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[PointGuard]

2038-2039 SEASON

[It’s June, 2038 and a new season is about to begin for the 5 Musketeers]

Promotion/Relegation as result of last season’s results:

Alcorn State promoted to Conference Q
Arkansas Pine Bluff promoted to Conference Q
Maryland Eastern Shore promoted to Conference S
Western Illinois promoted to Conference S
UC San Diego promoted to Conference T

Recruit Class Rankings based on last season’s recruiting:

Georgia State-152
Western Illinois-213
Arkansas Pine Bluff-215
MD-Eastern Shore-225
Alcorn State-239
SE Louisiana-283
UC San Diego-319

Purchase of recruiting reports

All 5 coaches purchased their basic report for their specific region.

[PointGuard]

Players transferring AWAY from the 5 coaches’ programs and resulting needs for their programs:

UC San Diego

The following players transferred (and where they transferred to):
SF Matt Johnson- rating D—Transferred to Delaware St.
PF Jared Keating- rating D—Transferred to Colgate
PG Matt Holcomb- rating D--transferred to Concordia University, a Division II team
PG Brad Young- rating D--Transferred to Univ. of San Diego

[Resulting need: 4 transfer players—C/PF, SF, PG, SG/PG]

MD-Eastern Shore

The following players transferred (and where they transferred to):
SF Ryurik Rokossovsky- rating D--Transferred to NC St.
C James Carter- rating D--Transferred to a Ann Arundel JC

[Resulting need: 3 transfer players—PF/C, PG, SG]

SE Louisiana

The following players transferred (and where they transferred to):
C Tim Butler-F rating—Transferred to Pittsburgh
SG Gregory Jenkins-F rating—Transferred to Baylor
C Jameel Asbury-F rating—Transferred to Mercer
SG Josh Meekins-D rating—Not picked up by another team, transferred to Dillard College and no longer playing college basketball

[Resulting need: 6 transfer players—2 C/PF, 2 SF, PG, SG/PG]

Western Illinois

No players transferred.

[Resulting need: No scholarships to offer to transfer players.]

Georgia State

The following players transferred (and where they transferred to):
SG Ricky White-F rating—Transferred to Evansville
SG Travis Banta-D rating—Transferred to Nebraska
SG Caleb Huston-C rating—Transferred to George Washington

[Resulting need: 3 transfer players—2 C/PF and PG]

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The June Transfer Haul

4 of the 5 coaches had scholarships to fill at the beginning of the transfer portal and went after players who wanted to transfer. The efforts were costly from a monetary standpoint for all 4 programs, but the results made the expenditures well worth it. Here’s how each coach fared:

Ken Yamoto at UC San Diego landed the following players:

PG Al Levasseur, 6-1 soph from Covington,VA who is transferring from VMI where he played sparingly but averaged 2.7 ppg in 5.0 mpg last season. He hit 51% of his FG’s including 47% of his 3’s. He’s an excellent passer and good ball handler, does a good job competing for rebounds, and is strong defensively.

SF Rob Woodard, 6-5 sophomore from Lake Orion, MI who is transferring from Oakland University where he started every game as a freshman and averaged 8.8 ppg and 4.7 rpg. Strong defensively with good shot blocking and stealing skills. An excellent rebounder and passer.

C Jameel Wells, 6-10 junior from West Hartford, CT who is transferring from Bryant University where he started every game in both seasons there. Last season he averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.3 rpg and put in 58% of his shots. A good shooter from inside and even better from outside. Good defensively and a decent rebounder.

C Tommy Jordan, 7-1 sophomore from Biddeford, ME. He’s transferring from Dartmouth and started all their games as a freshmen, averaging 23.5 ppg by sinking 69% of his shots and 6.4 rpg. He was the Conference V Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and a member of the All-Conference 1st Team.

Ken Yamoto said, “I’m ecstatic. We got some great players who I think will fit in well with our team and contend for starting positions. Our returning players made us a good team, but the incoming transfer players will make us a lot better. We now have good depth.”

Mike McMillan, Maryland Eastern Shore’s new transfer players:

PG Rowan Church, 6-2 junior from Hamilton, NJ who’s transferring from Loyola (MD) where he started all games in both of his seasons there. During this pas season he averaged 11.7 ppg, 4.1 apg, and 2.0 rpg. He’s an excellent passer and ball handler and has been developing well throughout his collegiate career.

SG Ray West, 6-6 sophomore from Penn Laird, VA who played very little in his freshman season at Fairleigh Dickinson. But he matured and developed quickly and looks to have be a sweet outside shooter, be a good passer and ball handler and uses his height to attack the boards.

PF Rob Evans, 6-7 sophomore from Tarboro, NC. During his freshman season at Cornell he started every game, averaging 11.5 ppg and 4.4 rpg. He shoots well from all over the court and is a strong rebounder and good shot blocker and ball hawk.

“All 3 of these transfer players provide good depth and will compete for starting roles. I’m now really looking forward to getting to next season, but of course we need to complete our summer/fall recruiting first,” said Mike McMillan.

Ramon Montez, Southeast Louisiana Lions added the following transfer players:

PG Thomas Matthews, 6-0 sophomore from Henderson, TX. As a freshman he played for Lamar University where he started every game and averaged 10.3 ppg, 4.1 apg, and 2.0 rpg. Likes to shoot but hopefully can knock down a higher percentage of his shots. Will provide good depth.

PG Joey Thomas, 6-2 senior from Bellaire, TX. After coming off the bench for 2 years at Texas State, he was a starter in his junior year and averaged 12.5 ppg, 4.6 apg, and 2.0 rpg. Excellent passer and ball handler. Good ball hawk.

SF Tim Hardwick, 6-8 junior from Durand, IL. He played 2 years for DePaul where he was a solid reserve who averaged 5.6 ppg and 2.9 rpg last season. Very good rebounder and can score from anywhere on the court.

SF Shawnelle Allen, 6-7 sophomore from Clifton, VA. As a freshman he was a starter at Loyola (MD) and averaged 6.9 ppg, 2.5 apg, and 5.1 rpg. Doesn’t shoot from outside the arc, but a high percentage shooter elsewhere. Strong rebounder, shot blocker and ball hawk. Looks to be developing rapidly.

PF Mike Sanders, 6-6 sophomore from Wimberley, TX. Was a solid reserve for Eastern Washington University as a freshman averaging 4.3 ppg and 2.5 rpg. A strong athlete with solid basketball skills without anything that really stands out.

C Fred Morant, 6-9 junior from Saluda, VA. Started both years he played for Manhattan University and averaged 6.9 ppg and 7.1 rpg last season. Good shooter from both inside and outside. Excellent rebounder.

“Even though we had 6 scholarships to fill, I would have been happy to get 4 decent players. But we did better than expected and filled all 6 with solid players and at the positions that we wanted. One or two may become starters this season but all of them provide excellent depth for us,” said Coach Montez.

Dontell Spencer, Georgia State Panthers, landed the following players:

PG Mike Boxler, 6-2 sophomore from Princeton, NC. Was effective coming into games off the bench as a freshman at Appalachian State, averaging 5.5 ppg and 5.5 ppg and 1.7 apg while played 9.6 mpg. Excellent passer with good ball-handling skills.

PF Aaron Samuels, 6-8 sophomore from Los Angeles, CA. As a freshman, he was a solid reserve averaging 5.0 ppg and 3.6 rpg and able to score from all parts of the court. Very strong rebounder, shot blocker and ball hawk with a personality that improves team chemistry.

C Jared Sharp, 6-9 sophomore from Mason, WV. Starter for Siena University as a freshman and averaged 8.5 ppg and 5.6 rpg. Good shooter from anywhere on the court. Strong rebounder. Very good at getting blocks and steals.

Coach Spencer said, “This group of transfer players really rounds out my team. It’s got me excited about getting to the season. Boxler gives us depth at guard and could possibly start. Sharp and Samuels are such good rebounders and they too could start for us.”

Terry Morillo, Western Illinois Leathernecks, no available scholarships

Coach Morillo said, “Looking at the all the quality players the others picked up as transfer players made me envious. So after a few rounds of transfer portal activity, I decided to cut a player and made an all-out effort to pick up a top-notch big man for our team, since we needed more depth inside. My only concern was that I might be too late for the party. But we go all-out…and lo and behold, the party is ours, because look who we landed:”

C David Perry, 6-11 sophomore from Bridgeton, NJ. In his freshman year, he played for Mount St. Mary’s where he started every game and averaged 18.1 ppg by hitting 64% of his shots and hauled down 5.4 rpg. He was named Conference R’s Freshman of the Year and to their All-Conference 1st Team. He’s an all-around player…good shooter/scorer, strong rebounder, great defender…and he’s a good guy personally to boot.

[PointGuard]

Recruiting:

Here’s the number of scholarships each of the 5 coaches has to offer and their expected highest needs for the season after this one:

Georgia State—2 scholarships available. Need a SG and interior player.

Maryland-Eastern Shore—4 scholarships available. Need 3 interior players and a SF.

SE Louisiana—4 scholarships available. Need two interior players, a SG and PG/SG.

UC San Diego—1 scholarship available. Need a guard, preferably a PG.

Western Illinois—2 scholarships available. Need 2 interior players.

[Note: As usual for this association, the AI will handle all recruiting duties for all 5 coaches.]

[PointGuard]

Results of Summer/Fall Recruiting:

Coach Dontell Spencer, Georgia State Panthers: “We have commitments from two 2-star players. Michael Diggs is a 6-6 PF from Ashburn, GA who’s ranked as the 576th best recruit. He’s a excellent shooter from inside, is a solid rebounder, a good passer, and his very athletic. He’s a hard worker and has been injury-free in high school. Cy Hogue is a 6-1 PG from McDonough, GA who’s ranked as the 582nd best recruit. He’s good at finding teammates so gets a high amount of assists with well-developed passing and ball-handling skills. He’s also a hard worker.”

Coach Terry Morillo, Western Illinois Leathernecks: “We recruited 2 players. But fortunately we’ve still got a reasonable amount of recruiting budget remaining. That’s because one, SG Brandt Kennedy, has a very low GPA and we’re not sure he’ll meet our minimum SAT score. But he’s an excellent outside shooter and scorer with good passing skills and exceptionally high athleticism. He’s the 807th ranked recruit, is 6’0” tall, and is from Cincinnati, OH. Our other commitment is from 6’10” C Curtis Davis from Olympia Fields, IL who is the 1271st ranked recruit. He’s a good inside shooter and is a good rebounder with good passing skills. He’s a great leader but could work harder.”

Coach Ramon Montez, Southeast Louisiana Lions: “We got all 4 scholarships filled. Vince McClinton is a 6-4 SG from LaCygne, KS who is a 3-star recruit and ranked 377th best in the nation. He’s a good scorer who shoots well from anywhere on the court but has sweet outside shot. PG Bill Allen is 6-5 and from Winnfield, LA. He’s the 1592nd ranked recruit, is an outstanding outside shooter and a very strong passer and ball handler, but needs to work on his defense. Our 3rd recruit is C Duane Simmons who is a 6-9 JC player from Vinton, LA. He’s the 1544th ranked recruit and is a very good inside shooter and a good rebounder and passer. We got our final recruit late. He’s 6-2 PG Tom Allen from Winnsboro, LA. He's Bill Allen’s cousin and ranked 1600th in the nation. Like Bill he’s an excellent shooter from outside and a very good passer and ball-handler with good athleticism.”

Coach Mike McMillan, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks: “Two high school players have committed to playing for us next season. We still have 2 more scholarships to fill but our recruiting budget is completely depleted. So it looks like we’ll have to go after transfer players next summer. SG Ken Gates is 6-6, is from Courtland, VA, and is the 1509th ranked recruit. He’s a good scorer and an even better rebounder. He’s a hard worker but doesn’t have very good grades, so hopefully will do OK on his SAT’s. 6-8 PF Dennis Anderson is from Kensington, MD and is the 1719th ranked recruit. He is a strong scorer and a very good rebounder. He’s also a hard worker.”

Coach Ken Yamoto, UC San Diego Tritons: “We filled our only available scholarship when 6-8 PF Bryce Stafford from Los Angeles, CA committed to play for us. He’s a good scorer particularly from inside. He’s also a strong defender. And he’s the 1222nd ranked recruit.”

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Media prognostication for the 5 Teams:

Georgia State Panthers: picked to finish 8th in Conference J

Southeast Louisiana Lions: picked to finish 1st in Conference P

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks: picked to finish 2nd in Conference S

Western Illinois Leathernecks: picked to finish 1st in Conference S

UC San Diego Tritons: picked to finish 1st in Conference T

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 13-19, 2038

Conference J

#8 ranked UCONN Huskies—85, Georgia State Panthers (0-1)—71 (“Playing on the road against the Huskies was a tough way to start the season,” said Coach Spencer. The Panthers started well, leading by as much as 7 points and exchanging the lead with UCONN 8 times. But midway through the first half the Huskies demonstrated why they’re so highly ranked and were up by 11 at the half. Georgia State was unable to challenge in the 2nd half. PG Terrell Hunter hit for 15 and reserve guard James Jupiter scored 13.)

Utah Valley Wolverines—71, Georgia State Panthers (0-2)—57 (Utah Valley simply outplayed the visiting Panthers. C Marshall Sanders had 17 points and 7 rebounds and SG Clint Strohm added 11 points.)

Conference P

Tennessee Martin Skyhawks—71, SE Louisiana Lions (0-1)—60 (This game was extremely competitive with several lead changes until the Skyhawks pulled away in the final 4 minutes. C Jason Nee scored 19 points and had 6 boards. “We played the Skyhawks pretty even in most aspects of the game. In fact we shot better insice the arc, hitting over 50% of those FG’s, but we sunk NONE of 17 attempts from outside the arc. I’ve never seen such futility before. I’m hoping that was a one-time contagion,” said Coach Montez.”

SE Louisiana Lions (1-1)—71, Mississippi Valley Delta Devils—50 (Mississippi Valley led by 15 midway through the first half, but the Lions began chipping away to trail 28-19 at the break. They outshot and out-rebounded the Delta Devils in the 2nd half and took the lead for good 7 minutes into the 2nd half. PG Jimmy Smith scored 13 points, PF Jon Sales had 11 points and 9 rebounds, reserve C Darius Lawson scored 11 plus grabbed 6 rebounds, and SG Will Collins scored 10. Coach Montez exclaimed, “We hit 10 of 23 of our 3’s to show the first game was an abnormality!”

Conference S

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (1-0)—84, North Alabama Lions—67 (Although there were a few lead changes in the first half, the Hawks were pretty much in control the entire way. The Hawks were on top by 17 at the break and held a 25 point lead early in the 2nd half. C Jim Taflinger had 21 points and 8 rebounds. SG Carl Hancock scored 15 points and SF Winston Morant added 10.)

Indiana State Sycamores—80, MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (1-1)—65 (MD-Eastern Shore controlled the game in the first half and led 46-41 at halftime. The two teams exchanged the lead in the 2nd half until the Sycamores clamped down defensively during the final 7 minutes. Indiana State’s bench outscored the Hawks’ Bench 38-10. C Jim Taflinger again led the scoring for the Hawks… this time with 16 points (and he also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks). PG Ivoree Spence scored 14. “It’s always disappointing to lose at home, but we ran out of gas trying to keep up with the Sycamores,” said Coach McMillan).

Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-0)—71, Ball State Cardinals—54 (The Leathernecks led from start to finish, outshooting the Cardinals 47% to 32% and holding a 42-27 advantage on the boards. PF Orvo Haapajarvi had 18 points and 7 rebounds. PG Mohamed Ammons hit for 14 points. Reserve forward James Johnson scored 13. C Joe Bergmann had 10 points, 9 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-0)—71, VMI Keydets—52 (Western Illinois again outshot and out-rebounded their opponent and won with ease. SF Ty Wilfork scored 17, reserve C David Perry hit for 12 points in just 9 minutes on the court, and PG Mohamed Ammons added 10 points.

Conference T

UC San Diego Tritons (1-0)—79, Liberty Flames—58 (Liberty kept up with the Tritons for the first 14 minutes but UC San Diego then began to show their dominance. Although they were only ahead by a 30-26 score at halftime, it was all UC San Diego in the 2nd half. Led by Jeremiah Mason, who was a great 6th man last season, the Tritons put on an offensive onslaught that decisively extinguished the Flames. SF Jeremiah Mason finished with 27 points. SG DeVante Botts hit for 16 points but also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. C Jameel Wells contributed 15 points.)

UC San Diego Tritons (2-0)—90, Grand Canyon Antelopes—52 (After 2 minutes of play, this was absolutely no contest. The Tritons led by as much as 47 points as they slaughtered the Antelopes. C Jameel Wells had 20 points and 6 boards. SF Jeremiah Mason scored 15 and pulled down 9 rebounds. SG DeVante Botts dropped in 14 points and reserve PF Al LeVasseur added 11 points in 8 minutes of play. “Nice start to our season, but both games were at home. So we still need to prove that we’re up to the test of playing on the road,” said Coach Yamoto.)

Injuries: Guard Jerry Gilmore of Western Illinois suffered a sprained wrist and is expected to take 2 weeks to fully recover. SE Louisiana’s C James Nee strained his knee and won’t fully recover for 11 days.

Awards: None.

Comments: “Damn, first week of play and two of my guys (Jameel Wells and Rob Woodard) get into a fight. Talked with both of them afterwards and both indicated they’d clean up their act which was good. But we’ll see,” said UC San Diego Coach Ken Yamoto.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 20-26, 2038

Conference J

[i]Georgia State Panthers[/i] (1-2)—63, Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners—54 (The Roadrunners held the lead throughout much of the first half, but a late rally by the Panthers put them on top 34-27 at halftime. Georgia State then held a solid lead throughout the 2nd half. The Panthers defense held Cal State Bakersfield’s shooting to just 32% and the Panthers were +10 on the boards. SG Clint Strohm pumped in 17 points and had 8 rebounds. SF David Selby scored 15 points.)

Georgia State Panthers (2-2)—65, San Jose State Spartans—55 (The Panthers finished their road trip to California with their 2nd straight win by leading from wire to wire. SF David Selby scored 14 points and reserve Aaron Samuels made a case for starting recording a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds when he filled in for C Marshall Sanders who fouled out after playing just 9 minutes.)

Conference P

#20 ranked Ohio Bobcats—79, SE Louisiana Lions (1-2)—49 (“Ohio just simply out-classed us. We were down by 17 at the half. I was hoping we’d make a run in the 2nd half, but Ohio simply put it to us,” said Coach Montez. SF Jon Sales with just 10 points was the only member of the Lions in double figures.)

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders—73, SE Louisiana Lions (1-3)—60 (The Lions fell behind early and trailed by as much as 17 points. They rallied and took a 2 point lead with 5 minutes left in the game, but then the Blue Raiders shut them down defensively. Reserve forward Morris Few scored 12 points and PG Jimmy Smith had 11 points. “We finally have a home game but come out flat. We then make a great comeback only to let it slip away by going scoreless for almost 5 minutes at the end of the game. Very disappointing, but we’ll use it as a learning experience,” said Coach Montez.)

Conference S

New Orleans Privateers—58, MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (1-2)—54 (The Hawks were stymied in the first half and trailed 32-16 at the break and the game looked out of reach. But MD-Eastern Shore rallied in the 2nd half and took a small lead with 8 minutes to go. The teams exchanged the lead for 3 minutes but the Privateers then grabbed a small lead and gamely held onto it for the final 5 minutes. SF Winston Morant scored 13 and C Jim Taflinger and SG Carl Hancock both put in 11 points. “This was a road game we could have won,” said Coach McMillan. “But we put ourselves in a huge hole and our big comeback in the 2nd half took a lot out of us. We just ran out of gas in the final few minutes.”)

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (2-2)—71, VMI Keydets—63 (There were razor thin edges for both teams throughout the first half with the Hawks coming taking a 4 point lead into the 2nd half. They expanded their lead to 14 points with 6 minutes to go, but the Keydets cut into the lead late. SG Carl Hancock scored 19, C Jim Taflinger hit for 17, and SF Winston Morant added 10.)

#6 ranked Virginia Tech Hokies—67, Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-1)—62 (“I’m really proud of my guys. We nearly upset the Hokies on their own court. If we’d have kept control of the ball better and not made so many turnovers, we very well might have come away with a huge victory,” said Coach Morillo. There were 8 lead changes in the first half. After falling behind by 11 points early in the 2nd half, the Leathernecks made it close but just couldn’t ever take the lead. Reserve C David Perry scored 13 points and had 6 rebounds. SG Bill Shin scored 12. C Joe Bergmann had 11 points and 10 boards plus 4 blocks.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-1)—72, Presbyterian Blue Hose—58 (Western Illinois was in charge the entire way as they pulled off a surprisingly easy road victory. C Joe Bergmann scored 19, PF Haapajarvi added 15, and PG Trent Cougar had 9 points, 10 assists and 4 steals.)

Conference T

UC San Diego Tritons (3-0)—74, Abilene Christian Wildcats—54 (This game was close throughout the entire first and during the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half with 16 lead changes and 9 ties. The Tritons took control at that point and put the game completely out of reach late in the half. SG DeVante Botts had 15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals. C Jameel Wells also scored 15 points with SF Jeremiah Mason adding 14 points. PF Brad Sanders had 7 points and 14 rebounds.)

UC San Diego Tritons (4-0)—69, St. John’s Red Storm—56 (The Tritons jumped ahead early, were up by 36-20 at halftime, and stormed ahead by as much as 25 points midway through the 2nd half. C Jameel Wells scored 16 points and had 6 boards, PG Calvin Henderson had 15 points and 7 assists, and SG DeVante Botts dropped in 14 points.)

Injuries: Western Illinois’ Jerry Gilmore’s sprained wrist is healing slowly so his rehab looks like it may take an additional week more than initially expected.

Awards: None.

Comments: UC San Diego remains unbeaten and is averaging 23 more ppg than their opponents, although all 4 of their games thus far have been at home. Western Illinois has also looked good thus far. SE Louisiana’s coach Ramon Montez said, “I expected a challenge when I came here, but we have not yet jelled as a team. We’re really going to have to work hard to get these guys playing cohesively.” Dontell Spencer, coach of Georgia State, said, “It was nice to pick up a couple wins, but the jury’s still out on how we will do this season. Defensively we’ve done pretty well thus far, but our offense has been anemic. Marshall Sanders is knocking down an extremely high percentage of his shots in the paint, but I need to work at getting him free more down low and also improving his confidence so he shoots more.”

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 27-December 3, 2038

Conference J

Georgia State Panthers (3-2)—92, Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks—89 (The Lumberjacks led for 85% of the game, but Georgia State began cutting into the lead with 7 minutes to go and with the game tied, SF David Selby knocked down a 3 from the corner to put Georgia State on top for the first time in the 2nd half. Reserve forward Aaron Samuels tossed in 21 points in 18 minutes of courtime, PG Terrell Hunter had a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists, and SF David Selby scored 19.)

Georgia State Panthers (4-2)—77, Cal Poly Mustangs—56 (The Panthers jumped ahead after 9 seconds of play and never looked back to score a dominating road victory. SF David Selby and C Marshall Sanders both scored 14 points with Sanders pulling down 7 rebounds and Selby getting 6 boards. PF Josh Shelton had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. PG Terrell Hunter only scored 5 points but had 12 assists. “We played great defense tonight,” said Coach Spender. “We held the Mustangs shooting to 40% and forced them to turn the ball over 27 times.”)

Conference P

SE Louisiana Lions (2-3)—71, Charleston Cougars—65 (The Lions led throughout the first half but things got dicey for SE Louisiana in the early going of the 2nd half. But they got back on track and took the lead for good with 11 minutes to go. PG Jimmy Smith scored 12 and SG Will Collins had 11 points with C Darius Lawson finishing with 9 points and 13 boards. “Neither team could shoot worth a damn, but if you throw up enough shots, eventually you’re going to score some points,” said Coach Montez.)

SE Louisiana Lions (3-3)—80, Hawaii Rainbow Warriors—58 (Once the Lions got untracked midway through the 1st half, they exploded and buried Hawaii for a big road victory. C Darius Lawson had 15 points and 7 rebounds, PG Jimmy Smith hit for 15 points also and dished out 8 assists, and SG Will Collins completed the trio by scoring 15 as well…plus he had 5 steals.)

Conference S

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (3-2)—79, Lipscomb Bisons—35 (The Hawks totally overwhelmed the Bison and their lead grew throughout the entire game. SG Carl Hancock led his team with 19 points and PF Luke Feeley had 11 points and 9 rebounds with C Jim Taflinger added 11 points.)

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (4-2)—67, Colorado State Rams—53 (It took 8inutes before the Hawks could gain the lead for good, but then they never led Colorado State get close even though the Rams’ C Malone Alvin had 22 points and 8 boards. But the Hawks shut down the rest of the Rams players. SF Winston Morant scored 17 points plus had 5 rebounds and 4 assists. C Jim Taflinger had 14 points and 8 rebounds and SG Carl Hancock scored 13 points.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-1)—77, Loyola (IL) Ramblers—70 (OT) (The Leathernecks held a solid lead throughout the first half but the entire 2nd hlaf was close with 10 lead changes. Western Illinois fell behind by 4 points with 2 minutes to go but outscored the Ramblers 6-2 to force an OT. In overtime, the Leathernecks’ defense shut down Loyola allowing Western Illinois to inch ahead and come away with a win on the road. SG Bill Shin starred by scoring 24 points. SF Ty Wilfork had 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. PF Orvo Haapajarni added 10 points and PG Jerry Gilmore returned to the starting lineup to score 9 and dish out 9 assists.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (5-1)—74, Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks—67 (Western Illinois led amost the entire way but not by a big margin due to the Warhawks’ SG Tyson Hill pumping in 22 points. But that was offset by Western Illinois’ PF Orvo Haapajarni scoring 20 and pulling down 7 rebounds, SG Bill Shin hitting for 12 points, and C Joe Bergmann scoring 10. “Nice to win, but we didn’t play particularly well,” said Coach Morillo.)

Conference T

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders—77, UC San Diego Tritons (4-1)—62 (After 14 lead changes in the first half there was just a single point difference at the break. But two of the Tritons starters were in serious foul trouble which kept them on the bench most of the 2nd half. UC San Diego’s offense sputtered and they rapidly fell off the pace and the Blue Raiders ran away with an easy win. Reserve C Tommy Jordan scored 17 points and pulled down 6 boards and SG DeVante Botts added 12 points.)

UC San Diego Tritons (5-1)—67, #24 Tennessee Volunteers—57 (This was a pretty close game, particularly in the latter portion of the first half and the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half. But the Tritons offense caught fire after that allowing them to draw away from the highly favored Volunteers. SG DeVante Botts popped in 21 points and SF Jeremiah Mason scored 11. Coach Yamoto said, “This was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde week for us. First we looked pathetic at home against Middle Tennessee and then we then we go on the road and take down a ranked team. That was a very important win that should really build our confidence.”

Injuries: MD-Eastern Shore’s PF Luke Feeley suffered a concussion which may limit him the next week and a half and PG Ivoree Spence is nursing an injured hand.

Awards: PG Terrell Hunter of Georgia State was the Conference J Freshman Player of the Week. Western Illinois SG Bill Shin won the Freshman Player of the Week award for Conference S.

Comments: 9 wins against just a single loss by the 5 teams. The teams have a combined record of 21-9 thus far this season.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of December 4-10, 2038

Conference J

Tulane Green Wave—71, Georgia State Panthers (4-3)—66 (The first half was close with several lead changes, but the Panthers held the Green Wave scoreless for the final 3 minutes to carve out a 38-30 halftime lead. But Tulane’s offense came on strong early in the 2nd half and by the midpoint of the half, they held a small lead that Georgia State could not eliminate. PF Josh Shelton scored 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. C Marshall Sanders added 10 points.)

Conference P

Niagara Purple Eagles—64, SE Louisiana Lions (3-4)—54 (Niagara simply outplayed the Lions. PG Jimmy Smith scored 14 points, but the rest of the team just didn’t get untracked.)

Conference S

MD-Eastern Shore Hawks (5-2)—59, Eastern Kentucky Colonels—51 (The first half was exceptionally close with 11 lead changes and finished with the Hawks on top 26-23. But MD-Eastern Shore quickly pulled away in the 2nd half for what turned out to be an easy victory. SG Carl Hancock scored 15, SF Winston Morant had 14 points and 9 boards, and C Jim Taflinger had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (6-1)—68, Morehead State Eagles—59 (Morehead State opened strongly and took a 12 point lead after 8 minutes of play. But the Leathernecks fought back to get within 2 points at the end of the first half. The game remained tight for the first 4 minutes of the 2nd half, but then Western Illinois steadily opened a sizeable lead and held onto it to pick up the road win. C Joe Bergmann had 13 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks. Reserve forward James Johnson scored 11 and PG Jerry Gilmore had 10 points.)

Conference T

#25 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers—63, UC San Diego Tritons (5-2)—59 (The Tritons jumped ahead after the teams shifted the lead back and forth in the first 4 minutes. UC San Diego’s defense stymied the ranked Cornhuskers to establish a 28-20 lead at the break. Nebraska evened the score 6 minutes into the 2nd half and the lead wavered back and forth over the next 9 minutes. Nebraska moved ahead and held onto a small lead the last 5 minutes of the game. C Jameel Wells scored 15 and PG Calvin Henderson and SG DeVante Botts both tossed in 10 points. “I’m proud of how my guys played tonight and nearly came away with a huge upset on the road against a very strong team like Nebraska. We outshot and out-rebounded the Cornhuskers, but made too many turnovers,” said Coach Ken Yamoto.)

Injuries: C Tommy Jordan of UC San Diego sustained a strained knee but should be back to 100% within 5 days.

Awards: None.

Comments: UC San Diego continued to exhibit strength even as they lost a close game to a ranked team. MD-Eastern Shore and Western Illinois look like they could be duke it out for the top spot in Conference S.