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Friday, December 29, 2006
A pair of bookend cold spells -- one to start the game, one to end it -- were the undoing of the Crusaders against NiagaraBy CHRIS A. COUROGEN
PHILADELPHIA -- One long cold spell Holy Cross could overcome. A second was more than it could handle.
Going without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes to open the game and with just two -- only one that actually mattered -- in the last eight minutes, the Crusaders dropped a 66-61 decision to Niagara in game two of the three-game round robin LaSalle Invitational.
The first dry spell the Crusaders actually managed to overcome. In fact, after using an 11-1 run at the start of the second half to take the lead, Holy Cross seemed in control. When Keith Simmons scored what proved to be his final bucket, a layup off a Tory Thomas fee on the break, the Crusaders had built an 11-point lead.
Then the wheels came off. Between Simmons' layup and a meaningless uncontested layup by Thomas with 6 seconds left, the Crusaders went 1 for 11, turning the ball over five times.
"We didn't show a lot of poise when we needed to," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard. "We weren't executing. We were taking quick shots in that stretch and let them get back in the game."
The lack of execution helped take Simmons out of the game down the stretch. The 6-5 senior had carried the Crusaders during their rally from 8 down midway through the first half and his 15 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half were the key to Holy Cross building its lead. Down the stretch he seldom got the ball in position to score.
"We stopped reversing the ball. We didn't get to the end of plays. It was just a lack of focus. You have to make teams play defense when you have the lead. We didn't make them play defense," Willard said.
At the other end, the Crusaders 2-3 zone which had kept Niagara in check most of the night, also lost its focus. Three times during Niagara's decisive run the Crusaders weak side defenders left someone alone on the baseline wing to go help inside. All three times Niagara found the open man for a three.
When they weren't draining those three pointers, Niagara was going to the free throw line and knocking down shots. The Purple Eagles shot 19 free throws in the second half, making 14. In the decisive final 8 minutes, Niagara was 7 for 8 at the charity stripe.
The Crusaders trailed 28-23 at the half. It could have been much worse. Holy Cross went without a field goal for almost 10 minutes to start the game, missing their first seven shots from the floor before Eric Meister hit a little runner from the right side of the lane. They went almost three more minutes before Greg McCarthy made HC's second bucket, with 7:15 to play in the half.
Despite the icy start, Holy Cross was never down by more than 8, and the Crusaders actually managed to take a 23-22 lead with 1:49 to go before Niagara closed the half with 6 unanswered points.
Credit the Crusaders' 2-3 zone for keeping them in the game when nothing was falling. That and some dandy free throw shooting (Hc was 9 for 9 at the line in the half). Niagara tried shooting over the zone, but made only three of 11 first half three-point tries. The Purple Eagles had even less success going inside, scoring just one first half bucket in the paint, despite the fact that Holy Cross' 6-10 junior center Tim Clifford sat out the last 16 minutes after picking up two personals in a span of 36 seconds early in the half.
Clifford scored all 7 of his points in the second half, but he was just 3 for 8 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Alex Vander Baan fouled out with 4 points on 2 of 5 shooting and between them, Clifford and Vander Baan had just 7 rebounds. That was a big reason why Niagara held a 37-30 edge on the boards, with 12 offensive rebounds that led to 12 key second chance points.
"We got nothing from our big guys tonight," lamented Willard.
With Thursday night's surprise hero Kyle Cruze going 1 for 11, that left it to Simmons and Thomas to carry the offensive load. Simmons finished with 23 points and Thomas had 15, but there was never a third option.
Holy Cross will try to bounce back this afternoon when it faces Delaware in the get-away game of this three-game set. The Blue Hens came into the LaSalle event without a win but beat the host Explorers Friday for their second straight win after knocking off Niagara Thursday.
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PHILADELPHIA -- One long cold spell Holy Cross could overcome. A second was more than it could handle.
Going without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes to open the game and with just two -- only one that actually mattered -- in the last eight minutes, the Crusaders dropped a 66-61 decision to Niagara in game two of the three-game round robin LaSalle Invitational.
The first dry spell the Crusaders actually managed to overcome. In fact, after using an 11-1 run at the start of the second half to take the lead, Holy Cross seemed in control. When Keith Simmons scored what proved to be his final bucket, a layup off a Tory Thomas fee on the break, the Crusaders had built an 11-point lead.
Then the wheels came off. Between Simmons' layup and a meaningless uncontested layup by Thomas with 6 seconds left, the Crusaders went 1 for 11, turning the ball over five times.
"We didn't show a lot of poise when we needed to," said Holy Cross coach Ralph Willard. "We weren't executing. We were taking quick shots in that stretch and let them get back in the game."
The lack of execution helped take Simmons out of the game down the stretch. The 6-5 senior had carried the Crusaders during their rally from 8 down midway through the first half and his 15 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half were the key to Holy Cross building its lead. Down the stretch he seldom got the ball in position to score.
"We stopped reversing the ball. We didn't get to the end of plays. It was just a lack of focus. You have to make teams play defense when you have the lead. We didn't make them play defense," Willard said.
At the other end, the Crusaders 2-3 zone which had kept Niagara in check most of the night, also lost its focus. Three times during Niagara's decisive run the Crusaders weak side defenders left someone alone on the baseline wing to go help inside. All three times Niagara found the open man for a three.
When they weren't draining those three pointers, Niagara was going to the free throw line and knocking down shots. The Purple Eagles shot 19 free throws in the second half, making 14. In the decisive final 8 minutes, Niagara was 7 for 8 at the charity stripe.
The Crusaders trailed 28-23 at the half. It could have been much worse. Holy Cross went without a field goal for almost 10 minutes to start the game, missing their first seven shots from the floor before Eric Meister hit a little runner from the right side of the lane. They went almost three more minutes before Greg McCarthy made HC's second bucket, with 7:15 to play in the half.
Despite the icy start, Holy Cross was never down by more than 8, and the Crusaders actually managed to take a 23-22 lead with 1:49 to go before Niagara closed the half with 6 unanswered points.
Credit the Crusaders' 2-3 zone for keeping them in the game when nothing was falling. That and some dandy free throw shooting (Hc was 9 for 9 at the line in the half). Niagara tried shooting over the zone, but made only three of 11 first half three-point tries. The Purple Eagles had even less success going inside, scoring just one first half bucket in the paint, despite the fact that Holy Cross' 6-10 junior center Tim Clifford sat out the last 16 minutes after picking up two personals in a span of 36 seconds early in the half.
Clifford scored all 7 of his points in the second half, but he was just 3 for 8 from the field and turned the ball over four times. Alex Vander Baan fouled out with 4 points on 2 of 5 shooting and between them, Clifford and Vander Baan had just 7 rebounds. That was a big reason why Niagara held a 37-30 edge on the boards, with 12 offensive rebounds that led to 12 key second chance points.
"We got nothing from our big guys tonight," lamented Willard.
With Thursday night's surprise hero Kyle Cruze going 1 for 11, that left it to Simmons and Thomas to carry the offensive load. Simmons finished with 23 points and Thomas had 15, but there was never a third option.
Holy Cross will try to bounce back this afternoon when it faces Delaware in the get-away game of this three-game set. The Blue Hens came into the LaSalle event without a win but beat the host Explorers Friday for their second straight win after knocking off Niagara Thursday.
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