Third Try is a Charm: The Mike Schaplowsky Story

[sportsfanmike]

Jan. 2, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (7-4, 0-0) @ SE Louisiana (2-9, 0-0)

We start conference 'P' play on the road, where we haven't won yet. Fortunately our opponents just are not very good. We took control early on, forcing 19 turnovers in the game. Larrie Robinson had 19 points, and Brian Patten had a double double. 15 points, 10 boards. not bad for a guard. We won 83-64.

Jan. 5, 2012

Western Illinois (5-7, 1-0) @ Texas A&M-CC (8-4, 1-0)

Going back home is a good sign for us against a decent Leatherneck team. Wasn't much to worry about with this one though, as we jumped out and led by as many as 28, and rolled to a 72-51 victory. Gene Lewis led us in scoring with 20 points.

Jan. 9, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (9-4, 2-0) @ SE Missouri State (7-6, 1-1)

Back on the road again, but we are playing much better competition tonight. What a game this was. With 12 ties and 19 lead changes and no team having a lead more than 6, this was a classic. In the end, we overcame 19 turnovers and 3 players in foul trouble, and David Gaines had an offensive rebound and putback with 4 seconds left. We didn't allowed them to get a shot off and pulled out a 67-65 victory!

Jan. 12, 2012

Portland St. (6-8, 2-1) @ Texas A&M-CC (10-4, 3-0)

We are one of just 2 undefeated teams left in the conference and are hoping to keep it that way. As per usual, we got off to a slow start, actually turning the ball over on our first 4 possessions. Then we picked it up, getting the ball inside, drawing fouls and making our free throws. We forced their PG into 6 turnovers and used balanced scoring, led by Brian Patten with 13, as we sayed undefeated on the conference with a 72-57 victory.

[sportsfanmike]

Jan. 16, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (11-4, 4-0) @ UC Riverside (3-12, 0-4)

We're on the road against what could possibly be the worst team in the conference. There's no way we can lose this game, right? Right! We led from start to finish, getting it up to as much as 18. Gene Lewis led all scorers with 21 points and Jimmy Brittian added 10 as we won 76-62.

Jan. 19, 2012

Mississippi Valley St. (9-8, 3-2) @ Texas A&M-CC (12-4, 5-0)

This could be a tough game for us, as Missisippi Valley is a scrappy team. Fortunately we were up to the task, shooting 48% for the game, and nailing 13 three pointers. We led by as many as 27, Gene Lewis had 22 and Brian Patten had 19. We won 75-54 to remain undefeated in conference 'P'.

Jan. 23, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (13-4, 6-0) @ Columbia (10-7, 5-1)

A chance to create some distance as we start a brief 2 game road trip with a solid Columbia team first. The difference is we made 21 shots, and they made 28. It ended up being the difference as we lost our first conference game, 74-69.

Jan. 26, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (13-5, 6-1) @ Utah Valley (11-7, 5-2)

An important game as we need to stay near the top of the conference race. After losing to Columbia, a loss here would be damaging. And let the meltdown start. We blew a 6 point lead late and ended up losing 70-64. Damn road games! A surprise bright spot was Joshua Lubeck who had 16, a career high for him! We are now 6-2 in the conference. Not bad, but losing 2 in a row hurts.

Here are the Conference 'P' Standings halfway through

Code: Select all

William & Mary (7-1, 11-8)
Columbia (6-2, 11-8)
Utah Valley (6-2, 12-7)
[B]Texas A&M-CC[/B] (6-2, 13-6)
Portland St. (6-2, 10-9)
Eastern Washington (5-3, 11-8)
Loyola-Maryland (5-3, 8-11)
Mississippi Valley St. (5-3. 11-9)
UMKC (4-4, 11-8)
Portland (3-5, 11-8)
Western Illinois (2-6, 6-13)
Delaware (2-6, 8-11)
UC Riverside (2-6, 5-14)
SE Missouri St. (2-6, 8-11)
UMBC (2-6, 3-16)
SE Louisiana (1-7, 3-16)

[PointGuard]

Yes, 2 losses in a row hurts but a very good season thus far anyway!

[sportsfanmike]

Jan. 30, 2012

William & Mary (11-8, 7-1) @ Texas A&M-CC (13-6, 6-2)

Each game from here on out is so important. This was a chance to get back to the top of the conference race. It was a good back and forth game, with 11 lead changes. 2 of our guys had double doubles. David Gaines had 10 points and 10 boards, and Brian Patten had 15 points and 10 boards. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, as they went on a run late and we lost 73-65.

Feb. 2, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (13-7, 6-3) @ Loyola-Maryland (8-12, 5-4)

We really need a win, having lost 3 in a row, but the road hasn't been very kind to us. And all I can say about tonight is ouch!!! It was ugly. We got behind early, and stayed behind. They led by as many as 22, and we never led. Of course when you let a team shoot 56.6% from the field, losses will happen. We lost 78-58 to continue our slide.

Feb. 6, 2012

UMKC (13-8, 6-4) @ Texas A&M-CC (13-8, 6-4)

A battle of teams with the exact same record. The problem is, we're on a losing streak, they are on a winning streak. Something will have to give.... and it did. My team gave up. Down by 15 points at halftime, as many as 28in the second half, and we lost 82-57. Not much more to say.

Feb. 9, 2012

Delaware (11-11, 5-6) @ Texas A&M-CC (13-9, 6-5)

This is a very important game for us. We have to win if we have any hope of finishing in the top 4. The team hasn't been playing good at all lately, I made a few tweaks, we'll see if they make a difference. Unfortunately it was not to be, as we extended our losing streak to 6 games, losing 64-52.

[PointGuard]

WHOA! STOP THE TRAIN! It's going to the the wrong destination. GOTTA GET OFF!

I guess the P Conference was a major step up.

Are you getting disgruntled players after the 6 straight losses? Any players who are cancerous to the team?

[sportsfanmike]

Yea I had real high hopes for promotion the way we started. Now.. I've got to get this team back into the mindset of winning enough conference games so that they don't get demoted!

Surprisingly I've only had 1 problem person all year, and I called him, told him to work on being more personable, and he said he would try. other than that, it's been smooth sailing.

I really don't like the interaction system though, you've got the same choices no matter what. I wish there was a way to mix it up a little better.

[PointGuard]

I agree...I'd like more options and a wider degree of responses/effects.

[sportsfanmike]

Feb. 13, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (13-10, 6-6) @ UMBC (4-19, 3-9)

We're on a 6 game slide right now, but facing one of the worst teams in the conference. Unfortunately we are on the road, and the road is our enemy. We played like it in the first half, down by 10 at the break. I lit into them and told them no way can we lose to one of the worst team in the NCAA and they better pick it up or I'd be playing with a completely new team next year. That lit the fire under them, as they outscored UMBC 36-15 in the second half. Larrie Robinson had a double double with 10 points and 12 boards and we busted our losing streak with a 58-47 victory. Thank god!

Feb. 16, 2012

SE Louisiana (6-18, 4-9) @ Texas A&M-CC (14-10, 7-6)

Looking to develop a winning streak as we head towards the end of the season, we knew we had to beat the conference bottom feeders, especially at home. And tonight we did. They couldn't get a lead bigger than 1, while we led by as many as 23. We had 3 players in double figures tonight, led by Kyle Parker with 13. We won 77-64.

Feb. 19, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (15-10) @ VMI (19-6) (Bracket Buster Sunday)

I hate having to play this game then go on the road for a conference game tomorrow. While I would like to have this win, I'm more worried about conference games at this point. I told the guys to play hard, but don't go so hard that you hurt yourself for the rest of the season. To my surprise, the guys played smart, and they played hard. We had 4 guys in double figures, led by Gene Lewis with 16, and we shocked VMI, 75-62!

Feb. 20, 2012

Texas A&M-CC (16-10, 8-6) @ Western Illinois (8-17, 4-10)

This is a huge game for us, especially coming off a bracketbuster win. I'm thinking postseason again at this point, but getting this road victory is crucial. I just hope our guys aren't too spent from upsetting VMI. And boy did we take care of business tonight! We forced them into 18 turnovers and led by as many as 18. Gene Lewis was unstoppable, putting up 26 points as we won 81-64.

Feb. 23, 2012

SE Missouri State (11-15, 5-10) @ Texas A&M-CC (17-10, 9-6)

Last game of the regular season, and we're playing for something. William & Mary has already clinched the regular season title. Between what we do and what everybody else does, we could finish anywhere from 2nd to 11th in conference 'P'. 2nd sounds a hell of a lot better than 11th. The day started out bad, as Gene Lewis was late for shootaround, so instead of starting him, I decided to start Reggie Cota. It didn't matter though, we led 39-20 at halftime and rolled to an 81-53 victory. Lewis came off the bench to score 20, with 5 boards, and Kurt Stewart had 13 points and 9 dimes. So we respond to our 6 game losing streak with a 5 game winning streak to end the season. Nice work boys!

[sportsfanmike]

Here are the final conference 'P' standings:

William & Mary (12-4, 17-11)
Eastern Washington (11-5, 18-10)
Utah Valley (10-6, 16-12)
UMKC (10-6, 18-10)
Texas A&M-CC (10-6, 18-10)
Mississippi Valley St. (10-6, 16-12)
Loyola-Maryland (9-7, 12-15)
Columbia (9-7, 14-14)
Portland St. (8-8, 12-15)
Delaware (8-8, 14-13)
Portland (7-9, 15-12)
UC Riverside (6-10, 9-18)
SE Missouri State (5-11, 11-16)
SE Louisiana (5-11, 7-20)
Western Illinois (4-12, 8-19)
UMBC (4-12, 5-22)

We finish in a 4 way tie for third. Since we lost to both Utah Valley and UMKC, but we beat Miss. Valley St. that gives us the #5 seed in the tournament. Here's what we know about promotion/relegation.

SE Missouri St., SE Louisian, Western Illinois, and UMBC will all be relegated to conference 'Q'.

William & Mary and Eastern Washington are getting promoted for sure. I would assume that both Utah Valley and UMKC will be promoted as well, unless one of the teams 5 thru 16 wins the conference tournament. Simply put, the only way we get promoted this season is to win the tourney.

[Jabez54]

Well ... Glad to see the team back on track ... on a positive note .. looking prime ready for the tourney .. Luck of the Irish to you and team ...