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Post by cfrivals on Jan 9, 2019 22:36:41 GMT -5
3.5 recruiting classes, 4 contributors! Not a great roster like some on this board have stated
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Post by efg72 on Jan 9, 2019 22:39:44 GMT -5
Not saying great, not saying very good, although I think this sophomore group is the best in the conference and not just because we brought in 6 players
I call it evolving and how our kids develop will impact the evaluation
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Post by hc87 on Jan 9, 2019 23:05:56 GMT -5
Attendance barely ovah a thousand....I'm sure it was much less in actuality (didn't see....scouting)....the league is just so bad for gameday environment at just about every venue.
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Post by bfoley82 on Jan 9, 2019 23:25:04 GMT -5
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 9, 2019 23:33:35 GMT -5
Give it a rest. Was at the game and considering students still on vacation and a mid-week game, the 1,000+ count looked pretty accurate to me and not a bad crowd at all, all things considered. This isn't the Big East and, no 87, we aren't getting in there any time soon. That ship has sailed. Get over it.
Exciting but frustrating game and a tough loss considering the first half the Crusader's had. We all knew we weren't about score another 59 points in the second half but even an average half would have won us this game.
I don't have many takers but I believe this was a "must win" game for multiple reasons. Had we won, we would have been tied for the league lead with Lehigh (us having the tie breaker) and Navy, who apparently lost to Lafayette with a 2-1 record. You have to whip the second tier (which we did not do against Navy) and at least break even with the best teams (i.e. Lehigh and Bucknell). Best way to beat the top tier teams is when you have them at home. Had we beaten Lehigh, we would have "moved past" the Navy loss (at least that was an away game) and started some momentum.
Boy, we miss Connor.
Positives from tonight: Caleb had perhaps his best game ever: 25 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocks!, but yes, 3 turnovers. But I'll take that stat line any day. Floyd was a monster with 22 points and 7 assists but no blocks, no doubt because Lehigh was bombing from the outside.
Who would have thought we could have a 12 point lead at the half. That evaporated lickety-split and fell behind, I think, by 10 - a 22 point turnaround. But the boys never quit, came back to tie and actually go ahead. Lehigh did their thing bombing 3s in the overtime and we couldn't stop them. Fatigue maybe? But no quit. When we get Connor back, that little extra depth may be the answer in these close losses.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 9, 2019 23:38:36 GMT -5
Brian, consider correcting:
Pretty sure Lehigh-HC is a "conference match-up."
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Post by hc87 on Jan 9, 2019 23:46:30 GMT -5
There were more people at the New Bedford-Brockton HS game last night...
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Post by HCFC45 on Jan 9, 2019 23:50:42 GMT -5
timholycross wrote:
One big play, IMHO, with about 2 1/2 minutes left in regulatation, HC down 81-79 did a great job on D, forcing a rushed last second 3 point shot by Andree. PB got a hand in Anree's face, the all hit the front of the rim and came straight back tot he shooter..PB had left the zone and headed down court..Andree rebounded his miss and hit Cohen (I think) who made a 3...Can't make that kind of mistake at that moment....PB new he blew it, and he was distressed over it, I hope the team can learn from it...
EXACTLY! Thought the same thing when I saw it! He should have turned and defended and would have gotten the ball back but...
Missed FT's really cost us the game! Lehigh went to the line 10 times more than us and made I think 9 more than us!
I would have to look at the replay but late in the game there was a review of whether the ball went out of bounds of Lehigh or us.... To many of us in the stands it appeared to be last touched by Lehigh but they ended up giving it to Lehigh... Crucial call!!!
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 9, 2019 23:56:05 GMT -5
Yeah, but I'll bet they didn't play that game in Worcester, right? We have not yet re-established ourselves as "Worcester's Team."
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Post by hc87 on Jan 10, 2019 0:11:38 GMT -5
Game was in Brockton....Wisstah's cousin
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Post by longsuffering on Jan 10, 2019 0:52:00 GMT -5
People in Brockton and New Bedford don't go on vacation like Holy Cross students do.
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Post by longsuffering on Jan 10, 2019 0:53:23 GMT -5
Forgot my smiley after that one 😁
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Post by bfoley82 on Jan 10, 2019 4:31:52 GMT -5
Brian, consider correcting: Pretty sure Lehigh-HC is a "conference match-up." Yea I know it is conference...I just didn’t fix the caption that auto populates in there. Will fix it when I get a chance
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jan 10, 2019 6:20:51 GMT -5
While I didn't necessarily agree with the must win aspect of last night's game, I'll now agree that we now need to beat them down there to realistically have a shot at one of the top 2 slots. Still, I maintain that things can change in a heartbeat. However, if Lehigh can maintain their shooting percentages all the way through, they will be difficult to take down.
Tough loss.... like everyone else, I knew we couldn't maintain the pace of the first half. What surprised me that was Lehigh "only" went 6-17 on 3s in the second half, yet was able to erase the deficit. It seemed like they hit more.
I'm feeling like JF should have gotten a few more touches late.
As for the good doctor, I think the best thing he did was get a transfer from East Carolina. Maybe he also instructed his players to tell the HC players to stop hitting all those shots. Seriously, though, outside of an uptick in defensive intensity, I don't feel like he did much to influence the outcome.
Hoping that Cope will start getting a little more playing time.
I feel like the guys will move on. No shoulder wrap for AB, and CN walking around at least.
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Post by crosspride on Jan 10, 2019 7:11:21 GMT -5
timholycross wrote:
One big play, IMHO, with about 2 1/2 minutes left in regulatation, HC down 81-79 did a great job on D, forcing a rushed last second 3 point shot by Andree. PB got a hand in Anree's face, the all hit the front of the rim and came straight back tot he shooter..PB had left the zone and headed down court..Andree rebounded his miss and hit Cohen (I think) who made a 3...Can't make that kind of mistake at that moment....PB new he blew it, and he was distressed over it, I hope the team can learn from it...
EXACTLY! Thought the same thing when I saw it! He should have turned and defended and would have gotten the ball back but... Missed FT's really cost us the game! Lehigh went to the line 10 times more than us and made I think 9 more than us! I would have to look at the replay but late in the game there was a review of whether the ball went out of bounds of Lehigh or us.... To many of us in the stands it appeared to be last touched by Lehigh but they ended up giving it to Lehigh... Crucial call!!! Running past the defender here isn’t Benzans fault, they are coached to do that. Thats why nearly every player does it when a three or long 2 is attempted. Even JF does it. So definitely not a mistake by the player, that’s Carmody’s strategy. One contributing factor to why our defensive rebounding is so poor.
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 10, 2019 7:53:01 GMT -5
If we are being honest, we look at the minutes and see 8 men contributing tonight (and Copeland getting back in the flow). Copeland didn't play in the second half and neither did LeSann, iirc. Does that mean the first half doesn't count?
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 10, 2019 7:59:37 GMT -5
I am not sure if it has been mentioned, but the points HC scored in the first half were the most by the Crusaders in a half about 11 years.Not bad, but it was certainly unlikely to be repeated in the second half. That last 3 for Tejada before the half was tough to take.
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Post by sader81 on Jan 10, 2019 8:19:32 GMT -5
Great game to watch, tough outcome. Had a lot of chances to win, but you can’t miss 9? foul shots in the second half and expect to beat a decent team. Was concerned in the first half that they took their foot of the gas. One observation - they played the 3/4 press for most of the first half. I know it doesn’t do a whole lot, except slow their offense down and only give them about 22 seconds to run their O. Then they stopped playing it, and Lehigh went on their run, and never saw the press in the second half. A lot of woulda, coulda, shouldas!!
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Post by HCFC45 on Jan 10, 2019 8:33:22 GMT -5
timholycross wrote:
One big play, IMHO, with about 2 1/2 minutes left in regulatation, HC down 81-79 did a great job on D, forcing a rushed last second 3 point shot by Andree. PB got a hand in Anree's face, the all hit the front of the rim and came straight back tot he shooter..PB had left the zone and headed down court..Andree rebounded his miss and hit Cohen (I think) who made a 3...Can't make that kind of mistake at that moment....PB new he blew it, and he was distressed over it, I hope the team can learn from it...
EXACTLY! Thought the same thing when I saw it! He should have turned and defended and would have gotten the ball back but... Missed FT's really cost us the game! Lehigh went to the line 10 times more than us and made I think 9 more than us! I would have to look at the replay but late in the game there was a review of whether the ball went out of bounds of Lehigh or us.... To many of us in the stands it appeared to be last touched by Lehigh but they ended up giving it to Lehigh... Crucial call!!! Running past the defender here isn’t Benzans fault, they are coached to do that. Thats why nearly every player does it when a three or long 2 is attempted. Even JF does it. So definitely not a mistake by the player, that’s Carmody’s strategy. One contributing factor to why our defensive rebounding is so poor. I beg to differ... if you watch the replay you will see that PB does not run by Andre. As timholycross points out, he got a hand in his face. He then stood behind Andre and never attempted to box him out or go for the long rebound. Spoke to several at the game and they were all in agreement! !
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Post by gks on Jan 10, 2019 8:40:15 GMT -5
Tough to overcome when a guy hits 10 3s. Also disappointing to lose when you shoot 70% in a half. Reminds me of I think it was the Iona game last year when the Gaels couldn't miss.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 10, 2019 8:45:44 GMT -5
...actually I didn't write about that play at all. I wrote about the final play when Pat got the ball swatted away under the hoop.
In terms of the shots he gets blocked, I'd say 50% are not his fault (shot clock running down and he has to do SOMETHING with the ball), 25% are over-aggressiveness and the other 25% are just plain bad decisions. This one was the latter.
On Stadium they showed that replay several times and from different angles. From what I saw the call should have stood, sadly. Maybe with a better picture (watched the game on my computer monitor) I'd feel otherwise.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 10, 2019 8:47:05 GMT -5
Then, again, NAD, you and a slew of posters picked HC to win this game. At halftime, it sure looked, and we all including me, hoped you were right. One poster even suggested to me to remember the improbable PL tournament results a few years back, as if none of it matters, as we were in 9th place. Of course, that was in jest . . . . . . I hope. As for common ground, I think everyone can agree that the job has been made tougher with this loss.
If anyone thinks Holy Cross is going to sneak up on people ever again in the tournament like that, we can make a wager right now.
I want this team to win the regular season title because 1. They are capable of it. 2. It guarantees a post season with NIT at minimum but a much better chance of NCAA slot and 3. Home court advantage in the tournament greatly enhancing chances of winning the tournament too and going to the NCAAs. I will not be satisfied with a middling regular season position, not even #2. We've seen how well this team can play. I know, sophomore-laden team - young - but these are not typical sophs. Most played in every game last year. While they may still be learning, they are very experienced. Just have to play 40 minutes, or in this case 45, not 20 or 30 minutes.
To beat the Lehighs and the Bucknells every player has to play at least as well as their season average. Last night, Caleb and Jehyve did. Most others played below their average.
End of rant.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 10, 2019 8:48:18 GMT -5
Tough to overcome when a guy hits 10 3s. Also disappointing to lose when you shoot 70% in a half. Reminds me of I think it was the Iona game last year when the Gaels couldn't miss. ...and you can't overcome a bunch of 3s when you keep going to the line and missing front ends or make one out of two. I think at least four of the five guys on the floor the last 10-12 minutes did that; maybe all five.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 10, 2019 8:58:58 GMT -5
To clarify my post above as the tenor sometimes gets lost in this medium, I am not angry with our players but disappointed for them. For me, this biggest disappointment was the relative lack of production from Grandy. But I am not blaming him. I know most feel we need to give the ball to JF down low more and that works almost all the time. But our "off speed" pitch is Grandy. I just don't think he got enough touches last night. And, yeah, Austin is trying too hard. The other disappointment was that all those shots we've seen all year that have hit the rim and bounced out, bounced in in the first half. We "gravitated to the mean" (KY copyright) in the second half. None of us thought we'd come close to that production in the 2nd half but to score fewer than half the 59 first half points in the 2nd stanza was disappointing. Seeing Jehyve hit all those free throws in the first half, thought he had a twin brother shooting from the line. Alas, second half, not so much.
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Post by bringbackcaro on Jan 10, 2019 9:28:19 GMT -5
Running past the defender here isn’t Benzans fault, they are coached to do that. Thats why nearly every player does it when a three or long 2 is attempted. Even JF does it. So definitely not a mistake by the player, that’s Carmody’s strategy. One contributing factor to why our defensive rebounding is so poor. I beg to differ... if you watch the replay you will see that PB does not run by Andre. As timholycross points out, he got a hand in his face. He then stood behind Andre and never attempted to box him out or go for the long rebound. Spoke to several at the game and they were all in agreement! ! Wrong. Watch the replay again. Benzan goes running out at Andree and flied right past him (as we do every time someone is taking a three), and then tries to go after the rebound but is obviously in horrible position as the poor closeout( that the coaches apparently teach) placed him behind Andree. The bigger issue was Grandison standing flat footed right next to Floyd watching the ball go off the rim and right over his head. The ball should have never made it back out to Andree/Benzan's area. Also, Benzan should not have ever been responsible for guarding Andree. The shot was taken at (or maybe even right above) the free throw line extended at the three point line -- that should not be the responsibility of the guy playing in the back of a 1-3-1. The defense was poorly designed, our closeout fundamentals are very poor, and we do not emphasize rebounding. If you want to point blame, that's where it goes. Not on Pat Benzan. ---- The idea that Pat Benzan seems to catch the heat for every loss is getting more and more ridiculous. He may not have the best size, skill, athleticism, etc. but he gives max effort every possession of every game and makes smart plays the vast majority of the time. His consistent level of intensity and effort is matched only by Green & Floyd.
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