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Post by timholycross on Jan 6, 2023 0:38:25 GMT -5
Missed free throws happen, and the shooter has such a high %. Whiffing on an inbounds pass in the backcourt in crunch time should not Yeah, that wasn't exactly a forced mistake. Team as presently constituted simply has no margin for error.
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Post by Non Alum Dave on Jan 6, 2023 6:12:59 GMT -5
Just a crushing defeat.
Have to give a lot of credit to AU; sure, HC executed poorly in crunch time, but AU still had to make great plays, and they did. They really look to be maturing as a team. They kept within striking distance the whole way; a lesser team might have gotten down by double digits and not have been able to come back.
The notion that the guys quit in the OT is silly, at best. They were totally, totally gassed. And not only that, but getting to the OT obviously gave AU a real adrenaline boost. The other team sometimes has a say in the outcome.
If HC had been playing this kind of D from the beginning of the season they could have won another 2-3 games imho. FINALLY, they seem to be developing a bit of an identity. As Tim says, though, there is no margin for error. And the pressure to score is completely on the core group.
Hopefully they can quickly put it behind them and get to 3-1 with a win Sunday. But right now my biggest concern is the health of Octave - he spent most of his bench time on the bike. A couple of times I saw him wincing after coming down from jumping. His left elbow may also be bothering him. Should they lose him they might as well turn out the lights.
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Post by hcnation on Jan 6, 2023 6:56:21 GMT -5
Attendance 731 The highest of the five patriot league games : 747 at Bucknell
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Post by res on Jan 6, 2023 7:17:31 GMT -5
I watched part of last night's Bucknell game. There weren't 747 there. I doubt there were enough there to fill a 747.
Sojka has turned into a Hart with more comfortable seating.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 6, 2023 8:00:33 GMT -5
I watched part of last night's Bucknell game. There weren't 747 there. I doubt there were enough there to fill a 747. Sojka has turned into a Hart with more comfortable seating. Is Bucknell's student body any more supportive than HC's (which is not very much)? Otherwise, you are right; Sojka's become another mausoleum.
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Post by newfieguy74 on Jan 6, 2023 8:19:52 GMT -5
I agree with NAD that the guys were gassed in OT. Every HC player gave maximum effort in this game. Tough loss but a good effort.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 8:31:26 GMT -5
Kevin Gale has gotten annoying with his repetitiveness. He constantly uses terms like HC playing “small ball” now. We have played small ball since game 1. Louth’s two game season and Rabs’ cameos were our only lineups with players taller than the 8 who currently play.( a bit of Wilbar excepted) He also makes more than a few errors. Sometimes I wonder what game he is watching.
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Post by sader1970 on Jan 6, 2023 8:42:48 GMT -5
Hopefully not "damning with faint praise" but how many Crossporters really thought we'd be 2-1 after the 3rd game in the PL?
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Post by rgs318 on Jan 6, 2023 8:44:52 GMT -5
I thought (after the last two years) she would lose this one to American - and not as close as it turned out to be. I am impressed with the toughness of this squad and wish them well as they continue to develop.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 6, 2023 8:45:09 GMT -5
. If HC had been playing this kind of D from the beginning of the season they could have won another 2-3 games imho. FINALLY, they seem to be developing a bit of an identity. Funny enough, I think the reason for the improved defense is the small lineup. I was really fearful we’d get dominated by Bucknell, Navy and AU’s bigs, but that didn’t really happen. I think our foot speed on defense has been noticeably better. The hard truth is that we weren’t get much from anyone on this team over 6 feet 6 inches (Lewis, Rabs, Wilbar, and Louth, although would have been interesting to see how we’d be doing with him healthy). It seems to me that the core six is playing with a renewed energy and swagger. Almost taking on the mindset of “it’s just us the rest of the season, LFG.” Maybe there’s a correlation between being forced to play small and our better perimeter defense. But it’s not just perimeter defense, it’s all inside. We rank first in FG% defense for both 3PT and 2PT. The problem is, one more injury or if one of the core guys gets into foul trouble one night, we are in trouble. Absolutely zero margin for error. Have to give Nelson credit for whatever he did in between SHU and Bucknell.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 6, 2023 8:49:53 GMT -5
Kevin Gale has gotten annoying with his repetitiveness. He constantly uses terms like HC playing “small ball” now. We have played small ball since game 1. Louth’s two game season and Rabs’ cameos were our only lineups with players taller than the 8 who currently play.( a bit of Wilbar excepted) He also makes more than a few errors. Sometimes I wonder what game he is watching. How many times did he say “Princeton offense” last night, which by the way isn’t really correct. AU takes principles of it, but it’s not truly the PO. Just a lazy take because the fact Brennan is connected to Carril having played for him means that he automatically runs the PO?
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 8:57:11 GMT -5
Playing 2 bigs takes away from the spread that the Princeton offense needs for the spacing for back door cuts. Also AU does not employ the high post who controls the PO.
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Post by trimster on Jan 6, 2023 9:05:05 GMT -5
Speaking of the Princeton Offense, I think AU got one back door cut for a hoop last night. Given what happened the last time we played them, that was very impressive.
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Post by crusader1970 on Jan 6, 2023 9:23:55 GMT -5
How do we not camp out on the 3 point line with 3 seconds left and then foul the guy who catches the inbounds pass so they don't get a chance to get off the 3. As long as we could inbound the ball after the made free throws we have a 99% of winning even if we miss the front or back end of the 1 and 1 down the other end. Absolutely.
Good strategy by Nelson to give the last foul with 3 secs to go.
Probably should have called time out (he was out of them) to set up the defense and foul strategy on the last play.
He couldn't and Sprouse made an incredible shot over Kenney's long extended reach.
Disappointing for sure but you have to give Sprouse (a freshman) a lot of credit.
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Post by hchoops on Jan 6, 2023 9:31:45 GMT -5
As was written earlier, this shot was a classic catch and shoot in one motion. No time for any foul other than a 3 shot foul
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Post by trimster on Jan 6, 2023 9:36:00 GMT -5
How do we not camp out on the 3 point line with 3 seconds left and then foul the guy who catches the inbounds pass so they don't get a chance to get off the 3. As long as we could inbound the ball after the made free throws we have a 99% of winning even if we miss the front or back end of the 1 and 1 down the other end. Absolutely.
Good strategy by Nelson to give the last foul with 3 secs to go.
Probably should have called time out to set up the defense and foul strategy on the last play.
He didn't and Sprouse made an incredible shot over Kenney's long extended reach.
Disappointing for sure but you have to give Sprouse (a freshman) a lot of credit.
On the inbounds play we wasted 1.5-2 defenders. AU has no one near the hoop but GG is in the lane guarding no one and Bo is sort of on the man inbounding but not really as he is off him and his back is to him. A big should have been on the ball and and why have anyone standing in the lane. Bo probably should have been guarding the man who made the shot and Kenney making it difficult for the inbounder to get the ball in play. Not smart. As far as the lane goes, I’ll take my chances on a quick two and HC still winning the game.
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Post by crusader1970 on Jan 6, 2023 9:36:32 GMT -5
It is really amazing how competitive we have been so far in the PL.
IMO this team:
1) lacks size 2) does not shoot very well 3) does not have a true PG 4) is really poor at ball handling, and 5) has very little depth
And yet their defense has been so outstanding that they have been in every league game so far.
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Post by DiMarz on Jan 6, 2023 9:38:25 GMT -5
The team played a pretty solid game overall. AU hit some sensational 3 pointers that were the difference in the game.. it seemed every time in the second half half HC hadAU on the edge of a defeat, they were able to stick a big 3. Have to give them credit, they won the game, more than HC lost the game.. HC can learn a lot from this game, and get better as a team in crunch time. I believe this group is really going to be a factor in thePL this season, and right now, nobody is taking them lightly! The defense has been outstanding, tough relentless pressure on the ball, help D on the post players, defending the pick and roll, and active hands are becoming their trademark! Dorsey did a great job on O’Neil. O’Neil got very few good looks at the hoops, 3 for 8 overall from the floor, 2 for 5 from 3. And the 2 threes were long range, with a hand in his face..
It appeared to me that that RJ is a lot more vocal. He seems to be more invested in the D.. in the first half, Coach Nelson used his subs more, perhaps trying to keep the iron fresh.. This team is making great strides.. it’s D is coming on strong, on offense they are getting good shots and getting to the free throw line (14 for 18). Gates is a tough competitor, Dorsey is the best individual defender I have seen, Batch and Octave are stepping their game up, Bo has shown flashes of being very good, he is working hard on both ends of the court. Caleb coming off the bench is better than starting, and he has shown the ability to put the ball on the floor and drive it to the hoop. Both Tse and Kirkwood have come into games and not caused HC to loose ground, both have played solid minutes..
This is a far better team today than it was in that opener. Let’s go back and start the season over with this team out there, They might only have one or two defeats..
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Post by notjuanjones on Jan 6, 2023 9:39:51 GMT -5
Kevin Gale has gotten annoying with his repetitiveness. He constantly uses terms like HC playing “small ball” now. We have played small ball since game 1. Louth’s two game season and Rabs’ cameos were our only lineups with players taller than the 8 who currently play.( a bit of Wilbar excepted) He also makes more than a few errors. Sometimes I wonder what game he is watching. How many times did he say “Princeton offense” last night, which by the way isn’t really correct. AU takes principles of it, but it’s not truly the PO. Just a lazy take because the fact Brennan is connected to Carril having played for him means that he automatically runs the PO? Indeed, we haven't played the "Princeton" for a good long while – many years.
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Post by timholycross on Jan 6, 2023 10:22:03 GMT -5
Whatever you were playing last year and in 2019-20, Pete Carril would have approved of the way you broke our defense down.
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Post by Ignutz on Jan 6, 2023 10:22:53 GMT -5
Up 5 with 21 seconds to go with a foul to give. Along with the turnover by Bo and the missed second FT, I thought that we should have committed a foul there. Having said that, Dorsey played excellent D on O’Neil who made a tremendous shot…as did Sprouse at the end. As SOV indicated, the finish was reminiscent of the end of the Loyola (Chic) game in November, 2009 where we were up 8 with about 1:20 to go and lost the game in regulation. Also made me think of the Halley’s Comet PL tournament run in 2016 where Champion hit the 3 pointer vs. Bucknell in the first OT. Why was I reminded of that? Because like tonight, most of the time in my memory HC has been on the wrong end of those last minute finishes (UMASS at the Hart Center in 1977, UCONN at the Boston Garden in 1980, Perry Moss of Northeastern in the ECAC North tournament in the early ‘80s, Jean Prioleau of Fordham in the inaugural PL tournament in ‘91, the ‘09 Loyola game and the game tonight) but that was one time when fortune favored HC. The cliche is that “things even out over the long haul”. If true, HC should have many future moments to enjoy. Last year's women's semi-final playoff game vs. AWP. BTW, the UMass game that you reference was actually a 1978 game. (Was it Mike Pyatt who hit the buzzer-beater from half-court?) A Sports Illustrated writer was in the house working on an article on basketball "pits". While the Hart was certainly a "pit" those days (I believe our record since the opening was 30-3), that loss eliminated us from being included in the article.
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Post by Sons of Vaval on Jan 6, 2023 10:26:15 GMT -5
If we are talking about total collapses in the final minute of a game, I'll add KY's favorite -- Mississippi State in Puerto Rico. Up 72-65 with 1:20 left and then up 72-67 and with the ball with :49 left; lost 76-75.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 6, 2023 10:35:59 GMT -5
It is really amazing how competitive we have been so far in the PL. IMO this team: 1) lacks size 2) does not shoot very well 3) does not have a true PG 4) is really poor at ball handling, and 5) has very little depth And yet their defense has been so outstanding that they have been in every league game so far. The "core 6" have really gelled together. We have something right now with this group. You could tell the last couple minutes + OT that our starters were out of gas, especially Bo. Good point above by SOV referencing the smaller lineup as the catalyst to our turnaround. We simply just don't have a bench. At all. We'll ride or die with our top six guys the rest of the way. Crushing loss yesterday blowing a 5pt lead with 9 seconds left. The 3 pointer from the MA logo by O'Neill against a perfectly set HC defense was huge and you have to respect Sprouse's incredible catch-and-shoot. How the team responds to this game will be the key to our league season. You can talk about the dismal non-conference performance but if you look at the game results since the Harvard massacre (no Gates that night), all were very close games sans UNH.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 6, 2023 10:38:29 GMT -5
If we are talking about total collapses in the final minute of a game, I'll add KY's favorite -- Mississippi State in Puerto Rico. Up 72-65 with 1:20 left and then up 72-67 and with the ball with :49 left; lost 76-75. It was the other way around but Siena blew an 8pt lead against us with 30 seconds to go at the Times Union Center in December 2007. Tim Clifford hit three straight three pointers from the top of the key, including one at the regulation buzzer, to tie the game. Unfortunately, Siena dominated the extra period and won.
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Post by nycrusader2010 on Jan 6, 2023 10:40:33 GMT -5
Is it a good sign that this is the first time in at least 3 years that I've actually been upset over a Holy Cross basketball loss?
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