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Monday, December 17, 2007
Demon Deacons switch tactics to put away a pesky Bison side.
(originally posted Sunday, 6:04 p.m., links added at 10:13 a.m.)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of Hoop Time
Take a look at the box score from Bucknell's 72-56 loss at Wake Forest and you might get the impression it was the Demon Deacons' size up front that proved to be the Bison's demise.
Wake finished the game with a 43-39 edge on the boards, with 19 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second chance points. The Demon Deacons also outscored Bucknell 40-15 in the paint.
But it wasn't the trees in Wake's forest that proved to be Bucknell's undoing so much as it was the shrubs.
Dino Gaudio's decision to go to a smaller lineup with the score tied at 45-45 midway through the second halfwas the move that turned the game around. Up until that point, the Bison were hanging around by knocking down enough three-pointers to offset the production Wake was getting inside. From that point on, though, it was a different ballgame.
Bucknell hit 17 of its first 42 shots through the first 29 minutes of the game. That is not a great shooting percentage, but with eight of the 17 makes coming from three-point range, it was good enough to keep Bucknell in the ballgame, especially with Wake shooting at a similar 18 for 44 pace.
The last 11 minutes, the part of the game where Gaudio went to the smaller lineup, was a completely different story. Back to back buckets with Ishmael Smith -- the second from the arc -- started a 10-0 Wake run that decided the outcome. It took only a little over three minutes and just three shots from the field for Wake to take control. And it was the little guys -- 6-0 Smith and 6-2 Jeff Teague (with free throw help from 6-4 L.D. Williams) -- that got it done.
Teague's three capped the run, giving the Deacons a 55-45 edge with 8:21 to play. The freshman from Indianapolis finished with 16 points to lead Wake Forest. Smith and Williams each finished with 11 and Harvey Hale, another 6-2 guard, also reached double figures with 12.
But it was not the offense of the small guys as much as their defense that made the difference. During the decisive run, Bucknell went 0 for 4 from the field, three of the misses from three-point range, two by John Griffin. It was the start of a trend that lasted the rest of the game. From the time Gaudio went small, to the final buzzer, Bucknell went 4 for 15 overall, 1 for 9 from the arc. Griffin, who led the Bison with 16 points, went 1 for 7 from downtown in that stretch.
Part of the problem might have been fatigue. Both Griffin and Castleberry played 29 minutes, much of which was spent handling pressure from Wake's fleet of lightning quick guards when on offense, and the rest of it spent trying to keep up with them on defense.
"It takes a lot of energy chasing them around," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. "Eventually it wore us down."
"All my shots felt good," said Griffin. "Some where a little short. Maybe I needed more legs."
There was more to it than just legs, though. When Wake Forest had a bigger lineup on the floor, Griffin, and his backcourt mates, were able to take advantage of screens to get open looks. After the switch, those looks were harder to come by.
"They were using so many ball screens," said Gaudio. "We went smaller and just switched them and it really bothered them."
It was not all negative for the Bison, who fell to 3-5 with the setback. If silver linings are your cup of tea, then Josh Linthicum's 11-point, 11-rebound double-double against Wake's big, athletic front line ought to quench your thirst. With Darren Mastropaolo's return from summer knee surgery uncertain at best, Linthicum's career-afternoon (in both categories) is an encouraging sign with conference play just around the corner.
On the other hand, 6-11 freshman Todd O'Brien, who came off the bench after starting the last two games, was almost a non-factor, going scoreless (which happens when you don't take any shots) with 5 rebounds and one blocked shot. The block gives him at least one in all eight games of his young career, but ended a streak of at least two rejections per game through the first seven games.
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan also struggled, finishing with 6 points and 4 rebounds on 3 of 8 shooting, most of which came from outside. Other than Linthicum, Bucknell got very little production inside of 10 feet from the basket.
The Bison who return home Monday to host Cornell, have six more non-conference games to use as on-the-court training for a young lineup that, thanks to injuries to Mastropaolo and Rob Thomas, includes just one senior and one guy (Griffin) who was a full-time starter last season.
Box score | Gameblog | Postgame audio | Burlington Times News | Charlotte Observer | Winston-Salem Journal
(originally posted Sunday, 6:04 p.m., links added at 10:13 a.m.)
By CHRIS A. COUROGEN
Of Hoop Time
Take a look at the box score from Bucknell's 72-56 loss at Wake Forest and you might get the impression it was the Demon Deacons' size up front that proved to be the Bison's demise.
Wake finished the game with a 43-39 edge on the boards, with 19 offensive rebounds that led to 21 second chance points. The Demon Deacons also outscored Bucknell 40-15 in the paint.
But it wasn't the trees in Wake's forest that proved to be Bucknell's undoing so much as it was the shrubs.
Dino Gaudio's decision to go to a smaller lineup with the score tied at 45-45 midway through the second halfwas the move that turned the game around. Up until that point, the Bison were hanging around by knocking down enough three-pointers to offset the production Wake was getting inside. From that point on, though, it was a different ballgame.
Bucknell hit 17 of its first 42 shots through the first 29 minutes of the game. That is not a great shooting percentage, but with eight of the 17 makes coming from three-point range, it was good enough to keep Bucknell in the ballgame, especially with Wake shooting at a similar 18 for 44 pace.
The last 11 minutes, the part of the game where Gaudio went to the smaller lineup, was a completely different story. Back to back buckets with Ishmael Smith -- the second from the arc -- started a 10-0 Wake run that decided the outcome. It took only a little over three minutes and just three shots from the field for Wake to take control. And it was the little guys -- 6-0 Smith and 6-2 Jeff Teague (with free throw help from 6-4 L.D. Williams) -- that got it done.
Teague's three capped the run, giving the Deacons a 55-45 edge with 8:21 to play. The freshman from Indianapolis finished with 16 points to lead Wake Forest. Smith and Williams each finished with 11 and Harvey Hale, another 6-2 guard, also reached double figures with 12.
But it was not the offense of the small guys as much as their defense that made the difference. During the decisive run, Bucknell went 0 for 4 from the field, three of the misses from three-point range, two by John Griffin. It was the start of a trend that lasted the rest of the game. From the time Gaudio went small, to the final buzzer, Bucknell went 4 for 15 overall, 1 for 9 from the arc. Griffin, who led the Bison with 16 points, went 1 for 7 from downtown in that stretch.
Part of the problem might have been fatigue. Both Griffin and Castleberry played 29 minutes, much of which was spent handling pressure from Wake's fleet of lightning quick guards when on offense, and the rest of it spent trying to keep up with them on defense.
"It takes a lot of energy chasing them around," said Bucknell coach Pat Flannery. "Eventually it wore us down."
"All my shots felt good," said Griffin. "Some where a little short. Maybe I needed more legs."
There was more to it than just legs, though. When Wake Forest had a bigger lineup on the floor, Griffin, and his backcourt mates, were able to take advantage of screens to get open looks. After the switch, those looks were harder to come by.
"They were using so many ball screens," said Gaudio. "We went smaller and just switched them and it really bothered them."
It was not all negative for the Bison, who fell to 3-5 with the setback. If silver linings are your cup of tea, then Josh Linthicum's 11-point, 11-rebound double-double against Wake's big, athletic front line ought to quench your thirst. With Darren Mastropaolo's return from summer knee surgery uncertain at best, Linthicum's career-afternoon (in both categories) is an encouraging sign with conference play just around the corner.
On the other hand, 6-11 freshman Todd O'Brien, who came off the bench after starting the last two games, was almost a non-factor, going scoreless (which happens when you don't take any shots) with 5 rebounds and one blocked shot. The block gives him at least one in all eight games of his young career, but ended a streak of at least two rejections per game through the first seven games.
Sophomore power forward Patrick Behan also struggled, finishing with 6 points and 4 rebounds on 3 of 8 shooting, most of which came from outside. Other than Linthicum, Bucknell got very little production inside of 10 feet from the basket.
The Bison who return home Monday to host Cornell, have six more non-conference games to use as on-the-court training for a young lineup that, thanks to injuries to Mastropaolo and Rob Thomas, includes just one senior and one guy (Griffin) who was a full-time starter last season.
Box score | Gameblog | Postgame audio | Burlington Times News | Charlotte Observer | Winston-Salem Journal
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