10


Hope at Calvin Saturday at 3pm

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Yeah, 1-6 from the FT line is not going to cut it - not only the poor shooting but only 6 attempts. Did see some good work from several guys who haven't played many minutes in the past, but that 7 min scoreless stretch felt like nobody wanted to step up. Obviously with multiple guys out - including several starters from last year it was going to be tough.

No time to worry about this one, in to Calvin tomorrow

[TUAngola]

Final from Adrian:  Trine 59 Adrian 49

Yikes...this one was u...g...l...y.    Only good thing was the "W" for the boys in blue.  Teams combined for  47 turnovers, with Adrian having 29 of them.  I can't fault our defense as we had 15 steals and took numerous charges, but the offensive fluidity of the past 3 Thunder games was nonexistant.  The difference in the game was that Nick Bowman plays for Trine and not Adrian.

Trine:  Bowman 28, Cox 12
Adrian:  Pelham 18, Warrick 14     

[sac]

Hope 79  Calvin 77  F

Hope pulls out what was a very well played game for the most part and ground down into two dog tired teams just trying to survive.  Both teams had multiple chances in the last 4 minutes to control the game.

Hope:  Granger 25, Dykhouse 16, Thomas 14, George 11
Calvin:  Paul 23, Shymanski 23, Egekeze 18


<shrug>

[RuleBritannia]

Albion 95, Olivet 85, F

After this game I just wanted to put on a blindfold because my eyes felt tired from the over-stimulation of trying to follow the action and pace of this contest. In a game that features 167 possession, Albion's efficient scoring (1.19 PPP) was enough to keep Olivet at arms length for most of the contest. A tight first half saw the Brits easing into a 6 point halftime lead. Albion took control early in the 2nd, though Olivet cut it to single digits 2 or 3 times, they weren't able to get much closer than that.

Albion's Cortez Garland continued to impress scoring 37 points on 13-22 shooting, including 4-6 from deep, and 7-10 FTs. MJ Barnes also continued his sharp shooting with a 5-9 night from downtown with a 2nd on team 17 points. Caden Ebeling had an uncharacteristically off night shooting only 4-10, but still managed 11 points. Albion's hot shooting allowed them to hold off a game Comets squad that they struggled to defend for much of the game. If and when the shooting stroke abandons them, I fear the Britons may be in for a rude awakening, as their overall defense and defensive rebounding continue to need improvement. Albion also struggled to deal with Olivet's press for stretches of the second half. Only 4 of their 12 turnovers occurred in the first. Quinton Armstrong also returned to the Britons roster. He only played 4 minutes, and probably needs to work into game shape, but adding another quality big gives Albion another piece they can try to work in to help their defense and rebounding, and turn to for scoring if the jumpers aren't falling.

The past two years under Sam Hargraves Olivet has looked like the best team at the Y. They have length, they have quickness. They can make circus shots and deep 3s, but their overall cohesion seems a bit discombobulated. I'm not sure how many games this team will win, but they're going to make more than one MIAA coach reach for the antacid. Eddie Thigpen is a match-up nightmare, scoring 15 points on 7-12 shooting. Delbert Redfield also made an impressive impact coming off the bench to sink 5-6 3 pointers to tie Thigpen fro the team lead with 15 points.

Albion will host Hope on Monday in what should be an interesting test for both squads, especially coming on short rest.

[pointlem]

Random morning-after thoughts on Hope vs. Calvin:

• As Sac reported, it was a well-played game, marked by great first half shooting and few turnovers by both teams, and a down-to-the wire finish (the sort of game that, even when my team has lost, I've said was a great game).
• With Emmett Warners still out, Calvin's scoring came from its starting five, with only 5 points from its bench.
• Has Thad Shymanski always been that good--or is he a greatly improved player during his Calvin years?
• Uchenna Egekeze has a great future and will be fun--for Calvin fans--to watch for the next four years.
• Evan Thomas' rebounding and drives to the basket, and Preston Granger's skill at rotating with his back to the basket make me wonder if either would like to use that extra year of eligibility.
• In the first moments of his college career Noah Hedrick drains a 3-point shot . . . enabling Hope to win by 2 . . . against Calvin . . . a memory he can take to his old age.

[Flying Dutch Fan]

The stats from yesterday's rivalry game tell an interesting story. Calvin lead in several categories that might typically point to victory, but were overcome really by one thing, the free throw line.

Calvin shot 8% better on FG than Hope (48.6% vs 40.3%).
Calvin made 7 more 2pt FG and 2 more 3pt FG than Hope
Calvin out rebounded Hope 43-40
Calvin had 23 assists while Hope had 10
Calvin had 8 blocks while Hope had 3

Hope had 6 TO while Calvin had 11 (pretty good numbers for both teams)

Hope was 23-31 on FT. Calvin was 1-5.   

Hope's Friday loss to Alma was similar in that it was a close game (65-64) with a large FT difference (Alma was 15-21 while Hope was 1-6). Now I'm sure some may point to the officiating in these games, but I believe in both games the team that more aggressively attacked the basket earned those additional trips to the line.

[wiz]

Now I'm sure some may point to the officiating in these games...

I thought the officiating was a "flop".

[Flying Dutch Fan]

Now I'm sure some may point to the officiating in these games...

I thought the officiating was a "flop".

That was ridiculous - the call not your post

[ziggy]

Now I'm sure some may point to the officiating in these games...

I thought the officiating was a "flop".

It was fitting how the winning points were scored as FDF is correct in pointing out it is easy to see where the difference in this game ultimately was. Now before I get labeled as one complaining about the officiating I absolutely do not blame officiating in any way. As I watched the game I thought Hope's takes to the basket were much more forceful and effective in drawing call whereas Calvin's drives resulted in many more floaters and baby hooks. Calvin missed at least two front ends on 1-and-1s in the second half so that 1-of-5 at the free throw line was effectively a 1-of-7.

Calvin was really trying to hang on defensively down the stretch with both Paul and Katje in foul trouble. Maybe it is partly missing Emmett Warners but that pressed Marcus Bult into more action and he just does not look ready to me. Him going 0-for-3 on three pointers did not help and he's now 0-for-10 on such shots this season. Maybe don't do that anymore. Still, there were a lot of important minutes effectively played by newcomers and that is encouraging.

I would still pick Calvin in a seven game series but Hope took game one.

[sac]

Hope played zone for a significant portion of the game.  Zone's generally equal fewer fouls.

[doc]

Random morning-after thoughts on Hope vs. Calvin:

• As Sac reported, it was a well-played game, marked by great first half shooting and few turnovers by both teams, and a down-to-the wire finish (the sort of game that, even when my team has lost, I've said was a great game).
• With Emmett Warners still out, Calvin's scoring came from its starting five, with only 5 points from its bench.
• Has Thad Shymanski always been that good--or is he a greatly improved player during his Calvin years?
• Uchenna Egekeze has a great future and will be fun--for Calvin fans--to watch for the next four years.
• Evan Thomas' rebounding and drives to the basket, and Preston Granger's skill at rotating with his back to the basket make me wonder if either would like to use that extra year of eligibility.
• In the first moments of his college career Noah Hedrick drains a 3-point shot . . . enabling Hope to win by 2 . . . against Calvin . . . a memory he can take to his old age.

Been watching Thad since freshman year high school, and he has always been a great shooter, but his all around game is significantly improved. But it’s a sneaky good—sometimes he seems to be moving in slow motion, and suddenly he is scooping a shot underneath his defender at the rim, and you wonder how he did that.

[KnightSlappy]

Random morning-after thoughts on Hope vs. Calvin:

• As Sac reported, it was a well-played game, marked by great first half shooting and few turnovers by both teams, and a down-to-the wire finish (the sort of game that, even when my team has lost, I've said was a great game).
• With Emmett Warners still out, Calvin's scoring came from its starting five, with only 5 points from its bench.
• Has Thad Shymanski always been that good--or is he a greatly improved player during his Calvin years?
• Uchenna Egekeze has a great future and will be fun--for Calvin fans--to watch for the next four years.
• Evan Thomas' rebounding and drives to the basket, and Preston Granger's skill at rotating with his back to the basket make me wonder if either would like to use that extra year of eligibility.
• In the first moments of his college career Noah Hedrick drains a 3-point shot . . . enabling Hope to win by 2 . . . against Calvin . . . a memory he can take to his old age.

Been watching Thad since freshman year high school, and he has always been a great shooter, but his all around game is significantly improved. But it's a sneaky good—sometimes he seems to be moving in slow motion, and suddenly he is scooping a shot underneath his defender at the rim, and you wonder how he did that.

I think Thad spent most of his freshman year on JV but then started 25 games as a sophomore and averaged 10 pts per game. He was on track to clear the 1,000 point threshold this season, but probably end up in the 900's due to the shortened season. He's gotten better in these three years, but he's been something like this good the whole time.

[RuleBritannia]

Hope 85, Albion 79, F

Hope has come a long way since, uh, Friday night when they couldn't find any offense in the last 7 minutes against Alma. Getting Preston Granger back obviously has something to do with that, but Tyler George's emergence has been a huge lift, as has Evan Thomas improved play. For the last year, Thomas was the person for Hope that really scared me when he had the ball, and he's starting to put that together for a whole game. Between Thomas' and George's ability, and Granger's ability to pick his spots to score efficiently, and Hope has a trio that can win them some games. And for the third time in three games Hope got out for to a double digit lead in the second half. But for the second straight game Hope was able to outlast a determined comeback effort to eke out a win.

For Albion, I don't want to say I told you so. Albion had survived Olivet by efficient shooting, especially from deep. The Brits ran into a far more organized defensive effort by Hope, and weren't able to find nearly as many good shots. Thus, the team that had been hitting nearly 47% of their threes, hit only 5 of 17 (29.4%) in this game. That's not an atrocious number, and indeed Albion's offense was probably good enough to win, but their defensive issues reared their ugly head once again. Hope is turning into a good offensive team, and hitting 8 of 14 from deep (57.4%) probably represents some Dutch good fortune. But Hope shot 57% from 2 as well, most of those layups by Preston Granger off dump off passes by dribble penetrators, or the ball handlers getting all the way to the rim on those drives. The biggest difference in this game statistically, other than shooting percentage, was Hope's 10 point advantage in points in the paint (which also helps to explain the difference in shooting percentage). If Albion can't keep the ball out of the key on drives, they're going to struggle to beat most of the better teams in the league.

Congratulations to Hope on a well fought victory, I think their first at Kresge since 2018? I'm just glad it doesn't count in the conference standings. 

[sac]

Hope 84  Albion 79  F

Would you believe Hope led wire to wire in this one.  Just an overall strong performance from Hope.  Had the same feel as Saturday, a big crowd on the road might have turned the result to the home team in the last few minutes.  Hope hangs on ugly again.

Hope:  Thomas 24, Granger 24, George 20
Albion:  Ebeling 25, Garland 23,  Perry 11

Garland was off tonight, RIP to anyone trying to check that guy this year.  Overall the Brits at least tonight looked to be missing a little something that made them special last year.  The MIAA looks pretty tight at the top could go a lot of different ways.