Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[CoachC]

the king of what?

[PointGuard]

De king a de woild, I guess.

[PointGuard]

Game #20; Jan. 23, 2015: TX Pan American Broncos (9-10, 2-4) at CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (15-4, 4-2)

The Broncos’ SG Tim Daniels leads their scoring with 15.8 ppg and hits for a high percentage, so we will try stick close to him to make him shoot some tough shots to keep him in control.

We moved out to a 24-9 lead midway through the half. Offensively we were on fire, hitting 57% for the entire half. We forced the Broncos to make 11 turnovers and made just 2 ourselves. Jerell Brown popped in 19 points for us. The only problem we encountered in the first half was that my 3 point guards picked up a total of 9 fouls.

In the 2nd half, we continued to knock down baskets from all over, building our lead to 24 points. Defensively we relaxed, allowing the Broncos to score more points than I found acceptable, but a lot of their points also came on free throws (28 of 33) as the refs attempted to even up the game by calling fouls on us for just being on the floor. That made it possible for the Broncos to narrow the score but the game was never in doubt.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-94, TX Pan American-80. CSU Bakersfield season record: 16-4; Great West record: 5-2 (2nd place).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-32, Lyde-16, Evans-16, Durham-11, Saunders-9.

Rebound leaders: Lyde-7, Saunders-6, Evans-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-9, Lyde-4, Jrl Brown-3, Bryson-3.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-32 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 5 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Randy Durham-11 pts, 3 reb, 9 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: We dropped in 52% of our shots. TX Pan American hit 44% of theirs. We were out-rebounded 35-28, but we held a 21-7 turnover advantage (love it!).

[PointGuard]

Game #21; Jan. 26, 2015: CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (16-4, 5-2) at Houston Baptist Huskies (8-12, 4-3)

We stomped the Huskies 84-47 but I warn my guys that we’re going to have to play tough to beat them on their own court plus they are only 1 game behind us in the conference race.

We took a 26-12 lead midway through the first half. The refs then got several of our players in foul trouble and the Huskies fought back to get within 2 points. We played tough at the end of the half to expand our lead to 43-36. We hit 56% of our shots while Houston Baptist hit 39%. Our leading scorer was Marcus Evans with 9 points.

We started out the 2nd half by building a double digit lead only to see it evaporate and the Huskies pull within 2 points. At that point, our players played a workman like game, doing whatever was necessary to rebuild our lead. Houston Baptist never rolled over , but our team played very well together to get a big victory.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-80, Houston Baptist-70. CSU Bakersfield season record: 17-4; Great West record: 6-2 (2nd place).

Scoring leaders: Evans-20, Jrl Brown-18, Saunders-12.

Rebound leaders: Saunders-13, Evans-5, Jrl Brown-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-4.

Player of the Game: SF/SG Marcus Evans-20 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 1 block.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Mark Saunders-12 pts, 13 reb, 2 assists.

Other notes: We didn’t shoot well in the 2nd half and ended the game hitting 44%. Houston Baptist improved their shooting to finish with 48%. But we won it in the trenches, dominating the boards 39-23 and holding a 16-8 turnover advantage. Mark Saunders played his best game of the year, getting a double-double (12 points, 13 rebounds). I wish he would play that way all the time.

[PointGuard]

On Janaury 28th, we got the good news that Jerell Brown qualified as a quarterfinalist for the Norton Award.

This past week Jerell also won his 3rd Great West Conference Player of the Week award for this season.

[PointGuard]

While we have a good offense, our defense seemed to be our hallmark this year.
In our first 14 games this season, we only let teams score 70 or more points twice (highest points for an opponent in any game was 77) and we gave up an average of 57.6 ppg. Offensively we averaged 73.6 ppg in those 14 games. Our record in those 14 ring that period was 12-2.

But in the last 7 games, we let teams score 70 or more points 5 times (and in 2 of these games the opponents scored more than 80 points). Our opponents’ have averaged 68.3 ppg in these last 7 games. Lately, our defensive lapses have made it necessary for our offense to bail us out (averaging 76.4 ppg). Our record in these 7 games is 5-2.

I’m not sure why we’ve had the defensive letdown, but I definitely am going to be stressing defense to our guys the rest of this season.

[PointGuard]

Game #22; Jan. 30, 2015: New Jersey Tech Highlanders (15-6, 8-0) at CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (17-4, 6-2)

Huge game for both teams, but absolutely critical for us if we want a chance to win the conference title. In crafting their 8-0 conference record, New Jersey Tech now has the 38th best RPI in the nation. Our RPI is 35th best. We’re still smarting from the 86-66 pasting we took from the Huskies earlier this year.

I mentioned that I hoped to resurrect our strong defense. Well this game will be a huge test of that since New Jersey Tech has averaged 80.1 ppg in their 8 conference games, a big reason why they are undefeated thus far in conference play. But my pregame pep-talk centered on nothing but defense…staying in the face of their man, providing backup to their teammates, not giving up easy shots. I had come down with food-poisoning, so after talking to the team before the game, I spent most all of the game barfing in the locker room.

But I guess my harping on defense did some good. We clamped down on the Highlanders in the first half, contesting nearly every shot. Meanwhile our offense clicked so that by the end of the half we had a 44-23 lead. Jerell Brown scored 13 points to lead us offensively plus he held the Highlanders’ leading scorer, Adam McLean to just 2 points.

We expanded our lead slightly in the 2nd half (biggest lead was 27 points) and won with ease to give New Jersey Tech their first conference loss, revenge our earlier debacle, and narrow their lead for the conference title to 1 game. I’m hopeful it will shake them up enough so that they lose some more games and give us a chance to claim the title.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-84, New Jersey Tech-61. CSU Bakersfield season record: 18-4; Great West record: 7-2 (2nd place).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-21, Lyde-12, Durham-10, Bryson-9, Evans-8.

Rebound leaders: Jsh Brown-13, Lyde-10.

Assist leaders: Durham-7, Dunn-4.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-21 pts, 3 reb, 1 assist.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Ali Lyde-12 pts, 10 reb, 1 assist, 2 steals.

Other notes: Coming off the bench, Josh Brown was a beast on the boards, hauling down 13 rebounds in 18 minutes of play. Ali Lyde recorded a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds). We hit 43% of our shots (and 42% ofour 3’s) while holding the Highlanders to 41% shooting (and more importantly 27% from 3 point distance). We commanded the boards, 43-29 and forced 15 turnovers by New Jersey Tech while making just 8 ourselves.

Holding the potent New Jersey Tech offense to just 61 points was a coup our defense.

We now have 4 players averaging in double figures (Jerell Brown-18.0 ppg, Marcus Evans-11.1 ppg, Randy Durham-10.2 ppg, and Ali Lyde-10.1 ppg). In addition, my 3 centers (Mark Saunders, Marcelle Prastner, and Josh Brown) have a combined 11.1 ppg and 9.4 rpg.

[PointGuard]

Game #23; Feb. 2, 2015: CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (18-4, 7-2) at Utah Valley Wolverines (8-14, 3-6)

We beat Utah Valley 74-49 on our account earlier this year. SF Bryan Boyce is their go-to guy offensively.

After falling behind 6-0, we clawed our way back into the game to take the lead 14-12. From maintained a lead from thereon in the 1st half, expanding it to as much as 8 points, but finishing the half ahead 33-27. We hit 47% and held the Wolverines to 39% shooting. We also out-rebounded Utah Valley 18-13. Jarell Brown scored 16 points and Marcus Evans added 11 points, so the rest of our team only scored 6 points. We need to get more balanced scoring in the 2nd half.

Utah Valley chopped away at our lead in the 2nd half and took a 45-44 lead with 12:50 to go in the game. We fell behind by 6 points before recovering, but the latter half of the 2nd half was just plain sloppy by both teams with numerous turnovers.

With 4 minutes to play the game was tied 52-52. With 2 minutes left, we were ahead 54-52. We took a 4 point lead with 1-1/2 minutes to play, but turned the ball over with 56 seconds on the clock. I was upset when Michael Curry fouled with 48 seconds to play, but the Wolverines missed the first shot of a one-and-one. Utah Valley had to foul 3 times before they had 7 fouls for the half. Michael Curry made up for his foul by sinking both ends of the 1-and-1 to give us a 58-52 lead with 41 seconds on the clock. The Wolverines lofted up a quick 3 that missed. We rebounded and again were quickly fouled. Curry sunk the first of a 1-and-1 to make it a 3-possession game with 26 seconds remaining. Utah Valley was unable to knock down two attempts to score. We escaped with a narrow victory, but any win on the road is a bonus.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-59, Utah Valley-52. CSU Bakersfield season record: 19-4; Great West record: 8-2 (2nd place).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-16, Evans-16, Lyde-14.

Rebound leaders: Evans-8, Saunders-8, Pastner-7, Lyde-5, Jrl Brown-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-5, Lyde-3.

Player of the Game: SF/SG Marcus Evans-16 pts, 8 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Ali Lyde-14 pts, 5 reb, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block.

Other notes: We had a slim shooting advantage (41% to 37%) but Utah Valley was 0 for 10 on threes while we hit 46% of our 3’s. We controlled the boards 39-27, but our 19 turnovers will mean I get on our players to get control of the ball. The Wolverines had 13 turnovers. No one on the Wolverines scored in double figures.

New Jersey Tech returned to their winning roads, scoring an 88-76 victory on the road and maintaining their 1 game lead over us. We are going to need another team in the conference to beat them to give us a chance of catching them.

Our 6 straight wins, but most importantly our decimation of New Jersey Tech, catapulted us into the Top 25. We are #23 with an RPI that is 34th best in the nation.

[PointGuard]

Game #24; Feb. 6, 2015: Seattle Redhawks (13-10, 5-5) at #23 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (19-4, 8-2)

Our guys want this one since the Redhawks beat us in Seattle 73-70 in OT earlier this year. We now have a six-game win streak, but Seattle has a win streak also, albeit a bit more modest 3 game one. Their SG Adam Givens is scoring 21.3 ppg, but for some unknown reason is sitting on the bench to start tonight’s game.

We applied a stiff defense for most of the first half and took a double digit lead, but relaxed it in the last 5 minutes of the half to let Seattle back into the game, as they narrowed the gap to 35-29 at the break. We had a 9-4 turnover advantage but Seattle enjoyed an 18-14 rebounding advantage. I jumped on our players during the half about the need to get tough on defense and to block out on the boards. Jerell Brown and Marcus Evans each scored 7 points for us.

Adam Givens only hit 2 of 6 shots for Seattle, but his 5 points in 8 minutes of play were 3 more than their starter at SG, Orlando Wilson, scored in 13 minutes of play. But Seattle still started Wilson in the 2nd half. I was left scratching my head. Well, little do I know! Wilson hit 3 of 3 (including two 3’s) to score 8 quick points and Seattle tied us at 43-43 with 15 minutes to play. Seattle was on fire and took a 60-57 lead with 7 minutes to play, but we then scored the next 9 points to put us ahead by 6 with 3 minutes to play. With 56 seconds to play, Seattle had the ball, but we had a 68-62 lead. Seattle’s Orlando Wilson knocked down a 3 with 45 seconds left to make it 68-65. Michael Curry drove right of the key, put up a shot over the defender and scored with 39 ticks on the clock to make it 70-65. We then played amazing defense, keeping them from putting up a shot for 32 seconds and then allowing only a tightly contested 3 which missed badly. We rebounded and pulled off a difficult win.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-70, Seattle-65. CSU Bakersfield season record: 20-4; Great West record: 9-2 (1st place tie).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-19, Durham-10, Evans-10, Lyde-8.

Rebound leaders: Saunders-7, Lyde-6.

Assist leaders: Durham-3.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-19 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PG Randy Durham-10 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: Both team’s hit 48% of their FG attempts. Seattle beat us on the boards 35-27, but we forced them to turn the ball over 17 times while we had just 7 turnovers. Seattle’s Orlando Wilson ended the game with 15 points. Adam Givens only played 14 minutes, scoring 8 points.

To everyone’s surprise, New Jersey Tech lost a home game, 76-69 to Utah Valley. Their loss coupled with our win put the two teams into a tie for 1st place in the Great West Conference.

[PointGuard]

Game #25; Feb. 9, 2015: #23 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (20-4, 9-2) at North Dakota Fighting Sioux (8-16, 3-8)

I can only warn our players not to overlooks North Dakota, reminding them that lowly Utah Valley upset New Jersey Tech and also pointing out that the Fighting Sioux are protecting their home in tonight’s game.

We hit 4 of our first 5 shots and took a 10-1 lead just 2-1/2 minutes into the game. We then expanded our lead to 15-1. Our shooting then went ice cold and North Dakota came storming back to cut our lead to 19-18 with 8:30 to play in the first half. We then got back on track offensively plus defensively shut down the Fighting Sioux. We rapidly pulled away and finished the half ahead 41-21. We hit 47% of our shots while holding North Dakota to 29% shooting. We had a 19-17 rebounding advantage and made just 5 turnovers while forcing North Dakota to make 12. Jerell Brown dumped in 20 big points for us. Marcus Evans contributed an additional 13, so again that duo contributed almost all of our points.

We again went into a scoring vacuum through the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half and North Dakota cut our lead to 49-41. Our lead shrunk to 5 with 3 minutes to play. North Dakota hit a driving jumper with 1:15 to go to decrease our lead to 56-52. With 40 seconds to go, the score was 58-54. Jerell Brown hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 59-54 with 30 seconds to play. After missing a shot, they fouled with 7 seconds left and Brown made both shots.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-61, North Dakota-54. CSU Bakersfield season record: 21-4; Great West record: 10-2 (1st place tie).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-32, Evans-16.

Rebound leaders: Lyde-7, Saunders-5, Jrl Brown-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-3, Bryson-3.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-32 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 3 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF/SG Marcus Evans-16 pts, 4 reb.

Other notes: Both teams hit 38% of their shots. North Dakota pulled down 37 rebounds to our 33, but even though we had 16 turnovers, they turned the ball over 24 times.

We moved up to #20 in the Media Poll and #22 in the Coaches Poll. Our RPI is now 27th best in the country. We’re #32 on the “who’s in” of the bubble watch. New Jersey Tech is #55 on the “who’s in” listing.