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[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 13-19, 2041

Conference I

Georgia State Panthers (1-0)—67, California Baptist Lancers—59 (The Panthers jumped out ahead and never fell behind in their home opener. The team led by as much as 17 points in the first half which ended with Georgia State on top 39-27. The Panthers seemed content to merely hold off the Lancers in the 2nd half. PF Jeremy Young—12 pts, 9 reb, 3 stl; C Ron Waldman—10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk; PG Ronald Johnson—9 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 2 stl. Coach Spencer said, “Nice to win our season opener, but I didn’t like our lack of commitment and focus in the middle of the 2nd half to let the Lancers get within 3 points.”)

#20 Xavier Musketeers—78, Georgia State Panthers (1-1)—76 (During the initial 15 minutes of the first half there were 11 lead changes and 7 ties, but the heavily-favored Musketeers went on a late run that provided them with a 40-28 half time advantage. That lead expanded to 20 points early in the 2nd half. With 13 minutes remaining, the Panthers began to slowly cut into Xavier’s lead by controlling the boards (39-27 for the entire game) and was within a single possession of overtaking Xavier duing the final minute of the game and came within a hair’s width of gaining a major upset. SF Danny Williams—12 pts, 6 reb; SG Curtis Lopez—12 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl, 2 blk; PF Jeremy Young—11 pts, 11 reb; reserve guard Michael Maxwell—11 pts; PG Ronald Johnson—10 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl.)

Conference N

Providence Friars—94, Southeast Louisiana Lions (0-1)—82 [1st round of Coaches Classic] (Going up against the favored Friars, the Lions fell behind by 14 points midway through the first half, but closed the gap to 51-49 at the break. SE Louisiana overtook Providence early in the 2nd half and stayed close for the first 11 minutes of the half, but Providence’s talent proved too much and they gradually pulled away to defeat the Lions. Reserve guard Vashon Patterson—15 pts; PF Tom McCrary—14 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast; C Travis Dixon—14 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast; PG Mike Bree—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; SF Leroy Phillips—9 pts, 5 reb, 2 blk. “Really tough opponent. We hit 60% of our shots to give them a run for their money, but turned the ball over too much late in the game,” said Coach Montez.)

Conference Q

Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-0)—61, Quinnipiac Bobcats—58 (Early in the first half Western Illinois got a lead they never gave up. After leading by 12 points midway through the half, the Bobcats narrowed the gap to just 2 points at the break. The Leathernecks maintained a 2-8 point lead throughout the entire 2nd half. SG Brandt Kennedy—20 pts, 3 reb; C Walter Jackson—11 pts; SF Aloysius Worley—9 pts, 5 reb; reserve guard Clay Dixon—9 pts, 3 stl. “I love getting a road win in our first game of the season,” said Coach Morillo.)

St. Joseph’s Hawks—80, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-1)—78 [OT] (In another away game, the Leathernecks took on a higher caliber opponent. The game was exceptionally close the entire way with a phenomenal 31 lead changes. The Leathernecks held a 35-32 advantage at the half. The 2nd half was even closer than the 1st half had been and ended with a 72-72 tie. Neither team was able to pull away in the OT either but the Hawks hit the final basket that gave them the win. C Walter Jackson—20 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; SG Brandt Kennedy—11 pts, 4 reb, 2 stl; PG Bill Shin—10 pts, 6 ast. “Fantastic game and we nearly pulled of a big win on the road. The only difference was that the Hawks had a little more depth than did we,” said Coach Morillo.)

UC San Diego Tritons (1-0)—71, Virginia Commonwealth Rams—52 (After a bit of a slow start, the Tritons pulled away to lead 39-24 at halftime. They expanded their lead to 23 points in the 2nd half and cruised to an easy road win. SG Brandon Payne—18 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 3 blk; PG Solomon Rayner—13 pts; SF Calvin Sears—12 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl; reserve forward Eli Braxton—9 pts, 4 reb.)

UC San Diego Tritons (2-0)—72, South Alabama Jaguars—54 (A remarkably similar game story and outcome to the Tritons first game of the season. UC San Diego was ahead 37-26 at the half and again lead by as much as 23 points in the 2nd half. SG Brandon Payne—22 pts, 6 reb, 6 stl; PG Solomon Rayner—11 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl; reserve C Maurice Brooks—11 pts. Coach Yamoto said, “Nice start to our season and Brandon (Payne) played extremely well to lead us to victory in both games.”)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (1-0)—82, New Hampshire Wildcats—64 (Following 10 lead changes throughout the first half, the Hawks edged ahead 42-32 by halftime. They extended their lead to 21 points and settled for solid win in front of their home fans by hitting 57% of their shots. PG Joseph Page—16 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast; SG Renard Bell—16 pts, 3 ast; PF Zamiro Colter—13 pts, 5 reb; SF Anthony Wilks—12 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast; C Kyle Mader—10 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl. Coach McMillan said, “Great effort by our starting 5 who all scored in double figures.”)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (2-0)—74, Monmouth Hawks—63 (The MD-Eastern Shore Hawks trailed the Monmouth Hawks throughout most of the first half but came back to lead 38-35 at halftime. MD-Eastern Shore controlled the game in the 2nd half, leading by double-digits for most of it. PF Zamiro Colter—16 pts, 10 reb; C Kyle Mader—16 pts, 9 reb, 3 blk; SF Anthony Wilks—12 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; PG Joseph Page—11 pts, 2 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; SG Renard Bell—8 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast. “Another really solid performance by our starters and particularly by our big men so that we controlled the boards 44-27,” said Coach McMillan.)

Injuries: None

Awards: Brandon Payne, UC San Diego was the Conference R Player of the Week.

Comments: An overall good start to the season by the 5 coaches’ teams which won 6 and lost 3 this week. Both UC San Diego and MD-Eastern Shore produced 2 big wins. Southeast Louisiana and Georgia State were also impressive in their losses to much stronger teams.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 20-26, 2041

Conference I

#13 West Virginia Mountaineers—84, Georgia State Panthers (1-2)—60 (The Panthers stuck with the Mountaineers for 11 minutes, then slid behind and by the end of the half trailed 40-23. West Virginia stayed in complete control the entire 2nd half. PF Jeremy Young—17 pts; C Ron Waldman—13 pts, 6 reb; PG Ronald Johnson—11 pts, 3 reb, 7 ast. “West Virginia showed us we have a long way to go,” said Coach Dontell Spencer.)

Georgia State Panthers (2-2)—77, Manhattan Jaspers—61 (The Panthers were challenged by the Jaspers the entire first half and held a slim 38-36 halftime lead. But after 2 minutes in the 2nd half, Georgia State rapidly pulled away to roll over Manhattan. SF Danny Williams—18 pts; C Ron Waldman—16 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; SG Curtis Lopez—16 pts.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (1-1)—72, Northern Iowa Panthers—52 (It took 5 minutes for the Lions to take control, but when they did they never gave it up. By the half they led 38-28 and crushed the hometown Panthers by hitting 52% of their shots and being +7 on the boards. PF Tom McCrary—15 pts; reserve guard Vashon Patterson—11 pts; C Travis Dixon—10 pts, 8 reb.)

Southeast Louisiana Lions (2-1)—84, Boise State Broncos—76 [OT] (The game was close in the first half with the Lions holding a 37-34 advantage at halftime. They held onto a small lead throughout the 2nd half, but Boise State scored the final 4 points to pull even and send the game to overtime tied at 70-70. In the OT, SE Louisiana’s offense caught fire and they ran past the Broncos. PG Mike Bree—20 pts, 6 ast; SF Leroy Phillips—19 pts, 6 reb; SG Rostislav Polyansky—13 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; PF Tom McCrary—12 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk. “After the Broncos reeled us back in at the close of regulation time, I was worried that they would continue to maintain their momentum in the OT. But our guys went out ahd shot the lights out,” said Coach Montez.)

Conference Q

MD Eastern Shore Hawks—74, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-2)—67 (The Hawks outshot the Leathernecks in the first half to carve out a 33-23 halftime lead. MD-Eastern Shore maintained a 5-10 point lead throughout the 2nd half. SG Brandt Kennedy—17 pts, 6 reb; PG Bill Shin—12 pts, 3 reb, 8 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk.)

Baylor Bears—80, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-3)—60 (The Leathernecks were simply out-gunned by Baylor. The hot-shooting Bears led 42-30 at the half and that lead ballooned to as much as 31 points in the 2nd half. C Walter Jackson—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; SG Brandt Kennedy—11 pts; reserve guard Jeremy Williams—11 pts.)

UC San Diego Tritons (3-0)—74, Yale Bulldogs—67 (Yale led by as much as 9 points in the first half and after leading most of the half, dropped behind the Tritons 38-37 at the break. The Bulldogs again moved ahead in the 2nd half, but UC San Diego caught up with 5 minutes to play and edged ahead the remainder of the game. PF Bryce Stafford—22 pts, 6 reb; SG Brandon Payne—16 pts (hit ever shot he took); C Mike Okotie—10 pts, 7 reb.)

UC San Diego Tritons (4-0)—71, NJIT Highlanders—56 (UC San Diego led the entire way. At the half they were on top 36-24 and they never relented the rest of the game. PG Solomon Rayner—25 pts, 3 reb, 5 ast, 6 stl; C Mike Okotie—7 pts, 9 reb. “Great to win 2 road games this week,” said Coach Yamoto.)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (3-0)—74, Western Illinois Leathernecks—67 (The Hawks hit nearly 60% of their shots in the first half to take a 43-33 lead at halftime. They then held on in the 2nd half to come away with the win. They hit 52% of their FG’s and 10 of 19 from 3-point distance. PG Joseph Page—19 pts, 5 ast; SF Anthony Wilks—17 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; SG Renard Bell—17 pts; PF Zamiro Colter—12 pts, 4 reb.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-0)—74, Western Kentucky Hilltoppers—64 (MD-Eastern Shore pulled out to a 35-29 halftime advantage. The Hilltoppers didn’t give up though so the Hawks had to fight throughout the 2nd half to hang onto a lead. SF Anthony Wilks—18 pts; C Kyle Mader—13 pts, 9 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; PF Zamiro Colter—11 pts, 5 reb; SG Renard Bell—11 pts, 3 ast, 3 stl.)

Injuries: None.

Awards: None.

Comments: UC San Diego and MD-Eastern Shore extended their unbeaten season and SE Louisiana posted 2 wins this last week. Western Illinois had a tough week but their loss at Baylor wasn’t unexpected as was the case for Georgia State in their loss at 13th ranked West Virginia.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of November 27-December 3, 2041

Conference I

Vanderbilt Commodores—84, Georgia State Panthers (2-3)—60 (This is a game the Panthers would like to forget. They fell behind a minute into the game and saw Vanderbilt streak away from then. By the half Georgia State was down 51-33 and they continued dropping further behind in the 2nd half as the Commodores totally dominated. SG Curtis Lopez—18 pts; SF Danny Williams—13 pts; C Ron Waldman—11 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast.)

Virginia Tech Hokies—78, Georgia State Panthers (2-4)—72 (The Panthers made more of a game out of this contest which included 13 lead changes. At halftime, Georgia Tech held a 37-36 lead. But they fell behind 4 minutes into the 2nd half and while staying close, could never regain the lead. SG Curtis Lopez—20 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; PG Ronald Johnson—12 pts; PF Jeremy Young—12 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk.)

Conference N

Charlotte 49ers—69, Southeast Louisiana Lions (2-2)—65 (The Lions controlled the entire 1st half, leading by as much as 12 points and finishing the half on top 37-30. But the 49ers crept up on them in the 2nd half and with 13 minutes to go, slipped past the Lions and established a 13 point lead with 7 minutes to go. SE Louisiana cut into the lead but it was too much for them to overcome. Charlotte hit 49% of their shots compared to SE Louisiana’s 39% shooting. SG Rostislav Polyansky—17 pts; PG Mike Bree—10 pts, 6 ast; SF Leroy Phillips—10 pts, 4 reb. Coach Montez said, “The score indicates it was an exciting game and that’s true. But we coughed up a big lead and this was a home game we should have won.”)

Southeast Louisiana Lions (3-2)—75, Delaware State Hornets—72 (The Lions again established a big 13 point lead in the first half and held a 38-28 halftime advantage. But by the midpoint of the 2nd half, the Hornets had caught up and it was a back-and-forth event with 12 lead changes from thereon with SE Louisiana edging past Delaware State in the final minute to win this one. Had it not been for 24 turnovers by the Hornets, the result would have been reversed. SG Rostislav Polyansky—21 pts; PF Tom McCrory—13 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl; SF Leroy Phillips—12 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 ast, 2 stl.; C Travis Dixon—10 pts, 3 reb, 1 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk.)

Conference Q

VMI Keydets—57, Western Illinois Leathernecks (1-4)—52 (The Keydets held a 5-10 point lead throughout almost the entire game and were up 30-25 at halftime. But Western Illinois spurted past them with 6 minutes to go and looked like they’d take this game. VMI came back in the final 2 minutes to regain the lead as the Leathernecks offense was throttled. SG Brandt Kennedy—17 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl; SF Aloysius Worley—11 pts. “After letting the Keydets defense control us most of the game, to finally have a nice run late in the 2nd half to capture the lead and then go totally flat in the waning moment of the game was extremely disappointing, particularly at home,” s aid Coach Morillo.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (2-4)—72, Chattanooga Mocs—66 (19 lead changes and 8 ties in this game. The Leathernecks trailed 31-26 at halftime. The 2nd half was just as close as the 1st half had been, but with 5 minutes remaining, Western Illinois finally captured a lead they could hold onto until the claxon sounded ending the game. SG Brandt Kennedy—27 pts, 4 stl; SF Aloysius Worley—10 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl. Coach Morillo commented, “Nice to win, but not much to crow about other than forcing the Mocs to make 28 turnovers.)

Pittsburgh Panthers—52, UC San Diego Tritons (4-1)—41 (Pittsburgh clamped down with a killer defense and took a 22-12 halftime lead. The Tritons scored a little more in the 2nd half, but still never really solved the Panthers’ D and never got close. PF Bryce Stafford—13 pts, 4 reb; reserve C Maurice Brooks—10 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast. “Pitt was just too much for us,” said Coach Yamoto.)

Northern Kentucky Norse—83, UC San Diego Tritons (4-2)—67 (The Tritons led much of the 1st half but fell behind late and trailed 37-33 at halftime. Things fell apart for UC San Diego in the 2nd half and the Norse blew the game apart. SF Bryce Stafford—14 pts; SF Calvin Sears—13 pts, 3 stl, 4 blk; C Mike Okotie—10 pts; SG Brandon Payne—10 pts. Coach Yamoto said, “Last game too much D for us and now this game too much O for us to handle.”

Conference R

Youngstown State Penguins—87, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-1)—81 (A game with a series of alternating runs by both teams that produced 21 lead changes. The Hawks trailed 44-43 at halftime. The final run was by the Penguins overtaking and running away from MD-Eastern Shore the final 2 minutes of the game. Team stats were even closer than the final score. SF Anthony Wilks—18 pts; PG Joseph Page—13 pts, 6 ast; SG Renard Bell—11 pts, 6 ast, 3 stl; reserve guard Jon Arrington—11 pts.)

Providence Friars—65, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-2)—52 (18 lead changes in the first 30 minutes of this game. But then the Friars took complete control of the game. C Kyle Mader—13 pts; SG Renard Bell—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast.; SF Anthony Wilks—7 pts, 9 reb.)

Injuries: For Georgia State, Kennedy Henderson (strained hamstring, 8 days) and Sean Gaines (sprained wrist, 11 days).

Awards: None.

Comments: In a conference call between the 5 coaches: Coach Dontell Spencer said, “Tough week for all of us with a combined 2 wins and 8 losses…and a crappy week for my team…only bright spot was SG Curtis Lopez who scored 38 points in the two games.” Coach Ramon Montez chimed in with, “Yeah, I agree…poor play by us as well with just one guy on our team shining… SG Rostislav Polyansky who also scored 38 points in our 2 games.” Coach Terry Morillo added, “Same for me…not much to crow about even though we won 1 of our 2 games, but we wouldn’t have had it not been for Brandt Kennedy who scored 27 of his 44 points for the 2 games in our win.” “I wasn’t surprised we lost against Pittsburgh, but we shouldn’t have also lost to Northern Kentucky,” said Coach Yamoto. Coach Mike McMillan said, “Same for me…two crumby losses and absolutely no bright spots.” Coach Spencer then concluded by saying, “Well we all had one or both games this past week in which we came in as the underdog. So let’s all of us turn the results around this coming week.”

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of December 4-10, 2041

Conference I

Georgia State Panthers (3-4)—75, NC-Greensboro Spartans—68 (The lead swung back and forth 16 times in this game. At the half the score was 35-34 in favor of the Panthers. But it wasn’t until there were 6 minutes remaining that Georgia State took their final lead and pulled away slightly to achieve their road victory. PF Jeremy Young—25 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 2 blk; SG Curtis Lopez—15 pts; PG Ronald Johnson—11 pts.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (4-2)—74, Murray State Racers—63 (Although close for the first 6 minutes, this game was all Southeast Louisiana thereafter. By halftime the Lions led 46-27 and the Racers couldn’t maintain the pace in the 2nd half and never challenged. SE Louisiana outshot Murray State 57% to 37% and held a 37-22 rebounding advantage. SF Leroy Phillips—11 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast; PF Tom McCrary—10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl; SG Rostislav Polyansky—10 pts, 5 reb.)

Kansas State Wildcats—67, Southeast Louisiana Lions (4-3)—65 (The first half was very close with the Wildcats achieving a 35-32 halftime advantage. They expanded their lead to 14 points early in the 2nd half, but SE Louisiana erased that lead with 12 minutes to go and held the lead for 5 minutes, but then it became apparent over the final 7 minutes that whoever had the final possession would likely win. And that was the case as Kansas State hit a last second field goal to gain the victory. SF Leroy Phillips—17 pts; PF Tom McCrary—12 pts, 7 reb; PG Mike Bree—11 pts, 5 ast.)

Conference Q

Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-4)—79, Central Michigan Chippewas—66 (The Leathernecks opened a small lead and the Chippewas stayed close for the first 11 minutes. But Western Illinois shut down Central Michigan to move out to a 42-23 halftime lead. That lead held up throughout most of the 2nd half although the Chippewas cut it in half in the final 5 minutes. SF Aloysius Worley—21 pts, 9 reb, 3 ast; SG Brandt Kennedy—15 pts, 9 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk; PG Bill Shin—12 pts, 7 ast; C Walter Jackson—10 pts; 5 reb.)

UC San Diego Tritons (5-2)—81, Canisius Golden Griffins—52 (The Tritons held the lead for the first 6 minutes but then Canisius overtook them and was ahead for 4 minutes. UC San Diego then regained control and built a 35-29 lead by the end of the first half. The Tritons were in complete control the entire 2nd half. SG Brandon Payne—20 pts, 5 reb, 7 ast, 7 stl, 2 blk; PG Solomon Rayner—16 pts; SF Calvin Sears—12 pts.)

Conference R

UC Santa Barbara Gauchos—66, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (4-3)—56 (This game was a tale of two halves. In the first half the Hawks opened a 14 point lead in the first half but by the end of the half the game was tied 32-32. The 2nd half was all-Gauchos. SF Anthony Wilks—18 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast; PF Zamiro Colter—10 pts, 7 reb.)

Injuries: None.

Awards: Jeremy Young of Georgia State was named the Conference I Player of the Week. Brandon Payne of UC San Diego was named the Conference Q Player of the Week.

Comments: Let’s take a further look at this week’s two Players of the Week:
Brandon Payne is the 6’0” senior SG for UC San Diego. In this week’s sole game for the Tritons, he hit 6 of 10 FG’s including 3 of 5 from 3-point distance and 5 of 6 free throws to score 20 points. He also pulled down 5 rebounds and dished out 7 assists. Defensively he had an amazing 7 steals plus blocked 2 shots, and he held his opposing SG to his lowest point total of the season. For the season Brandon is averging 13.0 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.6 spg, and 1.0 bpg and has hit 52.5% of his FG’s, 44.1% of his 3’s, and 93.3% of his FT’s. Coach Yamoto said, “Brandon’s a tough kid and a hard worker. He came to us as a sophomore after transferring from Tulane and has improved every season.”
Jeremy Young is a 6’10” sophomore PF for Georgia State. This week he scored 25 points and had 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in the Panthers only game. He’s now averaging 12.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.7 spg, and 1.0 bpg. Coach Spencer said of Young, “We thought we were getting a good player when we recruited him, but he starred for us as a freshman and is having another great season for us this year. In fact he’s hauling down 50% more rebounds this season than last. He’s been a joy to work with and a good team player.”

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of December 11-17, 2041

Conference I

UCLA Bruins—75, Georgia State Panthers (3-5)—64 (UCLA scored first and never fell behind. By halftime it was 44-31 and the Panthers never seriously threatened in the 2nd half. PF Jeremy Young—13 pts, 7 reb; SG Curtis Lopez—12 pts; PG Ronald Johnson—11 pts; reserve guard Kennedy Henderson—9 pts in 10 min of court time. “Hell, we were up against UCLA on their court. What’d you expect?” said Coach Spencer.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (5-3)—71, Eastern Illinois Panthers—60 (“Solid freakin’ game by our guys, particularly since it was an away game!” exclaimed Coach Montez. The Lions grabbed the lead nearly from the beginning and never gave it up. By the end of the first half they led 46-34 and continued to romp over the Panthers in the 2nd half with just a short hiccup toward the end of the game when Eastern Illinois got to within 5 points. SF Leroy Phillips—19 pts, 4 reb; C Travis Dixon—14 pts, 10 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl; SG Rostislav Polyansky—12 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl; PF Tom McCrary—9 pts, 4 reb.)

Conference Q

SE Missouri State Redhawks—82, Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-5)—70 (The Redhawks owned the Leathernecks the entire game. Western Illinois trailed 45-32 at halftime and fell behind by as much as 17 points in the 2nd half. SG Brandt Kennedy—22 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 4 stl; SF Aloysius Worley—13 pts, 4 reb. “Damn, we hit 52% of our shots, were +7 on the boards, and made 1 less turnover. BUT…we let them hit 60% of their shots and 11 of 18 from beyond the arc plus all 5 of their starters scored in double figures. We’re gonna work on D this week in practice,” said Coach Morillo.)

UC San Diego Tritons (6-2)—88, Bellarmine Knights—74 (9 lead changes in the first half with the Tritons eking out a 39-37 halftime advantage. But UC San Diego caught fire in the 2nd half, leading by as much as 21 points. SG Brandon Payne—23 pts, 7 reb, 5 blk; PG Solomon Rayner—23 pts, 7 ast; PF Bryce Stafford—16 pts, 4 stl; SF Calvin Sears—12 pts, 3 ast. “Great game by my 2 starting guards, but we also got 38 points in the paint,” said Coach Yamoto.)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (5-3)—71, Louisiana State Tigers—63 (LSU was in charge in the first half, leading 34-28 at halftime and holding onto their lead for 13 minutes of the 2nd half. But the Hawks then rose to the occasion and flew past the Tigers to score a big upset victory on the road. SG Renard Bell—20 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast; PF Zamiro Colter—12 pts, 6 reb; SF Anthony Wilks—10 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; C Kyle Mader—9 pts, 11 reb; PG Joseph Page—7 pts, 7 ast. “It really seemed like we weren’t going to challenge LSU, but then our D kicked in during the middle portion of the 2nd half. I was proud of how our guys never quit. We owned the boards (38-20),” said Coach McMillan.)

Injuries: Calvin Sears, UC San Diego—sore hand, 3 days.

Awards: SG Brandon Payne, UC San Diego—Player of the Week for Conference Q (his 2nd straight Player of the Week award and 3rd this season).

Comments: Players who are near to top in their respective conference stats include: Western Illinois’ SG Brandt Kennedy who’s averaging 17.5 ppg and PG Bill Shin who’s averaging 5.6 apg, PG Ronald Johnson of Georgia State who’s averaging 5.3 apg, and SE Louisiana’s PG Mike Bree who is also averaging 5.3 apg.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of December 18-24, 2041

Conference I

#13 Oklahoma State Cowboys—88, Georgia State Panthers (3-6)—63 (Oklahoma State immediately jumped out to a lead and powered their way through an awesome offensive display in the first half to lead 56-33 at halftime. The Panthers were unable to compete and fell behind by 34 points in the 2nd hlaf before cutting into the lead a little in the late-going. PF Jeremy Young—11 pts, 6 reb; reserve forward Terrance Smith—10 pts in 4 minutes of play; SF Danny Williams—6 pts, 10 reb. Coach Spencer said, “6 losses and 3 of those to ranked teams and the other 3 to two teams from Conference B and the other from a team from Conference D. We took on a lot to chew through out pre-conference schedule, but I think it’s preparing us to be tougher when we get to games within out own conference.”)

Conference N

UC Riverside Highlanders—86, Southeast Louisiana Lions (5-4)—85 (Those fans checking the scoreboard to see which team was ahead, had their heads swiveling so much they probably thought they were at a tennis match. 27 lead changes in this game! At the half, the Highlanders held a tenuous 46-45 lead. The 2nd half actually was tighter than the 1st half. The Lions had a chance to win it during the last possession of the game, but their final shot rimmed around and out of the basket. UC Riverside got to the foul line 15 more times and scored 11 more points there than the SE Louisiana. SF Leroy Phillips—19 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast; C Travis Dixon—15 pts, 5 reb; reserve C Aaron Sims—10 pts; PG Mike Bree—9 pts, 7 ast. “It’s a helluva shame to lose when you score 10 more points from the field than your opponent,” said Coach Montez.)

Conference Q

Florida State Seminoles—72, Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-6)—59 (Florida State rolled to a 52-26 halftime lead. Even though the Leathernecks trimmed the lead in the final 10 minutes of the 2nd half, there was never a doubt about which team would triumph. C Walter Jackson—12 pts; reserve guard Jeremy Williams—10 pts. Coach Morillo said, “We simply were in over our heads tonight.”)

UC San Diego Tritons (7-2)—86, Delaware State Hornets—52 (UC San Diego scored first and then continued to draw further away throughout the entire game. The Tritons held advantages in shooting (52% to 30%), rebounding (37-27), and turnovers (7-17). PG Solomon Rayner—18 pts, 5 ast; SG Brandon Payne—14 pts, 7 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl…and the Tritons bench outscored the Hornets bench 35-15. “Even though we fouled too much (27 PF’s) and hit just 4 of 19 of our 3PA’s, the rest of our effort was stellar,” said Coach Yamoto.)

Conference R

Charleston Cougars—73, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (5-4)—65 (Charleston came on strong in the first half to go up 37-27 at the break. But the Hawks ate into that lead in the 2nd half and edged ahead with 9 minutes to play. But they faded late to take hard home loss. PF Zamiro Colter—15 pts, 9 reb; SG Renard Bell—11 pts; C Kyle Mader—10 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl, 3 blk. “Very disappointing to have made such a good comeback only to fall flat after catching them,” said Coach McMillan.)

Injuries: Ron Bush, Georgia State—mild concussion, 5 days.

Awards: None.

Comments: An extremely rough week for all the teams except UC San Diego. “With just 2 more games before conference play begins, we have a lot of work to do,” said Western Illinois Coach Terry Morillo. “We need to get more production on the interior to be able to compete successfully.”

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of December 25-31, 2041

Conference I

Georgia State Panthers (4-6)—79, Cal State Fullerton Titans—59 (The Panthers offense and defense were clicking. By halftime they led 48-20 and continued to hold their big lead throughout the 2nd half. SF Danny Williams—13 pts, 6 reb; PF Jeremy Young—12 pts, 4 reb; PG Ronald Johnson—11 pts; reserve C Ron Rush—11 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (6-4)—95, Liberty Flames—70 (Liberty led for 3 minutes but then it was all SE Louisiana. By the end of the first half, the Lions were on top 49-39. That lead held up through the first 12 minutes of the 2nd half and then the Lions totally extinguished the Flames during the final 8 minutes of the game. SF Leroy Phillips—23 pts, 5 ast; C Travis Dixon—13 pts, 4 reb; PG Mike Bree—11 pts, 8 ast; SG Rostislav Polyansky—11 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast.)

Conference Q

Utah Utes—67, Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-7)—48 (Utah’s defense was rock solid in the first half, leading to a 30-16 advantage for the Utes at halftime. The Leathernecks were unable to make any serious comeback in the 2nd half. SG Brandt Kennedy—12 pts; SF Hunter Anderson—9 pts, 10 reb.)

UC San Diego Tritons (8-2)—60, St. Mary’s Gaels—56 (The Tritons jumped out to a lead but St. Mary’s came back to capture the lead midway through the first half. But UC San Diego was able to make a nice run late in the half to go ahead 35-28 at the break. The Tritons were in charge for most of the 2nd half, but the Gaels again made a nice comeback to took the lead with 6 minutes to go. UC San Diego then surged in the final minutes of play to gain a sweet road victory. C Mike Okotie—12 pts, 7 reb; PF Bryce Stafford—10 pts, 9 reb; SG Brandon Payne—10 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; PG Solomon Rayner—10 pts.)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (6-4)—74, Louisiana Tech Bulldogs—58 (MD-Eastern Shore built a 35-21 halftime lead and then held onto that advantage throughout the 2nd half. SF Anthony Wilks—22 pts; C Kyle Mader—14 pts, 6 reb; PG Joseph Paige—13 pts, 5 reb).

Injuries: None.

Awards: None.

Comments: After losing 4 of their combined 5 games last week, the 5 teams reversed their fortunes by winning 4 of 5 games this week.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of January 1-7, 2042

Conference I

Georgia State Panthers (5-6)—89, Southern Jaguars—57 (The difference between the two teams was razor-thin for 7 minutes during which there were 12 lead changes. But then the Panthers steam-rolled over the Jaguars to achieve a 51-30 halftime advantage. The annihilation continued throughout the 2nd half with Georgia State hitting 51% of their FG’s and 42% of their 3’s plus dominating the boards 42-27. SG Curtis Lopez—17 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast; PF Jeremy Young—16 pts, 10 reb, 2 blk; PG Ronald Johnson—14 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast; reserve C Ron Rush—11 pts, 9 reb; C Ron Waldman—10 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 2 blk.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (7-4)—100, Villanova Wildcats—71 (There were 10 lead changes in the first 10 minutes. The Lions pulled away after than, leading at the half 45-31 and then continuing to leave the Wildcats in the dust the final 20 minutes by hitting 60% of their FG’s, 59% of their 3’s, 91% of their FT’s, and being +16 in rebounding. SF Leon Phillips—34 pts, 5 reb, 3 blk; PG Mike Bree—19 pts, 3 reb, 8 ast; reserve guard Vashon Patterson—10 pts.)

Conference Q

UC Davis Aggies—57, Western Illinois Leathernecks (3-8)—33 (The first half was a defensive battle…one of which the Aggies won 22-13. The Leathernecks offense continued to fizzle throughout the 2nd half as they finished the game hitting just 29% of their shots and making 24 turnovers. Reserve guard Jeremy Williams—8 pts, SF Aloysius Worley—6 pts, 7 reb. “Nothing good to say about this game other than it’s OVER,” said Coach Morillo.)

UC San Diego Tritons (9-2)—80, Richmond Spiders—66 (The Tritons grabbed the lead very early in the game and applied a solid defense to go up 43-23 by halftime. They then coasted to an easy win. SG Brandon Payne—16 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; SF Calvin Sears—16 pts, 6 reb; PF Bryce Stafford—13 pts; C Mike Okotie—12 pts, 4 reb; PG Solomon Rayner—10 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl.)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (7-4)—68, Chattanooga Mocs—55 (The Hawks led from start to finish. At halftime they were on top 30-24 and expanded their lead to as much as 20 points in the 2nd half. SG Renard Bell—17 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; PG Joseph Page—11 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl; C Kyle Mader—10 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk.)

Injuries: Dedrick Williams, SE Louisiana—sprained finger, 3 days; Aaron Sims, SE Louisiana—sprained finger, 5 days.

Awards: SF Leroy Phillips of SE Louisiana was the Conference N Player of the Week.

Comments: UC San Diego, SE Louisiana, Georgia State, and MD-Eastern Shore each finished pre-conference play with exceptionally strong perfromances. But Western Illinois continued to limp along as their offense is only averaging 60.8 ppg, 321st best in the nation and their rebounding is 329th best in the country (just 27.7 rpg).

[PointGuard]

Top Players for each team as Conference play begins:

Georgia State: Jeremy Young—12.7 ppg, 6.5 rpg; Curtis Lopez—12.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg.

SE Louisiana: Leroy Phillips—15.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg; Mike Bree—10.2 ppg, 6.0 apg; Travis Dixon—10.1 ppg, 5.7 rpg; Rostislav Polyanksy—10.0 ppg, 3.4 rpg.

Western Illinois: Brandt Kennedy—15.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg; Aloysius Worley—9.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg.

UC San Diego: Brandon Payne—14.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.5 apg; PG Solomon Rayner—12.0 ppg, 4.2 apg; Bryce Stafford—11.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg.

MD-Eastern Shore: Anthony Wilks—13.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg; Renard Bell—12.3 ppg, 3.5 apg; Zamiro Colter—10.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg; Kyle Mader—10.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg; Joseph Page—10.4 ppg, 4.1 apg.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games During the Week of January 8-14, 2042

Conference I

Georgia State Panthers (6-6, 1-0)—77, Saint Joseph’s Hawks—54 (Georgia State established dominance in this home game from the very start and never let the Hawks gain a foothold. By halftime the Panthers led 41-22. Their lead grew to 31 points before they eased up late in the game but still won easily due to a stingy defense that held St. Joseph’s shooting to 32%. SF Danny Williams—17 pts, 6 reb; PF Jeremy Young—16 pts, 9 reb; reserve guard Michael Maxwell—11 pts; C Ron Waldman—7 pts, 13 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl.)

Rhode Island Rams—84, Georgia State Panthers (6-7, 1-1)—64 (The home court was far less hospitable to the Panthers who were flat throughout the entire first half and let the Rams gain a solid advantage after 5 minutes of play. Rhode Island ran away to a 48-27 halftime advantage. Georgia State was unable to make any inroads into the Rams’ lead in the 2nd half. PF Jeremy Young—14 pts; C Ron Waldman—13 pts; PG Ronald Johnson—10 pts, 5 reb, 12 ast, 2 stl.)

Conference N

Lehigh Mountain Hawks—75, Southeast Louisiana Lions (7-5, 0-1)—74 (The Lions led through the first 4 minutes but then were unable to control the Mountain Hawks offense and ended up on the short end of a 45-26 haltime score. Lehigh held onto their big lead for the first 7 minutes of the 2nd half. But the SE Louisiana mounted a comeback and slipped ahead with 6 minutes to play. There were several lead changes from thereon, but Lehigh sunk a field goal with 7 seconds to go that gave them the victory. PF Tom McCrary—15 pts; SG Rostislav Polyansky—14 pts; SF Leroy Phillips—13 pts; reserve guard Vashon Patterson—10 pts.)

Southeast Louisiana Lions (8-5, 1-1)—82, Evansville Purple Aces—70 (This game was very close throughout the first half during which SE Louisiana took a slim 43-42 halftime edge and continued that way the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half. But then the Lions began to pull further and further away until the final buzzer sounded. C Travis Dixon—19 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast, 3 stl; SG Rostislav Polyansky—14 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl; PG Mike Bree-14 pts; SF Leroy Phillips—12 pts; reserve forward Andrew Stokes—9 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl.)

Conference Q

Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-8, 1-0)—62, UC San Diego Tritons—56 (The Leathernecks fell behind, went ahead, fell behind again and then did a final comeback to gain the victory. They led 28-19 at halftime, but trailed for 6 minutes late in the 2nd half before regaining the momentum and moving past the visiting Tritons in the final 4 minutes. Western Illinois scored 12 more points at the foul line. SG Brandt Kennedy—16 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; PG Bill Shin—15 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; C Walter Jackson—8 pts, 9 reb. Coach Terry Morillo said, “After suffering through a pretty much unsuccessful pre-season, it was exciting to win a game over Coach Ken Yamoto’s heavily favored Tritons.”)

Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders—62, Western Illinois Leathernecks (4-9, 1-1)—46 (Western Illinois’ offense failed to show up for this game. The Leathernecks fell behind at the half by a score of 43-27 and only scored 19 points in the 2nd half. PF Hunter Anderson—10 pts, 8 reb.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks—62, UC San Diego Tritons (9-3, 0-1)—56 (“Gotta give credit to Western Illinois’ ability to control the boards (42-26),” said Coach Ken Yamoto. “Plus they shut down our offense in the first in the first half, putting us down by 9 points.” The Tritons came back in the 2nd half…but only to lose the game in the final 4 minutes. PF Bryce Stafford—13 pts, 7 reb, 1 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk; SG Brandon Payne—11 pts, 5 reb.)

UC San Diego Tritons (10-3, 1-1)—79, Northwestern State Demons—64 (There were 10 lead changes in the first half and the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half. The game was tied 37-37 at the half. The Tritons gained control of the game in the final 15 minutes to accomplish a satisfying home win. C Mike Okotie—18 pts; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl; PF Bryce Stafford—13 pts, 6 reb; reserve forward Eli Braxton—11 pts, 7 reb.)

Conference R

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (8-4, 1-0)—93, Robert Morris Colonials—92 [OT] (Neither team was able to gain an advantage in the initial 13 minutes of the first half, but the Hawks then opened a 46-35 halftime advantage. But Robert Morris quickly caught up in the 2nd half and the game was razor-edge close with regulation time ending with a 80-80 tie. The OT was an offensive explosion by both teams with MD-Eastern Shore’s Joseph Paige hitting a 10 footer with 3 seconds on the clock to win the game. SF Anthony Wilks—31 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; PG Joseph Paige—16 pts, 8 ast; PF Zamiro Colter—12 pts; SG Renard Bell—9 pts, 5 reb, 9 ast, 2 stl.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (9-4, 2-0)—71, Fairleigh Dickinson Knights—64 (MD-Eastern Shore got ahead very early in the game and built a 16 point led midway through the 1st half and led 37-26 at the break. Fairleigh Dickinson got close with 10 minutes remaining but couldn’t overtake the Hawks. SF Anthony Wilks—14 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast; PF Zamiro Colter—14 pts, 5 reb; SG Renard Bell—12 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; PG Joseph Paige—12 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast.)

Injuries: Georgia State’s Michael Maxwell—sprained finger, 10 days; Western Illinois’ Andre Bradford—strained calf, 8 days; MD-Eastern Shore’s Henry Williams—back spasms, 7 days.)

Awards: None.

Comments: The only team not to split their opening week of conference play was Maryland Eastern Shore which won a thrilling overtime game and then hung on to win their second game of the week with Anthony Wilks scoring 45 points in the 2 games.