MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[Saint-Paul]

Saints shuffle the starting line up again and come up close but with no cigar.  Saints lose to Wentworth 60- 56, in a sloppy game full of missed 3 point shots and turnovers.  Both teams shot the ball poorly and did not take care of the basketball.  I was wondering how the Saints would respond tonight after getting blown out by MIT on Tuesday, and I guess the answer was to force shots, force passes, and foul the opponents.  In spite of the poor play, Saints still held a 47 -41 advantage with 6 minutes left in the game.  Through a series of questionable shots and turnovers the Saints turned a six point lead into a four point loss very quickly to end the game.  After not full court pressing MIT, I was hoping that a new game plan would emerge for the Saints the rest of the season.  That hope was short lived, as the Saints came out pressing again against Wentworth.  Wentworth was not shooting the lights out, there was no reason to press this team.  Saints travel to J & W on Saturday,  a team noted for running up the score against weaker opponents.  If the Saints try to full court press that team it could be a forty point loss.

[Falcons 25]

A.M.C.- 91
Mitchell- 81

Never a game! Albertus won this game based on a + 12 rebounding advantage, which covered for their
poor shooting % from the field.
Excellent games for: Ryan Pittman (23 pts.) & Amir Maddred (13 pts./ 5 rebounds)- excellent shooting %!!
J. Walters- 22 pts./24 rebounds!

A.M.C. has to RUN THEIR OFFENSE CONSISTENTLY to generate better movement w/o the ball & create opportunities
for better shots!!! Otherwise their shot selection, when they freelance is AWEFUL!

Hanif Balal started for Tyreek Perkins & I though did a credible job. Damien Grant, aka The Wilby Willow, played a lot
more tonight! Keep playing him, Mitch.

Next game: @ Norwich on Saturday @ 1pm. (Norwich is better, but this should not be a close game!)

[Falcons 25]

FALCONS OVER CADETS!

Good points for the Falcons:

1. They won.
2. Rebounded well.
3. Big 3 had good games- Walters, Jones & Pittman.

Bad news for Falcons:

1. SIX TEAM ASSISTS! (4 by Perkins & ZERO by PITTMAN!!!)
2. CENTER POSITION IS A PROBLEM!! (despite 10/5 pts./rebounds for Amir Maddred!!!)
3. BALL MOVEMENT IS HORRIBLE!  (RUN YOU OFFENSE)

New Jersey City vs Falcons on 12/16/17 at THE NEST! (They`re undefeated!)

[Saint-Paul]

Wild game in Rhode Island today as J&W defeat the Saints 76 - 69.  Both teams came out full court pressing, which resulted in a lot of transition play, quick shots, lay ups, dunks, and very little defense. Saints tried to catch J&W by surprise with another new starting line up but it didn't work and the Wildcats jumped on the Saints 20 - 9 in the first 10 minutes of the game. J&W relaxed with the big lead and the Saints chipped away until the game was tied at halftime.  J&W again exploded to start the second half but as they subbed the same thing happened, the Saints made a couple three's, a couple lay ups and were right back in the game 64 - 70 with 2 minutes to play.  Saints had the ball down six points, and called time out.  Saints came out of the time out, dribbled around trying to set up their play and the shot clock expired.  Apparently, none of the Saints assistant coaches looked at the shot clock during the time out.  A critical turn over at the wrong time.  J&W looked long and athletic with a dominate big man in the paint, but their outside shooting was questionable. J&W scored most of their points either in transition or from offensive rebounds, not off set plays. Saints finish the first semester with a 1 - 8 record.  At least they got that one win.

[Falcons 25]

WOW!  Jersey.City.State: 81
           A.M.C.               : 80

Falcons handed this game "giftwrapped" to Jersey City by missing 12 FREE THROWS!
Combined with 19 TURNOVERS, THAT was all she wrote!
Even with the above, it took a Trey at the buzzer to win. (It was a good hoop, but the guy was on the line....!)

Good points for the Falcons:  16 assists & balanced scoring.

Next game , after the Break, is home against an improved Suffolk University!

[irapthor]

WOW!  Jersey.City.State: 81
           A.M.C.               : 80

Falcons handed this game "giftwrapped" to Jersey City by missing 12 FREE THROWS!
Combined with 19 TURNOVERS, THAT was all she wrote!
Even with the above, it took a Trey at the buzzer to win. (It was a good hoop, but the guy was on the line....!)

Good points for the Falcons:  16 assists & balanced scoring.

Next game , after the Break, is home against an improved Suffolk University!

Video will clearly dispute he was NOT on the line. It is online if you'd like to see for yourself.

https://twitter.com/NJCUAthletics/status/942169564053430272

[Falcons 25]

clearly? If his toe is on the line when he jumps, its a two!
Regardless, A.M.C. lost this by missing a ton of free throws.

[irapthor]

clearly? If his toe is on the line when he jumps, its a two!
Regardless, A.M.C. lost this by missing a ton of free throws.

Watch the video. He was 9 inches behind the line. And he got fouled on the inbounds play. It's plain as day.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

It was the first thing I watched - it wasn't even close to the line.  The one thing I had to check was if his other foot came down after contact, but it doesn't appear that was the case.  Either way, the refs took time to confer and get the call as right as possible without replay.

That's NJCU's second game winner this season, I believe.  Pretty good luck so far.

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

clearly? If his toe is on the line when he jumps, its a two!
Regardless, A.M.C. lost this by missing a ton of free throws.

I've watched that shot a dozen times... he was well past the line when he shot the ball. Not sure what you were looking at, honestly.

[irapthor]

It was the first thing I watched - it wasn't even close to the line.  The one thing I had to check was if his other foot came down after contact, but it doesn't appear that was the case.  Either way, the refs took time to confer and get the call as right as possible without replay.

That's NJCU's second game winner this season, I believe.  Pretty good luck so far.

This team has a lot of heart...it's impressive to see..

I also am really enjoying the rivalry with Albertus...we've played each other 4 times and have split the 4 meetings.

[Ferraro13]

He's behind the line, and I'm an albertus fan. Plus don't we all know whatever Dave says is right anyways? Rivalry has def been fun with NJCU

[Falcons 25]

Enough already! A.M.C. blew the game on the free throw line!
Now on to IMPORTANT STUFF... THE GNAC games!
Albertus plays Suffolk & Mt. Ida on 1/6 & 1/9 respectively.
Both are GOOD TEAMS, especially Mt. Ida! They have the best offense
in the conference so far!
I hope we have Ajen English right away...but something tells me we may
have to wait until classes resume! (?)
Don`t be surprised if he`s our new point guard!!!

[Falcons 25]

BREAKING NEWS:  Mason Jones has left the AMC basketball team! A`Jen English is on the roster
& can play immediately!! (I was wondering how Jones & English would be able to exist on the same team!)
Maybe now, our team assists will get up to an exceptable level (16 per game!)
GAMETIME: Saturday @ 1pm @ THE NEST! (Suffolk University)

[D3HoopJunkie]

Been away from the boards for a while over the holiday break but back now and ready for the second half push! Conference play kicks into high gear and I look for this Falcons team to be much improved compared to the 1st half. We are without a doubt still the team to beat in the GNAC and while we finish the first half at 5-3 overall this team SHOULD and could easily be 7-1. But that is behind us now and it is time to look forward. 

Falcons 25 - Tough news regarding Mason Jones, while I feel for him as a person I must say that he just wasnt the right fit for this Falcons team. No one can deny his athletic ability and at times scoring offense but he just could never find his niche on this team. I hate to use the word but from a basketball standpoint he was a bit to selfish for his own good. He dribbled way to much and did not understand the concept of team basketball. Didn't provide much help defensively either.  I think if he actually played within Oliver's system he could score points with ease but instead he forced the issue most of the time when he played which left his teammates in a tough position to even get involved.

Sometimes when you lose a player your team actually gets better and I think this is 100% going to be the case here. Jahmerikah Green Younger returns today after missing the 1st half of the season and I really feel like he will provide a huge boost to this team. He has a high basketball IQ and is not afraid to make the extra pass. He is also an outstanding 3 point shooter which we missed desperately in the first 8 games and is a much better defender as well. He will make an immediate impact today and my guess is he will actually start today in place of Jones.

Pittman, Perkins, Younger, JQ and Maddred will be the starting 5 today and for the rest of the season going forward.

I also heard over the break that A'Jen English is more then excited to get back on the court and play organized basketball again. I've been told that this kid is as good as advertised and will make great contributions to this team going forward. He has a scorers mentality with amazing handles and can get to the basket at will but also knows how to distribute the basketball and get multiple assists. I was told he related a lot to Eian Davis. Great handles, probably not as good of a passer as Eian but a much better shooter with the same ability to get to the hoop. If you ask me that is a pretty good comparison! As talented as he is (and we will find out today) I still think he will come off the bench for this season. You simply cant expect to come in right away and learn Oliver's offense essentially overnight.  That being said I think this will be a good thing the for him as a player and for the Falcons as a team. To have a player of his caliber come off the bench is something that not a lot of teams can say they have.

We'll find out in another couple hours! It's go time now Falcons! Lets GOOOOO!!!!