≈ Saturday, December 31, 2005
Ringing out the old
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LAFAYETTE at Fordham, Noon: It's Lafayette's first game in 10 days. Can the Leopards top their former leaguemates from the Bronx? Not out of the question. The Rams, who lost in double overtime to Holy Cross earlier this season, are 3-8 and riding a two-game losing streak. Most of those losses have come on the road, though. Fordham has only played twice (both losses) thus far in cozy (the polite way of saying antiquated) Rose Hill Gym.
Fordham does have a win at Virginia. And it also has 6-2 senior guard Jermaine Anderson. If Lafayette is to win this one, somebody will need to make sure to keep a hand in Anderson's face. The Rams' leading scorer (16.3 ppg) is a 50-percent shooter from the field so far this season. That is impressive for a guard, more so when you realize more than half of his 120 shots have come from 3-point range, where he has been just as deadly as he is inside the arc (33-66). And don't foul the guy, he is 26-29 (89.7 percent) from the line.
Sophomore Bryant Dunston (6-8), last season's Atlantic 10 rookie of the year, will pose a challenge inside for the Leopards, who are deep at the guard spots but less so up front. Dunston is averaging 15.6 points, 7.1 rebounds and just under 3 blocks per game.
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Brown at ARMY 1 p.m.: Jim Crews . We were ready to believe that when the Black Knights won at Columbia. Since then, though, they have lost three straight to mediocre DI competition (they do have a win over D3 NY Maritime in that stretch), leaving us less convinced.
A win over 2-8 Brown would be a positive sign. A loss would probably confirm our suspicion that the Columbia game was a fluke. One interesting note: although Brown has been pretty pathetic this season, both their wins have come on the road.
In fairness to Army, they have been without the services of sophomore guard Jarell Brown the last three games. Brown, who has been sidelined with an unspecified stress fracture, was averaging a team-best 13.9 ppg before being shelved. He will not play today. No word on when he might return.
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The Citadel at NAVY 3 p.m.: After the Mids beat Division III Susquehanna Thursday night, Billy Lange told Bill Wagner of , "We always have a postgame prayer and Leonard Green said 'Thank you Lord for getting us back to 5-5."
Now we are pretty sure of two things: 1) God is way too busy with wars, famines and natural disasters to be worrying about who wins a basketball game (besides, wouldn't he side with the David-like Lutheran school against the Goliath from a military academy?) and 2) If Navy needs divine intervention to be at .500 playing an early season schedule that included two D3s, Morgan State, Howard and Brown, then Lange is in the wrong business.
Navy should not need any external help against the Citadel. Yes, the Bulldogs are 6-5. But take a look at the wins. Army (by only 2 points) and Stetson (0-10) are the only DI teams they have beaten. The other wins: Asbury (an NAIA Christian school), Florida Christian, Atlanta Christian (so much for God deciding games, eh?) and Webber International (an NAIA business school).
One Navy note: The junior guard David Rhoiney will undergo reconstructive surgery on his left thumb next week and will miss the remainder of the basketball season. That will have no impact on the Mids rotation. Rhoiney has played in only three games, though he did get a start in the win over Brown.
Rhoiney was the backup at the point last season behind Corey Johnson, who is also out indefinitely with a knee injury. Rhoiney is the second player Lange has lost this week. Lange confirmed earlier this week that 6-8 freshman forward John Bailey has left the team. That appears to leave Navy with 13 healthy bodies, though you never know who the Mids might have stashed on their jayvee squad.
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PL squads gain split
It was a mixed afternoon Friday for Patriot League teams.
In Boston, Holy Cross snapped a three-game losing streak by beating a Jose Juan Barea-less Northeastern. Lehigh was not as fortunate, losing at home to Towson in what can only be categorized as a bad loss.
Holy Cross 59, Northeastern 44 -- It was vintage Holy Cross basketball at Northeastern's Solomon Court, where the Crusaders held Northeastern to 11 first half points en route to a 15-point win.
Scanning the HC game notes and media guide, there is no way of telling if that was a record, but it had to be close. The Crusaders held Northeastern to 4-24 (16.7 percent) shooting in the first half, building a 28-11 lead. Northeastern never got closer the 9 the rest of the way.
of the Telegram & Gazette, the defensive shutdown fulfilled a promise the team made to coach Ralph Willard after an ugly 33-point loss at George Mason, a game in which the Patriots shot 55 percent from the field.
How tough was HC's defense? Marvin Pave, a correspondent for points out:
But for Holy Cross, that hardly matters. It was HC's fifth game in 11 days. In addition to fatigue, the Crusaders have had their share of health problems all season. In fact, Keith Simmons, who has battled cramping problems all season, actually spent the morning in a hospital getting intravenous fluids before coming out and leading all scorers with 15 points.
The IV approach allowed Simmons to play 27 minutes yesterday. The IV's are being used to help Simmons get fully hydrated without the bloating that comes with drinking a lot of fluids.
Kevin Hamilton added 13, including a pair of key jumpers during a 10-3 spurt that came after Northeastern cut HC's lead to 40-31 with 11:30 to play.
Towson 69, Lehigh 66 -- Towson didn't exactly shoot the lights out against the Mountain Hawks, but a 46 percent effort on the road was enough to do the trick against offensively challenged Lehigh, which shot 8-34 (23.5 percent) in the first half. That allowed Towson to build an 11-point lead, 33-22, at the break, which proved a big enough margin to hold up when Lehigh heated up a little after the break.
LaSalle transfer Gary Neal, playing in his thrid game for the Tigers, led Towson with 19 points.
Jose Olivero led all scorers with 24 points on 8-16 shooting.
Towson improved to 4-6 with the win. Lehigh, which saw a modest 4-game home win streak end, is now 5-8.
In Boston, Holy Cross snapped a three-game losing streak by beating a Jose Juan Barea-less Northeastern. Lehigh was not as fortunate, losing at home to Towson in what can only be categorized as a bad loss.
Holy Cross 59, Northeastern 44 -- It was vintage Holy Cross basketball at Northeastern's Solomon Court, where the Crusaders held Northeastern to 11 first half points en route to a 15-point win.
Scanning the HC game notes and media guide, there is no way of telling if that was a record, but it had to be close. The Crusaders held Northeastern to 4-24 (16.7 percent) shooting in the first half, building a 28-11 lead. Northeastern never got closer the 9 the rest of the way.
of the Telegram & Gazette, the defensive shutdown fulfilled a promise the team made to coach Ralph Willard after an ugly 33-point loss at George Mason, a game in which the Patriots shot 55 percent from the field.
How tough was HC's defense? Marvin Pave, a correspondent for points out:
Midway through the first half, during a timeout at Solomon Court, there was a contest during which a person from the crowd made a layup and a free throw.Yes, Northeastern was without Barea, the nation's leader in assists (9.1 per game) who also ranks fourth in scoring (22.8 ppg). Barea has been suffering from tendonitis in his knees and sat this one out, hoping to be halthier for the Huskies' Colonial Athletic Conference matchup Monday with George Mason. And the Huskies coach, Ron Everhart, also sat this one out after being kicked out of Tuesday's loss to Wright State. Under CAA rules an ejection brings an automatic one-game suspension.
That total of 3 points was 1 more than the Huskies had scored to that juncture (it was 15-2, Crusaders). . .
But for Holy Cross, that hardly matters. It was HC's fifth game in 11 days. In addition to fatigue, the Crusaders have had their share of health problems all season. In fact, Keith Simmons, who has battled cramping problems all season, actually spent the morning in a hospital getting intravenous fluids before coming out and leading all scorers with 15 points.
The IV approach allowed Simmons to play 27 minutes yesterday. The IV's are being used to help Simmons get fully hydrated without the bloating that comes with drinking a lot of fluids.
Kevin Hamilton added 13, including a pair of key jumpers during a 10-3 spurt that came after Northeastern cut HC's lead to 40-31 with 11:30 to play.
Towson 69, Lehigh 66 -- Towson didn't exactly shoot the lights out against the Mountain Hawks, but a 46 percent effort on the road was enough to do the trick against offensively challenged Lehigh, which shot 8-34 (23.5 percent) in the first half. That allowed Towson to build an 11-point lead, 33-22, at the break, which proved a big enough margin to hold up when Lehigh heated up a little after the break.
LaSalle transfer Gary Neal, playing in his thrid game for the Tigers, led Towson with 19 points.
Jose Olivero led all scorers with 24 points on 8-16 shooting.
Towson improved to 4-6 with the win. Lehigh, which saw a modest 4-game home win streak end, is now 5-8.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Afternoon delights
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Towson at LEHIGH 1 p.m.: The 3-6 Tigers come into Stabler Arena riding a four-game losing streak after an 86-52 shellacking at the hands of Syracuse. Included in that losing streak is a 74-70 loss at American.
Gary Neal, a 6-4 LaSalle transfer who became eligible at the end of the first semester, has averaged 23.5 ppg for Towson. Senior forward Lawrence Hamm (6-6) averages 17.1 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds.
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HOLY CROSS at Northeastern 3 p.m.: Somebody's losing streak ends this afternoon in Boston. Northeastern comes in having lost two straight to fall to 6-3 on the year. The Crusaders are 5-7 after losing their last three.
The Huskies are led by Jose Juan Barea, a Mid-Major All-America pick last season. Barea averages 22.8 points and a nation-leading 9.1 assists per game.
Barea is not the only Northeastern standout. Shawn James, the America East Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year last season, is a shot blocking machine. James blocked eight shots in Northeastern's last game, a loss to Wright State. The 6-9 sophomore, who had 10 blocks in a game against Cal State Northridge earlier this season, leads the nation in blocks (6.3 per game) and has already shattered Reggie Lewis' school record for blocked shots. In 29 collegiate games he has rejected 193 shots. James also averages 12 points and a team-best 6 rebounds per game.
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Bison are road kill
(Originally posted post game around 1:30 a.m., updated at 8:14 a.m.)
Turnovers, foul trouble and a hot-shooting Santa Clara team were more than Bucknell could overcome in the final of the Cable Car Classic, falling to the host Broncos 77-68.
Santa Clara (7-5) took control of the game with a 14-0 run midway through the first half, building a 37-26 halftime lead. Bucknell never got closer than 5 in the second half.
The Broncos scorched Bucknell's vaunted defense, shooting 55 percent from the field, the best showing by any Bucknell opponent all season. Villanova, which shot 50 percent, is the only other team to shoot better than 44 percent against the Bison.
Bucknell with 16 turnovers, six by point guard Abe Badmus.
Chris McNaughton and Kevin Bettencourt each had 17 for Bucknell. McNaughton was 6-9 from the field, but played only 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Darren Mastropaolo was also limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble and Donald Brown fouled out in 19 minutes of action. Charles Lee also in double figures with 15 for Bucknell.
Bucknell, which has been shooting over 50 percent on the season, shot just 43 percent from the field.
Santa Clara's Travis Niesen, who was named the tournament MVP, led all scorers with 24. Calvin Johnson added 16 before fouling out with 2 minutes to play. Mitch Henke (13) and Brody Angley (11) also in double figures for the Broncos.
Hoop Time's West Coast correspondent. former Bucknell center Tom Welch, filed this report by e-mail:
Turnovers, foul trouble and a hot-shooting Santa Clara team were more than Bucknell could overcome in the final of the Cable Car Classic, falling to the host Broncos 77-68.
Santa Clara (7-5) took control of the game with a 14-0 run midway through the first half, building a 37-26 halftime lead. Bucknell never got closer than 5 in the second half.
The Broncos scorched Bucknell's vaunted defense, shooting 55 percent from the field, the best showing by any Bucknell opponent all season. Villanova, which shot 50 percent, is the only other team to shoot better than 44 percent against the Bison.
Bucknell with 16 turnovers, six by point guard Abe Badmus.
Chris McNaughton and Kevin Bettencourt each had 17 for Bucknell. McNaughton was 6-9 from the field, but played only 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Darren Mastropaolo was also limited to 25 minutes due to foul trouble and Donald Brown fouled out in 19 minutes of action. Charles Lee also in double figures with 15 for Bucknell.
Bucknell, which has been shooting over 50 percent on the season, shot just 43 percent from the field.
Santa Clara's Travis Niesen, who was named the tournament MVP, led all scorers with 24. Calvin Johnson added 16 before fouling out with 2 minutes to play. Mitch Henke (13) and Brody Angley (11) also in double figures for the Broncos.
Hoop Time's West Coast correspondent. former Bucknell center Tom Welch, filed this report by e-mail:
Foul trouble was really the least of it though - it really impacted big men on both sides - and at the worse it was a wash because the game was not won or lost on the inside (although an extra ten minutes from Chris McNaughton would have been nice). The big problem with the foul situation was the fouls that were expected but not called on the guards. Bucknell was never able to adjust to the fact that there would be (hard) contact on every shot. As a result, they stopped taking the ball to the basket. BU's entire backcourt took 13 2-pointers versus 24 3-pointers. And Santa Clara was not packing in their defense.The loss was the second of the season for Bucknell (9-2), their first on the road, and snapped a four-game win streak.
Part of the reason that BU's turnovers were up was because the defense for Santa Clara did not need to help during penetration and BU was trying to force passes when they just should have shot it. It looked like the Bison had learned their lesson at the end of the first half (with McNaughton out). They took the ball strong to the basket and got some good looks (some that didn't drop), but they never followed through. And I think the lack of penetration resulted in the lack of production outside of Chris, Kevin Bettencourt and Charles Lee - none of the other guys ever had easy looks.
Regardless of the above, Santa Clara hit some big shots and BU missed some big shots.
The truth is that this was not a game where Bucknell should have needed big shots.
AU falls, Navy downs a D3
(Originally posted Thursday, 10:30 p.m., updated at 8:11 a.m.)
Vermont 72, American 62 -- Another tale of two halves for AU, which fell behind by 22 in the first half and could never catch up.
This one was decided when Vermont went on a 20-0 run midway through the first half, holding the Eagles scoreless for almost 10 minutes. 20-0 run midway through the first half. The Catamounts shot 77 percent from the floor in the first half while AU shot only 23 percent before the break.
After trailing 38-16 at the break, American tried to make a game of it in the second half. AU scored 46 points in the second half, but could get no closer than 68-59 with 1:37 to go.
Ten UVM players got into the scoring column, led by Kyle Cieplicki's career-high 16 points. The Vermont bench outscored AU's reserves 32-10.
Arvidas Eitutavicius led AU with 20 points. Andre Ingram added 16, 14 after the break, but hit just 5 of 17 field goal attempts.
Paulius Joneliunas started, with Brayden Billbe, who started the first 10 games, averaging just under 10 points while leading the team in rebounds (5.2 rpg), relegated to the bench.
The two big men combined for 6 points and 5 rebounds in 37 minutes of playing time.
Navy 86, Susquehanna University 54 -- Clif Colbert led Navy with 19 points. Greg Spink and Kaleo Kina each added 11 and Carlton Baldwin chipped in with 10 off the bench as Navy romped past their Division III guests.
Vermont 72, American 62 -- Another tale of two halves for AU, which fell behind by 22 in the first half and could never catch up.
This one was decided when Vermont went on a 20-0 run midway through the first half, holding the Eagles scoreless for almost 10 minutes. 20-0 run midway through the first half. The Catamounts shot 77 percent from the floor in the first half while AU shot only 23 percent before the break.
After trailing 38-16 at the break, American tried to make a game of it in the second half. AU scored 46 points in the second half, but could get no closer than 68-59 with 1:37 to go.
Ten UVM players got into the scoring column, led by Kyle Cieplicki's career-high 16 points. The Vermont bench outscored AU's reserves 32-10.
Arvidas Eitutavicius led AU with 20 points. Andre Ingram added 16, 14 after the break, but hit just 5 of 17 field goal attempts.
Paulius Joneliunas started, with Brayden Billbe, who started the first 10 games, averaging just under 10 points while leading the team in rebounds (5.2 rpg), relegated to the bench.
The two big men combined for 6 points and 5 rebounds in 37 minutes of playing time.
Navy 86, Susquehanna University 54 -- Clif Colbert led Navy with 19 points. Greg Spink and Kaleo Kina each added 11 and Carlton Baldwin chipped in with 10 off the bench as Navy romped past their Division III guests.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Afternoon readaround
Bill Wagner at the Annapolis Capital does a good job covering the Naval Academy Midshipmen, but because the paper's Web site does not update until after noon, we often don't get to link to his game stories when we update in the mornings.
This afternoon Wagner checked in with on the Mids that covers everything from Billy Lange's rotation, Corey Johnson's knee, Kaleo Kina's turnovers and Greg Sprink's work habits.
Wagner also had this tidbit on one of the Mids freshman big men:
The Peoria Journal Star has a , a 3.9 student who is 6-5 and shoots the three.
Meanwhile, in Bethlehem, Andre Williams of the Morning Call argues .
This afternoon Wagner checked in with on the Mids that covers everything from Billy Lange's rotation, Corey Johnson's knee, Kaleo Kina's turnovers and Greg Sprink's work habits.
Wagner also had this tidbit on one of the Mids freshman big men:
Meanwhile, Lange confirmed that freshman forward John Bailey has left the team. The 6-foot-8, 221-pound product of Blacksburg, Va., had played in five of nine games and averaged 2.8 minutes.Other clicks of interest:
BU, AU face challenges
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BUCKNELL vs. Santa Clara 11 p.m.:Santa Clara may well be the biggest team Bucknell faces all season. The Broncos starting frontcourt goes 6-7, 6-11, 6-7, with a 6-8 kid and a 6-9 kid as two of the first three off the bench. There's another 6-11 guy on the bench (and a 7-foot transfer who is sitting out this season). The Broncs' leader is Travis Niesen, a 6-7 senior forward who is averaging 19.9 points and 7.2 rebounds. In the first round of the tournament, Niesen went off for 23 points and 14 rebounds against UC-Riverside.
Burley center John Bryant is a handful and a half. The 6-11, 329-pound freshman is averaging over 8 rebounds per game after grabbing 17 against UC-Riverside. For good measure he tossed in 16 points in that win and blocked 6 shots. It will be interesting to see if he is quick and mobile enough to defend Bucknell's Chris McNaughton, who has added a nice step-away-from-the-basket-for-the-short-jumper wrinkle to his game this season.
The other frontcourt starter, 6-7 sophomore Mitch Henke is averaging 10.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.
This will be a real test for the Bison. The Broncos have only been shooting 40 percent from the field as a team, but they have held foes to 37 percent and they have been outrebounding opponents by three per game.
The Broncos are 6-4 overall, 4-1 at home, but it is tough to gauge them by their record/schedule. So far they have beaten the teams they should and lost to the ones you'd expect they would. The six wins came over teams with a combined record of 16-37, including an NAIA and a D-II, both of which have losing records. The only win over a team with an above .500 record was at home over Pacific (6-4). The losses came against teams with a combined record of 35-6, including 9-1 Montana, 7-2 North Carolina and 9-3 Mississippi State.
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AMERICAN at Vermont 7 p.m.: This is not last year's Vermont team. There is no Tom Brennan running the show, no Taylor Coppenrath or T.J. Sorrentine. But the Catamounts are still a pretty good team, especially in Patrick Gym, where their only loss in the last 18 home games was early this season against No. 20 Nevada. That setback came in a season-opening three-game losing streak. Since then UVM has won four of six, the losses coming against a strong Iona team and Pittsburgh of the Big East. Junior Martin Klimes (15.6 ppg) is the only starter back from last season for Vermont. Freshman point guard Mike Trimboli is ranked third in the nation in assists, averaging 7.1 per game.
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Susquehanna at NAVY 7:30 p.m.:Frank Marcinek's Crusaders are a young, 2-7, Division 3 team with a roster filled with freshmen and sophomores. Center Matt Effler is the only senior on the team. He is also the only guy taller than 6-5.
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Bucknell 63, Boston U. 57
(Originally posted 1:14 a.m., updated at 7:57 a.m.)
Bison advance to the final of the Cable Car Classic, where they will face host Santa Clara, over U.C.-Riverside in the other first round game.
Hoop Time correspondent , a former Bucknell center (1993-97), was at the game and filed this report:
Bucknell shot 53.5 perecent (23-43) from the field, including 13-21 (61.9 percent) in the second half. The Bison held the Terriers to 40 percent from the field. That actually is the best anybody other than Villanova has shot against the Bison since Rider hit 43.8 percent in the season opener.
Bison advance to the final of the Cable Car Classic, where they will face host Santa Clara, over U.C.-Riverside in the other first round game.
 Hoop Time correspondent Tom Welch "back in the day." |
Hoop Time correspondent , a former Bucknell center (1993-97), was at the game and filed this report:
Spent the hour long drive home trying to decide between sloppy or lazy as my description of the Bucknell side of things tonight. Reality is, it was neither. Or more correctly, not exclusively either. Credit the Terriers' concerted effort to shut down Kevin Bettencourt for completely negating Bucknell's ability to run their motion offense. I can not remember the last time I have seen a "box and one" in a college game, and while they did not run it all the time, the fact that they did at all showed their strategy. Boston's desire to "take the head off the beast" by removing Kevin from the picture offensively was a very good coaching move except for one problem: Charles Lee was scheduled to play that role tonight.McNaughton finished with 20 points for Bucknell. Lee added 15 and 5 assists.
Granted, this is a bet that I would probably have taken if I were in Boston U's position. You can't stop Chris McNaughton (they couldn't), you can't out execute them (they couldn't), you can't out quick them (you get the picture), so you try to change them. And putting the onus on Charles seemed to be the right thing to do - he has appeared to be the most up and down of the big three so far this year. But you could not tell tonight.
Even with the Terrier's ability to keep Kevin, and to a lesser part, Abe Badmus, out of the motion game, all Bucknell had to out-execute them with their set plays. But given some erratic play by some usual contributors, it took coach a while to configure a substitution pattern that allowed him to keep the execution focused guys on the floor a majority of the time. The times he did looked like a clinic. Bucknell got a quality shot every time they ran a set (particularly the high 1-4 with an on-ball screen). And a fair number of their turnovers were guys giving up seven foot jumpers in an attempt to squeeze the ball in for a lay-up. (Maybe a hangover from the giving season.)
All in all a frustrating game. I guess I jinxed them in my notes from yesterday. From now on, nothing nice about the Bison. Just like you used to do back in the day.
Other notes:
As an "old timer", it was strange to see Bucknell as a home team in a mid-season tournament - I don't think we were a "three" seed too many times in my four years. It was an accomplishment just to not play the home team in the first game (meaning you were not the worst team of the bunch).
Not to give away the farm - but expect Santa Clara to run a lot of baseline exchanges against Bucknell's match-up tomorrow. "Rusty" does not even begin to capture it. I haven't seen people that wide open under the basket since Coach took over the team and tried to teach the forwards all the schemes in a week. Good thing Boston's backcourt could neither identify nor feed the open man in the first half thanks to the on-ball pressure from Bucknell's guards.
Out of a time out, it looked like Coach just said "to hell with it, we're getting Kevin a shot". He came off two screens and caught a forced pass and nailed a somewhat double clutch three over two people. It was enough to make you laugh.
Oh, and when I say Boston could not stop Chris, I really, really mean it. He made it look like I could score on them. (You could have even gone for eight.) He was really impressive.
Donald Brown hit two HUGE ten footers in the second half.
Bucknell shot 53.5 perecent (23-43) from the field, including 13-21 (61.9 percent) in the second half. The Bison held the Terriers to 40 percent from the field. That actually is the best anybody other than Villanova has shot against the Bison since Rider hit 43.8 percent in the season opener.
It is official
Official confirmation from Bucknell that, as reported here last week, the Bison will appear on ESPN's "The Season".
From the :
From the :
The Bucknell men's basketball team will be the subject of two half-hour features as part of ESPN's "The Season - College Basketball" series. The programs are scheduled to air on Jan. 3 at 11 p.m. EST and Jan. 10 at 11 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
Colgate 64, Miss. Valley St. 53
Alvin Reed (13) the only Raider in double figures as Colgate stops its two-game losing streak. Colgate held winless MVS to 26.7 percent shooting from the field.
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Go west young men
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BUCKNELL vs. Boston U. 11 p.m.: Beware the Terriers 4-6 record. All the losses have come to quality opponents. Just look at the list: Michigan, UMass, Duke, George Washington, Rhode Island and Rider (at Rider). BU has a win over a good Harvard team , though none of the other wins came against teams above .500. An Achilles heel might be BU's shooting. They are hitting just 41.6 percent from the floor thus far. But their defense has been strong. Opponents are shooting only 40.1 percent against them.
According to the , Bucknell is the headliner of the tournament. But if the Bison do not come out hard against BU, they could find themselves facing winless UC Riverside in the consolation game tomorrow night. Suffice to say Bucknell best not get caught up in the excitement of the ESPN camera crew along for the trip or looking ahead to Duke.
From the report we received on the team's demeanor during an alumni function last night, that does not appear to be a problem. Our West Coast Correspondent (former Bucknell center Tom Welch) reports the team seemed focused on Boston U.
Reports Welch:
The real impressive thing to me is that all of the guys I spoke with (or overheard) only mentioned one team, Boston University. They did answer questions about Syracuse and talk about going to Durham, but always turned the conversation back to how much they are looking forward to playing Boston University. There is a lot of respect for (the other) BU's defense and a determination to execute against their physicality. Now it is understandable to stick to the talking points when in front of a camera or a coach, but this focus on the next game was across the board, in private and public discussions. I continue to be impressed with their mental toughness and ability to focus on the task at hand.Welch also reported the airlines lost three guys' luggage (since recovered). You can't get those details from the WWLIS, eh?
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COLGATE vs. Mississippi Valley St. 7:30 p.m.: The Delta Devils rank last in the SWAC in scoring and last in scoring defense. Guess that makes it easy to understand why they are 0-8. Swingman Jesse Taylor (6-4) went off for 20 points in a loss to Texas-El Paso in the first round of the Sun Bowl tournament, but that does not mean Colgate should key on him. In two other games this season he has been scoreless and the UTEP game was his first in double figures.Mini-guard Tychicus Snow (5-7) is the only MVS player averaging in double figures-- just barely at 10.3 ppg..
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Ugly night for 'Saders
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Special to The Telegram & Gazette
FAIRFAX, Va. -- You have to search pretty far back in the Holy Cross record books to find a beating as severe as the 71-38 thumping George Mason laid on the Crusaders last night.
Not since Ralph Willard's first season as coach at his alma mater, when Indiana trounced HC by 35 in the Hoosier Classic on this same date six years ago, have the Crusaders lost by a wider margin than the 33 points they lost by in this one.
That loss to Indiana might have come by a wider margin, but according to Willard, it was not a worse defeat.
"This was about as bad a rear end kicking as I have experienced in coaching for 35 years," said Willard.
Looking at the final score, it is hard to believe this started out as a pretty evenly matched game. Through the first 14 minutes, the score was even and the Crusaders (5-7) were holding their own. When Torey Thomas hit his second three-pointer of the game with 6:38 left in the half, HC actually led 21-18.
Then the bottom dropped out. By the time Holy Cross made another shot from the floor, a Tim Clifford jumper 3:49 into the second half, George Mason (7-3) had closed out the first half with a 11-2 run and opened the second with a 14-0 spurt to build a 46-25 lead.
Even though there was still 16:11 showing on the clock, the only real suspense left at that point was whether or not Mason's Lamar Butler would break the school's all-time record for three-pointers made. Butler answered that by draining a trey 16 seconds later. It was his 252nd of his career and the third of the second half, after going 0-5 from the arc before the intermission.
Butler's getting hot was one key for Mason. He didn't make a bucket until hitting a layup with 5:55 to go in the first half. That shot gave George Mason a 23-21 lead and put the Patriots ahead to stay. Butler added 6 more before the break, then scored the first 9 points of the second half, hitting a pair of treys, then converting a three-point play the old fashioned way when he was fouled while making a layup.
"Once one shot goes in for me, I always think I am on fire. They just started to fall for me," said Butler.
In the meantime, shots had stopped falling for Holy Cross captain Kevin Hamilton, Hamilton came out hot, scoring HC's first 7 points of the game. Hamilton was 3-for-3 when he hit a little jumper with 16:25 to play in the first half. He proceeded to go 0 for the rest of the game, his only other points coming on four first half free throws.
Much of the credit for stopping Hamilton goes to Butler, who along with 6-5 junior Gabe Norwood, kept a hand in his face all night long. Butler was quick to share the credit fwith his big men, who stepped out to hedge on every screen Holy Cross tried to set for its senior captain and leading scorer.
"Our big men did a good job of helping us guards. The big men helped push him out a little further," said Butler.
To Willard, it was just another symptom of an offense that could not get in sync all night.
"They were really physical with him off the ball. Kevin wasn't getting the ball in scoring areas," Willard said.
"We let them force us out of our sets. If you don't run your stuff, you are going to have a long night. They denied passes. They stepped up in the passing lanes. They took us out of things."
The end result: Holy Cross shot just 28.3 percent (15-53) from the field while turning the ball over 16 times. That turnover number might have been higher had George Mason coach Jim Larranaga not substituted liberally after building a 37-point lead.
The Crusaders three inside men, Kevin Hyland, Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan, were a combined 3-for-13 from the field.
Hamilton finished with the 11 points he had at the intermission. Torey Thomas also was in double figures with 16. But no other Crusader scored more than 4.
The 38 points were the fewest scored by a Holy Cross team in 59 years. The last time the Crusaders had been held under 40 points was in a 36-32 win over Boston University on Dec. 17, 1946. Of course that Holy Cross team went on to win the national championship, finishing the season 27-3
Tony Skinn, who hit a game-high 5 three-pointers, finished with 21 for Mason.
The loss was the third in a row for the Crusaders, who will be at Northeastern Friday night.
Special to The Telegram & Gazette
FAIRFAX, Va. -- You have to search pretty far back in the Holy Cross record books to find a beating as severe as the 71-38 thumping George Mason laid on the Crusaders last night.
Not since Ralph Willard's first season as coach at his alma mater, when Indiana trounced HC by 35 in the Hoosier Classic on this same date six years ago, have the Crusaders lost by a wider margin than the 33 points they lost by in this one.
That loss to Indiana might have come by a wider margin, but according to Willard, it was not a worse defeat.
"This was about as bad a rear end kicking as I have experienced in coaching for 35 years," said Willard.
Looking at the final score, it is hard to believe this started out as a pretty evenly matched game. Through the first 14 minutes, the score was even and the Crusaders (5-7) were holding their own. When Torey Thomas hit his second three-pointer of the game with 6:38 left in the half, HC actually led 21-18.
Then the bottom dropped out. By the time Holy Cross made another shot from the floor, a Tim Clifford jumper 3:49 into the second half, George Mason (7-3) had closed out the first half with a 11-2 run and opened the second with a 14-0 spurt to build a 46-25 lead.
Even though there was still 16:11 showing on the clock, the only real suspense left at that point was whether or not Mason's Lamar Butler would break the school's all-time record for three-pointers made. Butler answered that by draining a trey 16 seconds later. It was his 252nd of his career and the third of the second half, after going 0-5 from the arc before the intermission.
Butler's getting hot was one key for Mason. He didn't make a bucket until hitting a layup with 5:55 to go in the first half. That shot gave George Mason a 23-21 lead and put the Patriots ahead to stay. Butler added 6 more before the break, then scored the first 9 points of the second half, hitting a pair of treys, then converting a three-point play the old fashioned way when he was fouled while making a layup.
"Once one shot goes in for me, I always think I am on fire. They just started to fall for me," said Butler.
In the meantime, shots had stopped falling for Holy Cross captain Kevin Hamilton, Hamilton came out hot, scoring HC's first 7 points of the game. Hamilton was 3-for-3 when he hit a little jumper with 16:25 to play in the first half. He proceeded to go 0 for the rest of the game, his only other points coming on four first half free throws.
Much of the credit for stopping Hamilton goes to Butler, who along with 6-5 junior Gabe Norwood, kept a hand in his face all night long. Butler was quick to share the credit fwith his big men, who stepped out to hedge on every screen Holy Cross tried to set for its senior captain and leading scorer.
"Our big men did a good job of helping us guards. The big men helped push him out a little further," said Butler.
To Willard, it was just another symptom of an offense that could not get in sync all night.
"They were really physical with him off the ball. Kevin wasn't getting the ball in scoring areas," Willard said.
"We let them force us out of our sets. If you don't run your stuff, you are going to have a long night. They denied passes. They stepped up in the passing lanes. They took us out of things."
The end result: Holy Cross shot just 28.3 percent (15-53) from the field while turning the ball over 16 times. That turnover number might have been higher had George Mason coach Jim Larranaga not substituted liberally after building a 37-point lead.
The Crusaders three inside men, Kevin Hyland, Tim Clifford and Alex Vander Baan, were a combined 3-for-13 from the field.
Hamilton finished with the 11 points he had at the intermission. Torey Thomas also was in double figures with 16. But no other Crusader scored more than 4.
The 38 points were the fewest scored by a Holy Cross team in 59 years. The last time the Crusaders had been held under 40 points was in a 36-32 win over Boston University on Dec. 17, 1946. Of course that Holy Cross team went on to win the national championship, finishing the season 27-3
Tony Skinn, who hit a game-high 5 three-pointers, finished with 21 for Mason.
The loss was the third in a row for the Crusaders, who will be at Northeastern Friday night.
Georgetown 61, Colgate 45
The 'Gate was within one with 12 minutes to go before the Hoyas pulled away.
According to Camille Powell of the :
Kyle Roemer the only Raider in double figures with 11 points. Washington Post
According to Camille Powell of the :
Roy Hibbert, Georgetown's 7-foot-2 sophomore, continued his dominating play by making 8 of 8 shots for a game-high 18 points. He had three blocked shots but just five rebounds (zero offensive), on a night when the Hoyas did a poor job on the offensive glass (just three rebounds).Geesh Camille, the Hoyas shot 66.7 percent from the field in the second half. There were not a whole lot of misses for them to get.
Kyle Roemer the only Raider in double figures with 11 points.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Latest from Ralph
In his latest post on , Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard recaps the Crusaders' trip to Puerto Rico and takes a look at where his team is at heading into the new year. Says Willard:
"Obviously Keith's situation will be a determining factor, in how far our team can progress, along with Torrey's ability to stay healthy and out of foul trouble. Kevin and Tim will have to raise their levels and the other frosh are going to have to continue to improve and become much more consistent."
Back in action tonight
(Originally posted Monday, 7:41 a.m., updated 7:16 a.m.)
Patriot League scoreboards
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HOLY CROSS at George Mason 7 p.m.: Kevin Hamilton was on fire last week in San Juan. KHam was named to the all-tourney team after averaging 26.0 points and 5 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three-point range. Torey Thomas also earned all-tourney status and Alex Vander Baan probably should have been after averaged 15.7 points and 7 boards in the three games there.
But after those three, the rest of the Crusaders have been spotty. Keith Simmons is struggling with an ongoing cramping problem that has limited his playing time, Pat Doherty's foot problems have kept him off the floor, too. Kevin Hyland has been seeing plenty of action, though you'd hardly notice. You won't miss Tim Clifford, he is big and the officials keep pointing at him and signaling his number. Colin Cunningham and Lawrence Dixon are promising freshmen, but the emphasis there is on freshmen.
The Crusaders should get better as their collective health improves enough for Ralph Willard to conduct productive practices. The problems up front will be less a factor in league play, where most of the other teams are in the same situation.
Mason is not real big up front. They have a fleet of 6-7 types, but none taller. Mason is pretty good, though. Just ask American, who got blown out by the Patriots three weeks ago. That was game two of a six game stretch that has improved Mason's record to 6-3 after a 1-2 start that included an OT loss to No. 18 Wake Forest.
According to the Mason notes:
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COLGATE vs. Georgetown 9 p.m.: The question entering Colgate's first round game at the : Who is going to guard Georgetown center ? The 7-2, 283-pound sophomore is the Hoyas leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.8 rpg).
For a preview of the tournament and more on Georgetown, check out
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HOLY CROSS at George Mason 7 p.m.: Kevin Hamilton was on fire last week in San Juan. KHam was named to the all-tourney team after averaging 26.0 points and 5 rebounds per game, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and 57.1 percent from three-point range. Torey Thomas also earned all-tourney status and Alex Vander Baan probably should have been after averaged 15.7 points and 7 boards in the three games there.
But after those three, the rest of the Crusaders have been spotty. Keith Simmons is struggling with an ongoing cramping problem that has limited his playing time, Pat Doherty's foot problems have kept him off the floor, too. Kevin Hyland has been seeing plenty of action, though you'd hardly notice. You won't miss Tim Clifford, he is big and the officials keep pointing at him and signaling his number. Colin Cunningham and Lawrence Dixon are promising freshmen, but the emphasis there is on freshmen.
The Crusaders should get better as their collective health improves enough for Ralph Willard to conduct productive practices. The problems up front will be less a factor in league play, where most of the other teams are in the same situation.
Mason is not real big up front. They have a fleet of 6-7 types, but none taller. Mason is pretty good, though. Just ask American, who got blown out by the Patriots three weeks ago. That was game two of a six game stretch that has improved Mason's record to 6-3 after a 1-2 start that included an OT loss to No. 18 Wake Forest.
According to the Mason notes:
The Patriots have shot .531 from the fieldNo free radio, but the George Mason site does offer pay-to-listen as well as streaming video through its $6.95 a month plan.
over the past six games, while outscoring the opposition by 16.7 points per game. Mason is holding the opponents to .347 shooting during that span. Lamar Butler and Jai Lewis have been the top performers over that stretch, with Butler shooting .583 from the field and averaging 17.0 points per game while Lewis is shooting .621 while
scoring 15.0 points per game and grabbing 7.5 rebounds per contest.
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COLGATE vs. Georgetown 9 p.m.: The question entering Colgate's first round game at the : Who is going to guard Georgetown center ? The 7-2, 283-pound sophomore is the Hoyas leading scorer (13.9 ppg) and second-leading rebounder (6.8 rpg).
For a preview of the tournament and more on Georgetown, check out
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Monday, December 26, 2005
No holiday for polls
In the latest , Bucknell is now fourth among the "others receiving votes" with a total of 90 votes. That is a gain of 32 votes since last week, putting the Bison 45 votes out of No. 25 in the poll (currently held by previously unranked West Virginia).
Bucknell inexplicably still 10 votes behind Syracuse in the . The Bison are third on the "others receiving" list in the coaches poll with 38 points. Syracuse is the top unranked votegetter with 48.
The Bison remain third in the with 702 votes. Gonzaga, which pikced up all 31 first place votes, ranks No. 1 with 775 points. No. 2 is 10-1 Northern Iowa with 713 points. Holy Cross' Tuesday night foe, George Mason, is fourth among the "others receiving" in the mid-major rankings.
In RPI rankings, Bucknell is currently No. 7 according to . The Patriot League ranks No. 17 . , Army has now dropped below Lehigh in the RPI rankings at 259. Lehigh is 254, Colgate 250.
Holy Cross (137) is second among league teams, followed by American (154), Lafayette (211) and Navy (236).
Bucknell inexplicably still 10 votes behind Syracuse in the . The Bison are third on the "others receiving" list in the coaches poll with 38 points. Syracuse is the top unranked votegetter with 48.
The Bison remain third in the with 702 votes. Gonzaga, which pikced up all 31 first place votes, ranks No. 1 with 775 points. No. 2 is 10-1 Northern Iowa with 713 points. Holy Cross' Tuesday night foe, George Mason, is fourth among the "others receiving" in the mid-major rankings.
In RPI rankings, Bucknell is currently No. 7 according to . The Patriot League ranks No. 17 . , Army has now dropped below Lehigh in the RPI rankings at 259. Lehigh is 254, Colgate 250.
Holy Cross (137) is second among league teams, followed by American (154), Lafayette (211) and Navy (236).
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Here's hoping Santa brings health and good grades to Patriot League players, wisdom to the coaches and administrators, wins to the teams, good seats to the fans and a sense of humor to those in need of one! (you know who you are)
Merry Christmas from Hoop Time
