MBB: Great Northeast Athletic Conference

[D3HoopJunkie]

Disappointing loss on the road this past Saturday for the Falcons as they fell to Johnson and Wales 75-70 in OT.

I was not able to attend the game nor did I catch the webcast but just quickly glancing at the box score it looks like the Falcons came out of the gate flat. They went on a run and did a nice coming all the way back from 20 down to tie the game up late in the 2nd half but once again faded in overtime. To the eye this team has been struggling to find their identity on the offense end of the court. We are starting to really see the inexperience that we were all concerned about in the beginning of the season.

Still no Mason Jones or Grant Ellis, I think we can all agree that the season is long and its certainly about how you finish not how you start. However, locking up home court advantage in the GNAC tourney is crucial. Hopefully with another 3 games slated for this week we will see at least 1 or hopefully both return to action.

Still very excited to see how we finish out the year and what the new year will bring for this team.

[Saint-Paul]

MIT is playing back to back GNAC teams, Lasell on Monday, and Emmanuel on Tuesday night.  That is a very strange schedule, unless it is a typo.  I guess the MIT coach has no fear of playing the Saints on one days rest with no game prep.  MIT probably has to fit the Saints game into their schedule before exams and  doesn't mind playing them even without any rest.  Anything to keep the Saints on the schedule.  Let's see if fatigue is a factor in the game.

[falcons2010]

Hey Guys,
I agree with your assessment Junkie, it's a long season and how a team plays at the end of the year is most crucial; especially in a one bid league like the GNAC. This team is a good not great team. They have the talent to finish in the top 4. They need to work on shot selection, finishing around the basket,  playing better team defense, and of course free throw shooting. You never want to lose to your rivals but losing to them in December on the road in overtime isn't the worst loat.

Now...... I would like to see what this team is when Ellis and Jones finally play. Having good players is nice hut if they don't play it is useless. I have seen Ellis and love his shooting ability although he doesn't do much else in terms of creating or defense. From what I hear about Jones he is a scorer and plays strong defense. These two guys help the team in two big ways. 1. They are experienced and have played at higher levels. In a close game they should be able to use that experiencenor to make a play to stop a run without needing to use a timeout.2. They creat a second until that will be able to stretch leads. With their return and maybe a recruit, you have guys like pittman, green younger, mitchell, and grant as the second unit. These guys can score and could turn a 4 point lead into a double digit lead.

At this point, I don't expect to see Jones until after the break and I gotta think that there is another issue with Ellis. Maybe eligibility or discipline.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons2010

With regards to Ellis, I really dont think it is an eligibility issue. I suppose it could be a discipline thing but I have heard from multiple people at the games that he had mono which I know could be hard to recover from. I never experienced that personally but it does drain you both physically and mentally

[falcons2010]

We'll hopefully he gets better. I would be interested to know if he is practicing; gives us an idea of his likelihood of returning soon.

[Saint-Paul]

Just watched the MIT - Lasell game with MIT winning 57 - 45 .  This score is very misleading. Lasell was winning most of the game, holding a 3 point lead with 2 minutes to play when MIT went on a 10 - 0 run to ice the game.  MIT looked to have a slight size advantage but Lasell looked a step quicker, so it was mostly an even game.  MIT did not dominate this game as one might have expected, Lasell was very competitive. 
    Emmanuel just might have a chance to be in the game on Tuesday night because MIT is not as strong as in the past.  MIT attempts a lot of 3 point shots which is not good news for Emmanuel, because the Saints defense gives up a lot of wide open threes.  Emmanuel's style of play, wild fast breaks up and down the court may give MIT trouble on the second night of back to back games. We shall see.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons take on Newbury College tonight 7PM at the Nest. Newbury has yet to win a game this season. I like the Falcons in this one. I think they will respond well after the disappointing loss on Saturday at Johnson and Wales.

I like the Falcons in this one big!

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons in total control at the half over Newbury

67-30

[Saint-Paul]

Well, that answers the question of why MIT was not afraid to schedule Emmanuel as the second team of back to back games.  Saints get crushed by MIT, 50 - 89.  This one was over early, with the Engineers holding a 33 - 13 advantage with 10 minutes gone in the first half.  Saints tried to confuse MIT with their fast break, wild shot selection, game style, but MIT ran a very controlled, methodical, offense and knocked down many wide open threes.  At one point in the first half the MIT announcer called the Emmanuel fast break a " frantic paced " offense.  I like that descriptive phrase of the Emmanuel offensive system and will have to " borrow " it for future posts.  Saints used another new starting line up again tonight, but the same old result. Saints leading scorer was held to zero points by the smothering MIT man to man defense. 

[7express]

I nominate Saint-Paul for the new Emmanuel head coach! 

[D3HoopJunkie]

Falcons handled Newbury with ease last night.......Final score Falcons 112 Newbury 67

Not much to say about this one as the Falcons dominated the game all night long.

Mitchell College comes to town on Thursday for what has turned in to a very nice little in state rivalry between these two teams. Both coaches have a ton of respect for each other and its nice to see this game happen every year. Falcons have dominated Mitchell over the last few seasons but Mitchell always tends to play us hard. Should be a good contest

[D3HoopJunkie]

I nominate Saint-Paul for the new Emmanuel head coach!

I second this motion! 

[Saint-Paul]

I was thinking today about the game last night and what it says about the state of the men's basketball program at Emmanuel, and about how other schools and other coaches view the Saints program.  MIT schedules the Saints as the second team of back to back games, plays them with no rest, no game prep, beats them by 40 points, and then shakes hands and wishes them a Merry Christmas.  I hope the Emmanuel AD was at the game last night and saw what other coaches around the league see as obvious.

[D3HoopJunkie]

Mitchell is 0-4 on the young season against some very sub par competition. Overall talent and experience will win out in this game. Much like the Newbury game, I like the Falcons in this one big!

Looking ahead a little to next Saturday when the Falcons take on New Jersey City, who is currently recieving votes in the D3Hoops Top 25. This should be an excellent contest between to very good programs who have a lot of similarities in the way they play the game. I am starting to think we wont see Mason Jones until the second half of the season but something tells me that he is really going to want to play in this game. Being from New Jersey and all I am sure he will have some family and friends at that game so it will be interesting to see if he is able to play or not

[D3HoopJunkie]

Wowwwww!!!

Mason Jones ladies and gentleman. This young man just threw down the best dunk I have ever seen at the Nest and one of the best dunks I have seen at the D3 level. The rumors were 100% accurate haha. Small sample size but so far he is one of the best athletes I have seen at Albertus. And that truly is saying a lot.

I hope 7Express took our advice and scooped this kid up. Unbeleivable player who not only can get to the basket at will but he also has drained two 3 pointers already


Albertus is up 56 to 41 at the half