Mr. Analytics Brings Modern Basketball to Campus

[Magic Bird]

Patriot League Standings Halfway Through Conference Play:
Loyola-Maryland: 7-2 (12-6 overall), RPI - .515 (115th nationally)
Lafayette: 6-3 (8-10), RPI - .443 (291st)
Lehigh: 6-3 (12-6), RPI - .540 (83rd)
Colgate: 6-3 (10-8), RPI - .492 (177th)
Navy: 6-3 (7-11), RPI - .471 (235th)
Army: 4-5 (7-11), RPI - .455 (268th)
Bucknell: 3-6 (9-9), RPI - .468 (242nd)
American: 3-6 (6-12), RPI - .420 (332nd)
Holy Cross: 3-6 (8-11), RPI - .439 (304th)
Boston: 1-8 (3-15), RPI - .422 (325th)

Right now we are in a 4 way tie for 2nd place in the conference. We won't sustain that; 5 of our next 9 games are away, and I don't think we can beat Loyola-Maryland at our place. I predict that we'll finish around 4th or 5th in the standings at the end of the season, with a final record of 10-8 or 9-9 in the conference.

The Booster Club wanted to sell some merchandise celebrating Dennis Riley with his nickname Dennis the Menace, but a legal quandary over whether or not they would have to license the name for a fee from the rights holders of the comic strip character discouraged them from doing so. Rats!

[Magic Bird]

1/28: Lafayette (8-10, 6-3) vs Loyola-Maryland (12-6, 7-2)
Right away we set the tone with a steal and a breakaway dunk. Yeah! Go get it! We build our lead up to 13-2 by the 15:40 mark. Unfortunately Marcus Woods won't play for most of the rest of the half; he picked up 2 early fouls. We continue dominating the Greyhounds for the next 10 minutes, increasing our lead until it's a 20 point margin. My players became cocky and started turning it over, leading to some preventable Loyola-Maryland scores. I signal for a timeout at 4:27 with the score at 36-20. Our team plays with better effort and Lafayette enters halftime with a 51-30 lead. In the half we had 10 steals and 12 fast break points, but committed 10 turnovers and 12 fouls. On the other side Loyola-Maryland turned it over 16 times.

By 16:09 we've brought the lead to 30 points. Loyola-Maryland cannot take care of the ball at all. Eventually we start missing and the Greyhounds start hitting; they cut the lead down to 18, 68-50, with 8:52 remaining. I call a timeout and scream in my men's faces to remind them to stay awake and don't get comfortable with the large lead. Both teams trade shots, then Greyhounds C Bryan Asbury steals the ball from us twice in a row! Time. Out. That gives Asbury 3 steals for the night, though Dennis Riley has been menacing Loyola-Maryland with 4 steals of his own while playing center for us. After that much needed timeout we play solid ball on both ends of the court, which earns us an 84-63 victory! We could not shoot 3's tonight (6/29), but we induced the Greyhounds to turn the ball over 26 times, we picked up 13 steals, and we scored 20 fast break points.

Player of the Game: Francis Cambridge (12 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Clint English (12 pts, 2 ast, 5 reb, 1 stl), Johnnie Long (10 pts, 1 ast, 9 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl),
Tyler Stanfield had 3 steals, and Dennis the Menace snatched 4 steals.

2/1: Lafayette (9-10, 7-3) @ Boston (3-16, 1-9)
It's a back and forth game for the first 10 minutes. Both teams are playing decent basketball. At 9:59 Tyler Stanfield commits our second turnover of the game. We lead 20-18. Boston collapses after that, and my players increase our lead to double digits, 29-18, by 6:58. The Terriers diminish their mistakes, but we continue dominating all the way to a halftime lead of 44-26. Tyler Stanfield scored 16 points for the Leopards.

The 2nd half starts off with a pair of turnovers by us. I call a timeout and yell at them, "HEY! THE HALFTIME BREAK IS OVER! IT'S TIME TO PLAY BASKETBALL NOW!" The team is roused and plays much better for the next several minutes. The referees don't seem interested in calling fouls on Boston this half. At 10:39 we lead the Terriers 63-39. As the period progresses I'm convinced these officials are trying to help Boston. They keep making some questionable foul and travel calls, while they let the Terriers get away with everything. I bring my issues up with the nearest ref, but he doesn't care. However, he did appear to briefly consider a complaint about a travel call on Clint English. Eventually he warns me that if I keep pestering him he'll slap me with a technical foul. I cease my yammering, while my players continue piling up points on the Terriers. We make a bunch of mistakes late in the game but still win 72-59.

Player of the Game: Tyler Stanfield (27 pts, 1 ast, 2 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Vegas Johnson (8 pts, 6 ast, 5 reb, 1 stl), Marcus Woods (9 pts, 1 ast, 3 reb, 2 stl),
Jerome Campbell (8 pts, 4 ast, 3 reb, 1 stl), Tim Stowers (2 pts, 2 ast, 9 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)

2/4: Lafayette (10-10, 8-3) vs Navy (8-12, 7-4)
The team gets off to a rollicking start; Navy's coach has to call a timeout because we lead 16-8 by 15:54. We maintain the onslaught, racking the score up to 26-10 two minutes later. Another couple of minutes later, another few points for us, and the Midshipmen use another timeout. The momentum is swinging for Lafayette completely right now, and the crowd is on its feet. I tell my guys to stay honest and disciplined and not get carried away with our current success. At 7:51 Navy calls a third timeout while down 39-16. They need to get something going. Well okay, from my perspective they don't need to get anything going. The Midshipmen do indeed start playing well, and they cut our advantage down to 42-28 at 4:42. I call a timeout. I don't manage to rekindle any passion in my players so we settle for a 50-38 halftime margin.

We have more fire in us to begin the new period. In the first 4 minutes we build our lead back up to 67-43. Marcus Woods is having a great night with 18 points and making 4/5 threes. Afterwards however we go cold, and Navy makes several successive baskets. By 11:33 the lead is down to 73-57. We recover, and end up running away with a 100-80 blowout. My walk-ons earned some playing time near the end.

Player of the Game: Tyler Stanfield (21 pts, 2 ast, 5 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, 4/7 3pm/a, 8/12 fgm/a)
Honorable Mentions: Marcus Woods (21 pts, 1 ast, 7 reb, 2 stl, 0 tov, 5/7 3pm/a), Tim Stowers (13 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 0 tov),
Francis Cambridge (3 pts, 10 ast, 1 reb)

I wish the Player of the Game could be shared; in my opinion Marcus Woods deserved to be a Co-Player of the Game.

The win over Navy gives Lafayette a winning record at last! Also, we've risen to the top of the conference standings with sole possession of 1st place in the Patriot League. I'm impressed with how well my team has played during the conference season so far. At one point this team was 2-8, since then we've gone 9-2! I doubt we'll stay at the top of the Patriot League standings, but I think this team can secure at least 3rd place by season's end. In addition to conference success, I have managed to meet all the goals the administration set for me this season. Lafayette has 10 wins, cannot possibly tumble to last place in the conference even if we don't win another game, and I'm making sure none of my players drop and remain below a 3.0 GPA, let alone a 2.0 GPA.

[Magic Bird]

2/8: Lafayette (11-10, 9-3) @ Colgate (12-9, 8-4)
We have a poor start; our shooting is cold for the first 5 minutes. I don't know how Colgate only leads us 3-8. Like a few of our other road games, the refs are clearly favoring the home team. By 14:40 they've called 6 fouls against us and only 1 against the Raiders. I've told my players to reduce their defensive intensity, but so far it hasn't reduced the number of fouls called on us. Colgate PG Chezley Turner suffered a hard fall and hobbled off the court. I don't know if he'll play again tonight. We finally start making some shots. At 8:51 we tie the game at 20 points. Unfortunately we let the Raiders steal the ball from us twice over the next 2 possessions and Tim Stowers earns his 2nd foul. Now I'm angry, and I let my players know it. We play better for the next several minutes, though the calls are still biased against us. When the halftime break arrives we are down 36-39.

The 2nd half starts off well; we pick the Raiders off twice and gain the lead 41-39 after 1 & 1/2 minutes of play. We lose the lead afterwards though due to continued poor shooting. Colgate makes several baskets in a row. I don't want to increase our defensive intensity yet because I fear we might sink into deeper foul trouble. Later some miscues cause me to call a timeout at 12:41. I deliver some harsh words to the team, and my players improve their effort. At 10:42, Colgate leads 55-60, and we look like we're coming back. Of course, that's when our fortunes turn. By 6:58 I have to call another timeout because we're turning the ball over and the Raiders have found a groove. We still can't quite figure out how to play our best basketball, and Colgate pulls away to defeat us 71-83.

Player of the Game: Colgate PF Paul King (24 pts, 2 ast, 6 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)
Leopards Honorable Mentions: Starzee Reed (12 pts, 2 ast, 2 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl), Tyler Stanfield (10 pts, 1 ast, 3 reb, 0 tov),
Marcus Woods (9 pts, 1 ast, 6 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl), Vegas Johnson (7 pts, 4 ast, 4 reb, 1 stl, but 4 tov)

After the game I learned that Colgate's Chezley Turner broke his left foot. He won't play for the rest of the season.

2/10: Today a member of the school newspaper approached me after practice. He asked me if I had some time to talk with him and if I was willing to answer a question about one of my players. I said I do and that I am willing. The interviewer pulled out his phone to record our discussion and asked his question.

Interviewer: "Coach Colson, Dennis Riley hasn't played like his usual menacing self in his last few games. Fans want to know why he's been doing so poorly recently."

Me: "Well, if you look at his point production and rebounding, he actually hasn't performed much worse than usual. His shooting has been less efficient and he hasn't been drawing many fouls lately, so he's definitely not playing as well in those areas. He's also struggled on defense but you must keep in mind that he's been going up against some great big men. This year the Patriot League is full of talented centers and PFs, most of whom lead their teams. Remember that Dennis is only 6'8 214 lbs, so he's smaller than many of those guys. I'm impressed that he's competed as well as he has against much bigger men without letting himself get pushed around too much. I think he's in a bit of a slump, but I'm confident that he'll come out of it sooner rather than later. He has a passion for the game and a great competitive spirit; he tries hard to play his best. I'm not worried about him right now."

Interviewer: "I don't know, I'm not as sure about him as you are. Thanks for giving me your time, coach, and thanks for letting me record you. The fans are going to love this."

Me: "You're welcome. Let me know in advance next time you want to talk to me."

Interviewer: "Okay I will."

He left to put his story in the paper and start the presses, while I returned to my office to contemplate my team's practice performance.

2/11: Lafayette (11-11, 9-4) vs Bucknell (13-9, 7-6)
Bucknell is riding a 4 game winning streak. Let's terminate it!

Once again we are cold as ice to start the game, but Bucknell does not play well, so it remains a close game. At 8:12 the game is tied at 20 points apiece but we've become careless with the ball. I call a timeout and thrash the team for their lack of discipline. I'm also hoping that seeing their coach appear upset will motivate them to look for more and better scoring opportunities. We play better for the next few possessions but overall our play is inconsistent for the rest of the half. Bucknell shoots 62.5% while we only make 38.7% of our shots, and both teams enter the break tied 37-37. We need to defend the Bison better, though they are also making quite a few lucky shots.

The Bison steal the ball from us twice in consecutive possessions. This has happened at least once per game in most of our recent games. Like I usually do when this occurs, I signal for a timeout. I scream at my players to let them know this is unacceptable. The team cannot play good basketball this period. More miscues happen, and Bucknell pulls away to 46-53 by 12:14. I use another timeout to try to get my team to focus on playing solid basketball. They commit some turnovers, I keep hollering at them, and finally they put together a string of solid possessions. We're still down 54-55 at 7:59. I will not be happy if we lose at home tonight. By 5:56 my bench unit has completed a 10-0 run with excellent play. This is what I want more of! The Bison call a timeout to disrupt our flow. I praise my players for turning this game around. I hope I didn't speak too soon. I didn't, and we proceed to defeat the Bison 76-68. Bucknell committed several turnovers late in the game which helped us immensely.

Player of the Game: Clint English (10 pts, 6 ast, 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Starzee Reed (12 pts), Tyler Stanfield (9 pts, 2 ast, 5 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)

Part 2 of The Rivalry is up next. This time Lehigh is hosting us, and I'm expecting plenty of "home cooking" from the officials.

2/15: Lafayette (12-11, 10-4) @ Lehigh (16-7, 10-4)
The thieving Mountain Hawks steal the ball from us 2 times, and we throw a pass into the stands for 3 turnovers total in the first 2 minutes. I'm upset, but I want to see if my starters can figure out how to play more carefully. They do; we don't turn it over again for the next 4 minutes. When I put my bench in, they the ball stolen from them a couple of times, but they too figure out how to play with greater care for the basketball. This is what I like; I want my team to learn from their mistakes without forcing me to call a timeout to criticize them and restore their focus. We do need to play better defense when Lehigh gets offensive rebounds; the Mountain Hawks are making too many second chance scores. Other than that and our turnovers, we have played well. We're hanging with Lehigh 18-19 at 9:12. The referees have been fair tonight thus far. I call a timeout a minute later because my bench players have become careless again. We have 9 turnovers now, which is far too many. The rest of the half we continue struggling with turnovers, but still manage to tie Lehigh 32-32 at the end. Our shooting efficiency is fantastic tonight. I love the shots my men are taking.

It's a shootout for the first several minutes after the teams return to the court. When I put my bench in to rest my starters, we can't keep up with Lehigh. By 11:34 they lead us 49-56. The Mountain Hawks continue making threes and scoring baskets off of offensive rebounds. At 7:17 we're down 57-68; I tell the team to focus more on snaring defensive rebounds away from Lehigh. I should have made this adjustment long ago. During a media timeout, I try to appeal to their sense of rivalry, yelling at them to catch the Mountain Hawks and retake the lead from them. We put together a small run, but it's not enough. Lehigh makes a jumpshot at the buzzer to win 72-81.

Player of the Game: Lehigh SG Rashad Read (16 pts, 4 ast, 4 reb, 1 blk)
Leopards Honorable Mentions: Tyler Stanfield (14 pts, 4 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl), Marcus Woods (11 pts, 1 ast, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 tov),
Clint English (9 pts, 1 ast, 2 reb), Francis Cambridge (10 pts, 3 ast, 4 reb, 1 blk, but 6 tov)

Lehigh now owns the top spot in the Patriot League standings. We are tied for second with Colgate and Loyola-Maryland, but Colgate's two victories over us are a tiebreaker in their favor.

[Magic Bird]

2/18: Lafayette (12-12, 10-5) @ Army (9-15, 6-9)
The officials call 6 fouls against my players by 14:23. I don't like some of the calls. I bring my complaints to the nearest referee a couple of times and he concedes that I have a point, but the refs keep making the same poor calls against my guys. I've also instructed my guys to play with more care on defense; don't give the refs any excuse to call something. Army leads 10-14 with 8 of their points coming from the charity stripe. Despite the foul trouble we catch up and take the lead. Unfortunately we proceed to turn the ball over a few times, so I call a timeout at 10:19 to talk about it. The score at that time is 19-18. Later in the period the calls start demoralizing my players, who begin playing sloppy basketball. Army takes over and makes the score 24-32. At 4:34 I call timeout and yell at them for their sloppy play but also try to encourage them to keep fighting without regard for what the officials call. We try to fight back, but the team is still somewhat discouraged. This affects our shot making negatively, and we enter halftime down 35-43.

The referee bias against us increases in the next period. Some questionable foul and travel calls have me frequently complaining to the officials. The Army has some great home cooking. My players look increasingly demoralized as the game progresses. Their play also deteriorates. The refs call more fouls, we stop making shots, we turn it over more, and Army's Black Knights (and some black & white striped knights) blow us out 67-86. I could not motivate my players no matter how hard I tried, and I'm not surprised; my motivation diminished throughout the half as well. This was a bad game for us.

Player of the Game: Army C Senque Ezell (18 pts, 2 ast, 10 reb, 2 stl)
Leopards Honorable Mentions: Johnnie Long (18 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl, 0 tov, 4/6 3pm/a, 13 min), Clint English (11 pts),
Tim Stowers (11 pts, 5 reb, 1 blk), Vegas Johnson assisted 6 times.

Tyler Stanfield had his worst shooting performance of the year: 0/4 from 3 and 1/8 overall.

2/22: Lafayette (12-13, 10-6) vs Holy Cross (10-16, 5-11)
4 turnovers in the first 3 minutes make me angry, so I call a timeout to thrash my team for their lack of discipline. The team still continues playing careless basketball. I'm fuming. Eventually we stop handing the ball to Holy Cross and start catching up to them, with the score midway through the half being 9-13. We tie the game a few minutes later, but let the Crusaders pull ahead when we turn the ball over a few more times. I'm shaking my head at how poor we're taking care of the ball tonight. A media timeout presents an opportunity for me to scream at my players about it. Thanks to 11 turnovers, 9 of which resulted in steals by Holy Cross, we're down at halftime 32-42. I do not want to lose a home game to one of the worst teams in the conference.

The Crusaders start the 2nd half hitting a couple of shots, while we miss our shots. I'm pleasantly surprised when we finally make a few shots and go on a run. Holy Cross calls a timeout when we make the score 43-47 at 14:39. Tyler Stanfield is shooting poorly for the second straight game; he's only 1/6 from the field. Marcus Woods also has made only 1 out of 8 shots. Our two best players need to make more baskets if we are going to beat Holy Cross tonight. By 10:58 we grab the lead 56-54 from a layup by Francis Cambridge. We exchange the lead a few times with the Crusaders, and don't start pulling away until late in the game. My players play solid basketball down the stretch and win 86-73.

Player of the Game: Marcus Woods (17 pts, 1 ast, 3 reb, 3 blk, 2 stl, 9/9 ftm/a)
Honorable Mentions: Tim Stowers (14 pts, 1 ast, 4 reb, 1 blk, 5 stl, 5/6 fgm/a), Jerome Campbell (11 pts, 2 ast, 3 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl),
Vegas Johnson (9 pts, 5 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl), Dennis Riley (0 pts, 2 ast, 7 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl)

Dennis Riley has played solid defense for the past two games, though one couldn't tell from simply looking at the box score. Tyler Stanfield made only 2/11 shots tonight. This is a bad time of year for him to enter a shooting slump. The conference tournament is only a couple of games away. Holy Cross SG Kareem Smith was unstoppable tonight with 30 points; however he attempted nearly 4 times as many shots than any other player for the Crusaders did.

2/25: Lafayette (13-13, 11-6) @ American (10-16, 7-10)
American C Jamar Jensen (7'2 290 lb behemoth) and PF Kevin Webster (exceptionally skilled) probably will be unstoppable tonight. I hope we can keep their guards from scoring much.

We stay with American for the first several minutes. If we had kept our turnovers down we could have been maintaining a lead. By 11:48 we've committed 5 turnovers. 5-6 per half is the maximum number I allow without becoming upset. With 9 minutes remaining we do manage to create a 25-19 advantage. Starzee Reed has missed all 3 of his free throw attempts so far; I am not pleased. Eagles C Jamar Jensen makes a few baskets, but we still maintain a 2 or 3 point lead for the next several minutes. Our 6th turnover gives the Eagles an opportunity to snatch the lead; they take it, and we enter the break down 42-43.

Like the first half, we begin the 2nd by keeping pace with the Eagles scoring wise but playing from behind. By 14:44 we're down 53-55, and Jamar the Giant has dropped 19 points on us but earned his 3rd foul. American is pressing us. The Eagles make a run, putting us down 9, but we make a few baskets to bring us to 57-62 at 9:37. I think my players are looking a bit sluggish and uninterested, so I try to motivate them regularly for the next few minutes during some timeouts I call. Every time we make some shots and come close to overtaking American, the Eagles fight back and put us back down 5 or 6 points. With 2 minutes left we finally overtake the Eagles when Vegas Johnson drops a three, bringing the score to 76-74. Unfortunately Jamar Jensen bullies his way to a few easy buckets at the rim, and the Eagles steal the ball from us in the final minute to steal a victory from us. Final score: 78-82 American. It's heartbreaking to come so close yet so far.

Player of the Game: American C Jamar Jensen aka "Jamar the Giant" (27 pts, 2 ast, 4 reb, 1 stl)
Leopards Honorable Mentions: Tim Stowers (13 pts, 9 reb, 1 blk), Marcus Woods (11 pts, 1 ast, 2 reb, 2 stl),
Starzee Reed (10 pts, 1 ast, 3 reb, 12 min), Vegas Johnson (9 pts, 6 ast, 1 reb), Dennis "The Menace" Riley (6 pts, 2 ast, 3 reb, 2 blk, 1 stl)

For the third straight game Tyler Stanfield didn't shoot well (0/5 3pm/a, 3/11 fgm/a). He's even missing high percentage shots at the rim. Usually he's an excellent finisher. I hope he bounces back in our next game, our first game of the conference tournament.

[Magic Bird]

I'll be fiddling with DDS:CB 2019 First Access for the next few days, so I won't update this Dynasty for at least that length of time. However, I do plan to post how Trey Colson and the Lafayette Leopards performed in the conference tournament no later than one week from now.

Regarding DDS:CB 2019, I plan on playing at least a couple more seasons of this association with DDS:CB 2018 before transferring it into the 2019 version.

[Magic Bird]

Final 2018-19 Patriot League Standings:
1. Lehigh: 13-5 (19-8 overall), RPI - .542 (67th nationally)
2. Colgate: 12-6 (16-11), RPI - .518 (107th)
3. Loyola-Maryland: 12-6 (17-10), RPI - .513 (118th)
4. Lafayette: 11-7 (13-14), RPI - .468 (254th)
5. Bucknell: 9-9 (15-12), RPI - .480 (222nd)
6. American: 8-10 (11-16), RPI - .447 (299th)
7. Navy: 8-10 (9-18), RPI - .465 (262nd)
8. Army: 7-11 (10-17), RPI - .456 (283rd)
9. Holy Cross: 5-13 (10-18), RPI - .433 (328th)
10. Boston: 5-13 (7-20), RPI - .440 (318th)

We finished 4th in the conference this year, which is about where I've expected we would finish for several weeks now. I'll take it; I'm proud of my guys for achieving this position.

The Patriot League Men's Basketball Tournament does not have a central hosting site; the top seeds in each matchup host the games. Also, there are two play-in games featuring the bottom four teams in the conference. The winners of the 8th best team versus the 9th best team and the 7th best team versus the 10th best team advance to face the 1st and 2nd seeded teams in the quarterfinal round. We host Bucknell for our first conference tournament game. We swept them in the season series, so I'm confident that we can beat them. If we do beat them, we'll likely face rival Lehigh, which is a matchup where my confidence in how my team will perform is shaky.

3/3: Patriot League Conference Tournament Play In Games:
(8) Army (10-17, 7-11) vs (9) Holy Cross (10-18, 5-13)
The Crusaders of Holy Cross defeated Army's Black Knights 93-99. Holy Cross put Army in foul trouble and shot 31/40 from the free throw line.

(7) Navy (9-18, 8-10) vs (10) Boston (7-20, 5-13)
Navy won 80-62 thanks to double-doubles by both of their starting big men.

3/4: Patriot League Conference Tournament Quarterfinals:
(1) Lehigh (19-8, 13-5) vs (9) Holy Cross (11-18, 5-13)
Lehigh defeated Holy Cross 82-62.

(2) Colgate (16-11, 12-6) vs (7) Navy (10-18, 8-10)
In a fast paced, high scoring overtime thriller Colgate was upset by Navy 117-125. The Midshipmen's 51.9% three point shooting on 27 attempts and their favorable edge in free throws made and attempted carried them through to the next round.

(3) Loyola-Maryland (17-10, 12-6) vs (6) American (11-16, 8-10)
Loyola-Maryland won 96-78. Their starting PF and C combined for 49 points.

(4) Lafayette (13-14, 11-7) vs (5) Bucknell (15-12, 9-9)
We start poorly, letting the Bison steal the ball from us 3 times in the first 4 minutes. Bucknell's Michael Lampley nails a pair of triples to build their lead to 2-10, and I call a timeout. I instruct us to slow down our pace slightly and play with more care. My players focus more and take better care of the ball, but fail to defend the Bison well. They're hitting 60% of their shots. It doesn't help that we aren't making baskets tonight. I put Dennis the Menace in the game at the 13 minute mark, and he does his thing by making Bucknell's starting center pick up 2 fouls in the next 2 minutes. The game becomes an exchange of small runs, and both teams keep trading baskets. We inch closer to Bucknell, and enter halftime down 45-48.

At last we take the lead 52-51 at 16:58 when Dennis Riley goes to the line and makes both of his free throws. We increase our lead, and I praise the team for showing great discipline and finding great looks at the basket. However, my players cannot defend the three tonight, and Bucknell regains the lead 65-66 by 12:05. The Bison steal the ball from us a couple times after that, we trade 3 pointers with them, and I call a timeout at 9:40 with the score 71-73. I don't want to let this game get out of hand. My team ignores my words completely and lets Bucknell pick our pockets for easy layups on each of the next three possessions. Timeout! I am furious, fuming, and steaming; I lambaste the team for their undisciplined play. The Bison ratchet up their lead to double digits, and I continue to yell at my guys to get their heads back in the game at every opportunity. I implement some different lineups, but neither my starters nor my bench players can play decent basketball right now. My seniors are all starters; I let them play for the rest of the game. We lose 82-93.

This was a terrible way to end the season. I am thoroughly disgusted with my team and how they melted down during the latter part of the game, especially in such an important match.

Player of the Game: Bucknell SG Michael Lampley (23 pts, 3 ast, 5 reb, 1 blk, 2 stl, 7/13 3pm/a)
Leopards Honorable Mentions: I'm tempted not to list any honorable mentions since everyone on the team failed miserably at playing basketball towards the end of the game. Here are some honorable statistical mentions anyway:
Marcus Woods (16 pts, 4 ast, 1 reb, 1 stl), Tyler Stanfield (15 pts, 4 ast, 2 stl), Jerome Campbell (12 pts, 14 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl),
Johnnie Long (11 pts, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl, 0 tov, 3/4 3pm/a, 13 min), Dennis "The Menace" Riley (10 pts, 3 reb, 2 stl),
Shaun Lavin (1 point, 7 reb) -- I thought he played well tonight; this is primarily an honorable mention for his reliable rebounding and for being a solid post presence for much of the night.

*Author's Note: While Lafayette was the home team in the match, the game displayed Bucknell's court graphic. I checked other games in the tournament and noticed similar discrepancies where the game would use the court of the away team. In one instance, the game also failed to designate the higher seeded team as the home team. I will investigate whether or not these issues are present in DDS:CB 2019.
EDIT: It appears that the game is programmed to use one court for all of the games in a given conference tournament. With Bloomington's mod (what I'm using for this association), a Bucknell court graphic is the Patriot League Conference Tournament court graphic used in every game of the tournament. I haven't investigated the 2019 game yet, but I assume it also uses a single court graphic for every conference tournament game. When I mentioned before that it appeared that each Patriot League Conference Tournament game used the court graphic of the away team, I happened first to look at the two games where Bucknell was the away team, thus the notion that the game was using the court of the away team became stuck in my mind. I must have ignored and forgotten what court graphic was used in the games I viewed after the Bucknell games, which is why earlier I erroneously concluded that DDS:CB 2018 must be using the courts of the away teams in each game.

After the game, I chewed out my players for throwing away our most important game of the season. Everyone, including my staff and myself, left the locker room bearing dejected spirits.

3/5: Patriot League Conference Tournament Semifinals:
(1) Lehigh (20-8, 13-5) vs (5) Bucknell (16-12, 9-9)
Lehigh dominated Bucknell 95-80 in a game that wasn't close.

(3) Loyola-Maryland (18-10, 12-6) vs (7) Navy (11-18, 8-10)
Navy's upstart run through the conference and the tournament came to a halt against Loyola-Maryland with an 89-77 loss.

3/6: Patriot League Conference Tournament Finals:
(1) Lehigh (21-8, 13-5) vs (3) Loyola-Maryland (19-10, 12-6)
Lehigh won the Patriot League Conference Tournament Championship and an automatic bid to the Big Dance with a 74-60 victory.

[Wayne23]

Wait 'til next year!

[CoachC]

[that may have been one of the longest intros into a new dynasty since Wayne, and you even got him chokin' on his sandwich! Good luck! i'll try to watch as much as i can.]