READY FOR PRIME TIME?

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games the Week of Jan. 29-Feb. 4, 2041

Conference J

Loyola (IL) Ramblers—75, Georgia State Panthers (15-3, 6-1)—67 (The Panthers win-streak was broken in what was a very close home contest. The Ramblers held a 41-38 halftime lead. The teams continued to exchange the lead in the 2nd half. Following the 16th lead change, Loyola edged ahead and slowly pulled away in the final 7 minutes of the game with the Panthers have 5 players in foul trouble. SG Clint Strohm—15 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; PF Aaron Samuels—10 pts, 10 reb; SF David Selby—10 pts.)

Georgia State Panthers (16-3, 7-1)—78, Harvard Crimson—63 (The Panthers took the Crimson apart. At the half it was 46-33 in favor of Georgia State. And the Panthers continued to pull away in the 2nd half. SF David Selby—29 pts; SG Clint Strohm—15 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl; C Jeremy Young—10 pts, 8 reb; PG Elton Sheals—9 pts, 11 ast.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (14-4, 6-1)—62, Mercer Bears—41 (The lead flip-flopped 6 times during the initial 11 minutes but the Lions then edged ahead to lead 27-23 at the break. They then took the Bears apart in the 2nd half. SG Thomas Matthews—14 pts; PG Mike Bree—12 pts, 7 ast, 5 stl; C Duane Simmons—12 pts.)

Niagara Purple Eagles—77, Southeast Louisiana Lions (14-5, 6-2)—75 (Niagara was in control the entire first half and led 41-30 at intermission. But the Lions came back and during the final 10 minutes of the game there were 9 lead changes. The game was tied with 11 seconds remaining. They were able to get off a 16 foot jumper that went cleanly through the net. The Lions tried to set up a clean shot but instead threw the ball away on their final possession. SG Thomas Matthews—16 pts, 6 ast, 5 stl; reserve C Tom McCrary—15 pts; PF Mike Sanders—14 pts; reserve guard Tom Allen—13 pts.)

Conference Q

Robert Morris Colonials—64, Western Illinois Leathernecks (7-11, 2-5)—56 (The first half featured 8 lead changes with Robert Morris on top 32-25 at the break. The Leathernecks had no answers in the 2nd half and at one point trailed by 18 before cutting the lead in the latter stages of the game. SG Trent Cougar—19 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; SG Brandt Kennedy—14 pts, 6 reb.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-11, 3-5)—79, Saint Peters Peacocks—61 (The Leathernecks ground out a 42-33 halftime lead and continued to move away from the Peacocks in the 2nd half. PG Trent Cougar—16 pts, 5 reb; PF Walter Jackson—16 pts, 6 reb; SF Aloysius Worley—11 pts, 5 reb.)

Conference R

Oakland Golden Grizzlies—75, UC San Diego Tritons (12-6, 4-3)—66 (Oakland took a 39-32 lead at the end of the first half. Their lead grew to 13 early in the 2nd half, but the Tritons came back to pull ahead with 5 minutes to go. But the Golden Grizzlies then pulled away. C Tommy Jordan—25 pts, 7 reb; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 3 stl, 2 blk; PF Bryce Stafford—12 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast.)

UC San Diego Tritons (13-6, 5-3)—64, Texas A&M-CC Islanders—45 (The Tritans were in charge in the 1st half but led just 26-23 at the break. They then steadily added to the lead in the 2nd half to win with ease. PF Bryce Stafford—20 pts, 5 reb; C Tommy Jordan—15 pts, 8 reb; SG Brandon Payne—10 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-7, 4-3)—69, Lafayette Leopards—55 (There were no spots to hide for the Leopards in the first half and they limped into the 2nd half trailing 49-28. MD-Eastern Shore coasted through the 2nd half and was never challenged. Reserve forward Trent Crockrom—14 pts; SF Rob Evans—13 pts, 7 reb; C Andy Cummings—11 pts; PF Zamiro Colter—10 pts.)

Sacramento State Hornets—69, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-8, 4-4)—58 (The Hawks fell behind early and trailed 34-20 at halftime. They could make no headway in the 2nd half. PF Rob Evans—11 pts, 8 reb; SF Trent Crockrom—10 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl.)

Awards: None.

Injuries: Mike Bree of SE Louisiana—back spasms—2 days; Rick Miller of MD-Eastern Shore—sore wrist—2 days.

Comments: Another so-so week with each team splitting their two games.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games the Week of Feb. 5-11, 2041

Conference J

San Francisco Dons—74, Georgia State Panthers (16-4, 7-2)—70 (The game went back-and-forth during the 1st half with the Panthers escaping with a 35-30 edge. Georgia State widened their lead to 13 points in the early going of the 2nd half. But they let the Dons creep back the final 13 minutes with San Francisco overtaking them with 2 minutes remaining. C Jeremy Young—27 pts in 21 minutes. Coach Spencer lamented, “This was a home game we should have won. We had them on the ropes and should have put them away, but then our defense went south. Even with the terrific game Jeremy gave us although he was in foul trouble the entire game , we ended up losing. Very disappointing.”)

Georgia State Panthers (17-4, 8-2)—80, Western Michigan Broncos—65 (The Broncos are having a rough season, and even at home they couldn’t handle the Panthers. Georgia State scored first and never trailed, taking advantage of Western Michigan’s 23 turnovers. The Panthers totalled 50 points on points-in-the-paint and 2nd-chance-points. PF Aaron Samuels—26 pts, 9 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 1 blk; C Jeremy Young—18 pts, 6 reb; SF David Selby—16 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 4 blk).

Conference N

IUPUI Jaguars—78, Southeast Louisiana Lions (14-6, 6-3)—54 (The Lions couldn’t get their offense going in the first half and trailed 38-15 at the break. SE Louisiana began scoring in the 2nd half but let IUPUI control things inside, so never made inroads. PG Mike Bree—11 pts, PF Mike Sanders—10 pts; reserve C Tom McCrary—10 pts; C Duane Simmons—8 pts, 11 reb.)

Southeast Louisiana Lions (15-6, 7-3)—83, Texas Rio Grande Vaqueros—62 (Pretty much the complete opposite of the previous game. The Lions got in front early and led 41-36 at halftime. They then surged throughout the 2nd half and hit 59% of their shots and 44% of their 3’s throughout the game. PG Mike Bree—24 pts, 5 ast; reserve C Tom McCrary—17 pts, 4 reb; SG Thomas Matthews—13 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast.)

Conference Q

Charleston Southern Buccaneers—65, Western Illinois Leathernecks (8-12, 3-6)—64 (Western Illinois dominated throughout the first half (ahead 36-25 at the break) and the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, but with Charleston Southern’s home crowd urging the Buccaneers on, they over took the Leathernecks with 7 minutes to play. The Leathernecks kept trying to regain the lead but were rebuffed at each opportunity. Western Illinois had the ball for a final possession, but ended up turning the ball over before they could get off a shot. PG Trent Cougar—14 pts, 12 ast; C David Perry—13 pts; SF Aloysius Worley—10 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl; SG Brandt Kennedy—10 pts, 5 stl.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (9-12, 4-6)—60, Northern Colorado Bears—53 (The Leathernecks led from start to finish but never by more than 10 points. Solid defense won this game for Western Illinois. PG Trent Cougar—16 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl; C David Perry—14 pts; SF Aloysius Worley—9 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 2 blk.)

Conference R

UC San Diego Tritons (14-6, 6-3)—63, Abilene Christian Wildcats—50 (The Tritons grabbed the lead early and by halftime were ahead 36-22. They continued their dominance in the 2nd half to lead by 25 with 8 minutes remaining. The Wildcats cut into their lead from thereon but never threatened. C Tommy Jordan—15 pts; SG Brandon Payne—12 pts, 6 stl; PG Solomon Rayner—10 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast; SF Steve McCrary—8 pts, 8 reb, 5 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk.)

UC San Diego Tritons (15-6, 7-3)—75, Lafayette Leopards—48 (The Leopards kept the Tritons at bay in the first half and led 26-24 at the break. But 3 minutes into the 2nd half, the Tritons moved ahead and held onto a small lead for the next 5 minutes. But then UC San Diego’s offense came alive and the Tritons ran away from the Leopards all the way to the end of the game. The Tritons outscored the Leopards 39-12 in the final 11 minutes of the game. PG Solomon Rayner—25 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast, 7 stl; C Tommy Jordan—13 pts; SG Brandon Payne—12 pts.)

So. Carolina Upstate Spartans—57, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-9, 4-5)—49 (This was a home game for the Hawks, but they played as though they were the road team. They fell behind immediately and while they made a few small runs in the first half, they were never able to wrest control away from the Spartans, trailing 23-21 at halftime. Then in the 2nd half, the Hawks simply let the Spartans run roughshod over them. MD-Eastern Shore hit just 29% of their FG’s and 13% of their 3’s. PF Rob Evans—9 pts, 11 reb; SF Trent Crockrom—9 pts, 10 reb; C Andy Cummings—9 pts. “Ugly, that’s all I have to say,” said Coach McMillan.)

East Carolina Pirates—69, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-10, 4-6)—44 (This was the 3rd straight loss and 3rd straight limp offense by the Hawks. By the half, East Carolina was in total control, 43-22. Things only got worse in the 2nd half for MD-Eastern Shore. They were out-shot 54% to 38%. The Hawks went to the line just 8 times and the Pirates only had 2 free throw attempts in this game. C Andy Cummings—12 pts, 7 reb.)

Awards: C Jeremy Young of Georgia State—Freshman Player of the Week for Conference J.

Injuries: SF Aloysius Worley of Western Illinois—sore calf—3 days; SF Trent Crockrom of MD-Eastern Shore—sore hip—3 days.

Comments: MD-Eastern Shore has scored just 55, 49, and 44 points in their last 3 games. “We’re gonna try some different things offensively,” said Coach Mike McMillan. UC San Diego’s twin victories kept them tied with So. Carolina Upstate for the lead in Conference R. Western Illinois continues to muddle their way through Conference Q play…and while not in the bottom 4, they need to up their level of play if they want to avoid the possibility of relegation. SE Louisiana remains tied (with 2 other teams) for 2nd place in Conference N. Georgia State dropped into a tie with charging Brown (which has won 8 games in a row) for 1st place in Conference J with 5 teams just a game behind.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games the Week of Feb. 12-18, 2041

Conference J

Georgia State Panthers (18-4,9-2)—84, Detroit Mercy Titans—70 (It took the Panthers 5 minutes to gain control of this game, but once they did they never gave it up. By the half they were in charge 49-35. Their lead remained intact throughout the 2nd half. Leading the way were: SG Clint Strohm—13 pts, 4 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; PF Aaron Samuels—13 pts; reserve guard Mike Boxler—12 pts; SF David Selby—11 pts, 4 reb, 3 stl.)

Montana Grizzlies—80, Georgia State Panthers (18-5, 9-3)—72 (Georgia State was unable to get ahead of the tough Grizzlies. By the half they trailed 46-29 and were down by as much as 24 points in the 2nd half before rallying late to get as close as the final score. SF David Selby—19 pts, 5 reb; C Jeremy Young—18 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast; PG Elton Sheals—11 pts.)

Conference N

Charlotte 49ers—82, Southeast Louisiana Lions (15-7, 7-4)—75 [OT] (The Lions trailed throughout the first half and were down 40-36 at the break. But they came alive in the 2nd half during which there were 11 lead changes. Regulation time ended with the 2 teams tied at 72-72. But SE Louisiana’s offense fizzled in overtime. PG Mike Bree—22 pts, 5 ast; C Duane Simmons—13 pts; SG Thomas Matthews—12 pts; reserve C/PF Tom McCrary—11 pts, 11 reb.)

Air Force Falcons—77, Southeast Louisiana Lions (15-8, 7-5)—76 [OT] (A second straight overtime loss for the Lions. This game was characterized by lead changes the entire way. In the OT, SE Louisiana jumped out to a quick lead, but the Falcons tracked them down and hit a last-second jumper to sink the Lions. SG Thomas Matthews—18 pts; PG Mike Bree—15 pts, 6 ast; reserve C/PF Tom McCrary—11 pts; C Duane Simmons—10 pts, 7 reb, 3 stl.)

Conference Q

Texas State Bobcats—67, Western Illinois Leathernecks (9-13, 4-7)—54 (There were 6 lead changes in the first half, but Texas State took a 39-36 halftime lead and then went on to pull away from the Leathernecks in the 2nd half. C David Perry—16 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk.)

NC-Asheville Bulldogs—86, Western Illinois Leathernecks (9-14, 4-8)—80 (The Leathernecks trailed the entire first half and were down 37-29 when the teams went to the locker room. But Western Illinois made a game out of in the 2nd half and the lead flipped back and forth midway through the 2nd half. But NC-Asheville poured in points late to trip up the Leathernecks. PG Trent Cougar—18 pts, 7 ast; SF Aloysius Worley—14 pts, 14 reb; PF Walter Jackson—13 pts; C David Perry—10 pts, 5 reb.)

Conference R

UC San Diego Tritons (16-6, 8-3)—69, Loyola (MD) Greyhounds—54 (The Tritons were in control from the tip-off to the final buzzer. By the half they led 42-31. The Greyhounds were unable to make inroads into the lead in the 2nd half. PG Solomon Rayner—21 pts; C Tommy Jordan—16 pts, 8 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl.)

UC San Diego Tritons (17-6, 9-3)—90, NC-Wilmington Seahawks—69 (Another wire-to-wire victory for the Tritons. The first half was close though with UC San Diego ahead by just 5 points at the half. But the 2nd half totally belonged to the Tritons who posted a 2nd straight powerful road victory. PG Solomon Rayner—23 pts, 4 reb, 10 ast, 9 stl; SG Brandon Payne—23 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; C Tommy Jordan—13 pts, 5 reb.)

Oakland Golden Grizzlies—74, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-11, 4-7)—47 (There were 9 lead changes in the first half. The Hawks held their last lead with 6 minutes to go. But by halftime they were behind 35-27. The roof caved in on the Hawks in the 2nd half as they were drubbed when they were unable to put together any kind of offense. PG Jon Arrington—15 pts; SG Rick Miller—11 pts; reserve PF/C Zamiro Colter—9 pts, 7 reb.)

Eastern Illinois Panthers—66, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (12-12, 4-8)—61 (MD-Eastern Shore led by as much as 10 points in the first half, but was ahead by just 2 at the break. The Panthers continued their comeback in the 2nd half and overtook the Hawks with a surge in the final 4 minutes. SG Rick Miller—14 pts; reserve guard Ray West—11 pts.)

Awards: PG Solomon Rayner was the Conference R Player of the Week.

Injuries: PF Mike Sanders of SE Louisiana—bruised shoulder—5 days.

Comments: This seems to be the season of the “haves” and “have nots”. The “haves”, UC San Diego and Georgia State, reside at the top of their two conferences. As to the “have nots”, MD-Eastern Shore has slid into a tie for 13th place in Conference R and Western Illinois is tied for 11th place in Conference Q. And after two overtime losses this week, SE Louisiana is sliding from the “haves” toward the “have nots”, tumbling from a tie for 1st to a tie for 5th place in Conference N. With just 4 games remaining in the regular season, Western Illinois and MD-Eastern Shore need to post some wins to avoid finishing so low in their conferences that they’re relegated for next season. The Hawks now have a 5-game losing streak and the Leathernecks have lost 6 of their last 8 games, so a turnaround is definitely the order of the day. On the other end of the spectrum, the Tritons have won their last 5 games.

[PointGuard]

Querying the 5 Coaches: What’s the primary strength of your team and the principal aspect that you’d like to improve?


Coach Dontell Spencer of Georgia State: My guys have done well in nearly all aspects of the game. If you look at PPG, APG, RPG, SPG, BPG, and Pts Allowed per game, they’re all from 31st to 58th best in Division 1. So we’ve done a good job both offensively and defensively. But I believe the major strength of our team has been our tenacity. We haven’t had many losses, but even those we’ve suffered have been close games. Our guys just never give up. With regard to improvement, I guess I’d say improving our 3-point shooting percentage. David Selby and some of our guards are pretty good from beyond the arc so I’d like to see them shoot more 3’s instead of some of our players who hit a pretty low percentage of their 3’s.

Coach Ramon Montez of Southeast Louisiana: Our strength has been our offense. We’re averaging 75.4 ppg which is 40th best in the country, hitting 48.3% of our FG’s (25th best), and doing a great job finding open players (19.2 apg which is 16th best). We’ve lost 3 games in overtime and 2 other games by just a few points, so I’d say we need to improve our ability to seal the deal.

Terry Morillo of Western Illinois: We’re doing a good job defensively. We’re only giving up 66.8 ppg which is nearly the best in Conference Q. We force a lot of turnovers by our opponents (17.3 topg). And we’ve been death to opponents on 3’s…they’re only making about 30% of their 3’s. But our offense is in need of a serious pick up. We shoot well, but I think the problem is that our rebounding has been weak which means we don’t get enough shots off.

Ken Yamoto of UC San Diego: We’re doing a great job both offensively and defensively. We’re scoring 74.9 ppg while giving up just 64.4 ppg. And we’ve knocked down 50.7% of our shots from the field. We’re also the #1 team in the nations in steals, getting 10.9 spg. The area we are weakest in is on the boards. I’d like to see us block out better and more aggressively attack the boards.

Mike McMillan of Maryland Eastern Shore: This is a bad time to be asking me about that. We’ve been in a funk lately and have lost our last 5 games. We really have to play better as a team and come away with wins in our final 4 games this season. We do a good job defensively (giving up just 65.1 ppg), so that’s our strength. But we need to clean up our ball handling. We’re making too many damned turnovers.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games the Week of Feb. 19-25, 2041

Conference J

Towson Tigers—81, Georgia State Panthers (18-6, 9-4)—72 (Tough loss. First, the Panthers were playing at home. Second, the win by Towson pushed Georgia State into second place in the conference, a gave behind the Tigers. The first half was a back and forth affair with Towson coming away with a 35-32 halftime advantage. The Tigers held the Panthers off in the 2nd half. C Jeremy Young—19 pts; SF David Selby—14 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk; PG Elton Sheals—14 pts.)

Georgia State Panthers (19-6, 10-4)—89, Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks—82 (The first half was close until the final 4 minutes during which the Panthers moved out to a 46-36 halftime lead. Georgia State moved out to an 18 point lead in the 2nd half but then let the Lumberjacks cut into their lead to give the Panthers a scare. C Jeremy Young—19 pts in just 14 minutes of play; SF David Selby—14 pts; PF Aaron Samuels—14 pts, 6 reb; reserve C Ron Waldman—11 pts.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (16-8, 8-5)—62, Army Knights—40 (The Lions bombarded the Knights in the first half to lead 36-17 at the break. Although Army made a couple small runs in the 2nd half, they were never able to seriously dent SE Louisiana’s big lead. Reserve C Tom McCrary—19 pts, 5 reb; C Duane Simmons—12 pts; SF Shawnelle Allen—9 pts, 7 reb.)

LaSalle Explorers—84, Southeast Louisiana Lions (16-9, 8-6)—83 (Another close loss for the Lions…this one at home. SE Louisiana was in control in the first half and led 48-37 at intermission. But the Explorers chipped away at the lead in the early portion of the 2nd half and the two teams exchanged the lead several times midway through the half. The Lions again pulled ahead only to let the Explorers back into it in the final 3 minutes. Trailing by one, LaSalle had the last possession of the game and hit a shot that won the game. SG Thomas Matthews—16 pts, 4 ast, 3 stl; reserve forward Leroy Phillips—14 pts; PG Mike Bree—12 pts, 4 ast; reserve guard Tom Allen—12 pts, 4 stl.)

Conference Q

Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks—90, Western Illinois Leathernecks (9-15, 4-9)—88 [OT] (The Warhawks edged ahead as the first half progressed and led 43-37 at halftime. The Leathernecks wrested the lead 6 minutes into the 2nd half. From there the two teams swapped the lead and were tied 82-82 when the buzzer sounded. Defense prevailed in OT with the Leathernecks falling behind and being unable to hit their final shot to tie the game. PG Trent Cougar—15 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast; SF Aloysius Worley—12 pts, 5 reb, 5 stl; SG Brandt Kennedy—11 pts, 4 ast; PF Walter Jackson—11 pts, 4 reb; C David Perry—10 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (10-15, 5-9)—67, Troy Trojans—63 (After losing in OT at home, the Leathernecks won a close one on the road. Western Illinois led 36-30 at the half, but the lead wavered back and forth throughout most of the 2nd half. The Leathernecks were finally able to open a small lead and hold onto it for the final 5 minutes. SG Brandt Kennedy—15 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl; C David Perry[--11 pts, 8 reb; SF Aloysius Worley—11 pts; PG Trent Cougar—10 pts, 7 ast, 4 stl.)

Conference R

UC San Diego Tritons (18-6, 10-3)—77, Grambling Tigers—67 (22 lead changes and 10 ties before the Tritons shut down the Tigers in the final 3 minutes to gain the victory. C Tommy Jordan—20 pts, 4 blk; PG Solomon Rayner—16 pts; SG Brandon Payne—10 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast; SF Steve McCrary—8 pts, 9 reb.)

Eastern Illinois Panthers—68, UC San Diego Tritons (18-7, 10-4)—64 (The Panthers led by as much as 13 points in the first half but UC San Diego closed late to trail just 39-38 at halftime. After 12 lead changes in the 2nd half, the Tritons offense shut down late for a disappointing loss. C Tommy Jordan—20 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl; SG Brandon Payne—16 pts, 4 ast, 4 stl.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (13-12, 5-8)—94, Manhattan Jaspers—49 (A total beatdown by the Hawks who led 50-17 at halftime and continued to pad their lead throughout the 2nd half. MD-Eastern Shore outshot the Jaspers 65% to 34% and were +16 in rebounds. PG Jon Arrington—24 pts, 2 reb, 8 ast, 2 stl; SF Anthony Wilks—20 pts; reserve C Kyle Mader—14 pts; SG Rick Miller—12 pts, 4 reb, 5 ast; C Andy Cummings—10 pts.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (14-12, 6-8)—72, Gramblng Tigers—55 (There were 12 lead changes in the first half, but the Hawks went to the locker room with a 34-29 edge. They then pulled away to win with ease in the 2nd half. PG Jon Arrington—18 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast; SG Rick Miller—17 pts, 3 stl; C Andy Cummings—14 pts, 5 reb.)

Awards: None

Injuries: PG Elton Sheals, Georgia State—sprained toe—7 days; SF Shawnelle Allen, SE Louisiana—bruised abdominal—10 days; PG Brennan Hess of Western Illinois—sore knee—1 day; PF Bryce Stafford of UC San Diego—bruised thigh—10 days.

Comments: MD-Eastern Shore came away with 2 big wins to put them in a 3-way tie for 10th place in Conference R, with 4 teams just behind them in the standings. But the other 4 teams each split their games this past week. The loss by Georgia State dropped them out of 1st place in Conference J. UC San Diego’s loss dropped them into a tie for 1st place in Conference R. Western Illinois’ split leaves them in sole possession of 13th place and in real jeopardy of being relegated unless they can win both games this coming week. And SE Louisiana’s loss puts them in a 4-way tie for 5th place. So the Lions need to win both games this final week of the regular season if they want to finish in the top 4 in Conference Q.

[PointGuard]

Summary of Games the Week of Feb. 26-Mar. 4, 2041

Conference J

Holy Cross Crusaders—80, Georgia State Panthers (19-7, 10-5)—67 (The Panthers played well in the first half, exchanging the lead with Holy Cross, the home team, 11 times. But after trailing 40-36 at halftime, Georgia State was unable to close the gap in the 2nd half. SG Clint Strohm—15 pts, 5 reb; PF Aaron Samuels—12 pts; reserve C Ron Rush—12 pts.)

Georgia State Panthers (20-7, 11-5)—78, Boston University Terriers—68 (The Panthers finished the regular season with a solid home court victory. Although the first half had 6 lead changes, Georgia State came on strong late in the half to lead 44-31 at the break. They then maintained a double digit lead the entire 2nd half. SF David Selby—24 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk; SG Clint Strohm—21 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; PG Elton Sheals—12 pts, 9 ast; reserve C Ron Waldman—10 pts, 7 reb.)

Conference N

Southeast Louisiana Lions (17-9, 9-6)—63, Cal State Fullerton Titans—54 (After 9 lead changes, the Lions pulled away late in the first half and were up 36-28 at halftime. While the Titans made some runs in the 2nd half, they could get no closer than 5 points and SE Louisiana came way with a sound road win. SF Leroy Phillips—14 pts; C Duane Simmons—11 pts.)

James Madison Dukes—70, Southeast Louisiana Lions (17-10, 9-7)—58 (The Lions led by 13 midway through the first half but let the Dukes tie them at the break 27-27. The 2nd half belonged completely to to James Madison. SG Thomas Matthews—16 pts, 3 stl; reserve C Tom McCrary—9 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl.)

Conference Q

Western Illinois Leathernecks (11-15, 6-9)—69, Siena Saints—60 (The Leathernecks came from behind midway through the first half to lead 31-26 at the break. But Siena fought back to take a small lead midway through the 2nd half so that Western Illinois had to work hard to reapture the lead and then pull away late. SF Aloysius Worley—16 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl; reserve forward Hunter Anderson—14 pts; C David Perry—13 pts, 7 reb, 5 blocks; SG Brandt Kennedy—13 pts.)

Western Illinois Leathernecks (12-15, 7-9)—65, Denver Pioneers—61 (Denver held a small lead throughout the first half until the final 4 minutes. Western Illinois then spurted to a 39-30 halftime advantage. The Leathernecks lead grew to as much as 20 but then Denver put on an extended late run that nearly sunk Western Illinois. SG Brandt Kennedy—14 pts, 3 reb, 3 stl; C David Perry—10 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl, 2 blk; PG Trent Cougar—9 pts, 4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl.)

Conference R

Manhattan Jaspers—69, UC San Diego Tritons (18-8, 10-5)—64 (UC San Diego made a valiant effort to post a road victory against a strong Manhattan team. The lead swung back and forth the entire game. But the Tritons ran out of gas in the final few minutes to drop to a disappointing loss. C Tommy Jordan—15 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast, 4 stl; reserve forward Rob Woodward—14 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast; PG Solomon Rayner—11 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl.)

UC San Diego Tritons (19-8, 11-5)—73, Tennessee State Tigers—70 (This was a tough game. The Tigers led early but the Tritons then overtook them and held sway for most of the first half and led 36-29 at halftime. Then with 15 minutes to go, Tennessee State again gained the lead and held onto it until there were just 3 minutes remaining. The lead shifted during the final minutes but UC San Diego went up by 2 with just over a minute to go and held gamely on to win their final game of the regular season. SG Brandon Payne—20 pts, 5 reb, 3 stl; PG Solomon Rayner—15 pts, 3 reb, 6 ast, 2 stl; C Tommy Jordan—12 pts.)

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (15-12, 7-8)—63, NC-Wilmington Seahawks—59 (Atter coming from behind to lead 34-30 at halftime, the Hawks opened an 11 point lead in the 2nd half only to see the Seahawks nearly catch then late in the game. SF Anthony Wilks—26 pts, 11 reb, 3 ast; PG Joseph Page—15 pts, 8 ast.)

Cal State Northridge Matadors—79, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (15-13, 7-9)—61 (The two teams exchanged the lead 10 times in the first 4 minutes, but then the Hawks dove to the earth and never flew again in this game. They trailed 40-28 at halftime and fell behind by 24 in the 2nd half. SF Rob Evans—11 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast; PG Jon Arrington—10 pts, 4 ast.)

Awards: None.

Injuries: PG Mike Bree, SE Louisiana—sore foot—1 day; PF Walter Jackson, Western Illinois—broken nose—out remainder of season; C David Perry, Western Illinois—sore shoulder—3 days; SF Aloysius Worley, Western Illinois—sore arm—4 days; SG Brandt Kennedy—sprained finger—5 days; PF Zamiro Colter, MD-Eastern Shore—sprained wrist—4 days.

Comments: Georgia State came up one-win short of tying for 1st place in Conference N. Southeast Louisiana finished in a 5-way tie for 4th place in Conference O but will need to win the conference tourney to be promoted to the next higher conference next year. Western Illinois’ 2 wins this past week moved them up into a 3-way tie for 11th place in Conference Q and out of danger of being relegated next year…but a spate of injuries greatly jeopardizes any chance they have of pulling off a pulling off an upset in the conference tourney. UC San Diego’s loss this week made then slip behind Texas A&M Corpus Christi, which has a 6-game win streak, into a tie for 2nd place in Conference R. Splitting their games this week, the MD-Eastern Shore Hawks muddled their way to finish in a tie for 10th place in Conference R.

[PointGuard]

Conference Tournaments

Round 1

Conference N: Evansville Purple Aces—83, Southeast Louisiana Lions (17-11)—70 (The Lions defense failed them in the first half as Evansville ran away to a 46-34 halftime advantage. The lead expanded to 17 points before the Lions were finally able to come back. Midway through the 2nd half there were 4 lead changes over a 7 minute period of time. But SE Louisiana’s offense fizzled late and they plummeted to a discouraging exit from the conference tournament. SG Thomas Matthews—31 pts; PG Mike Bree—11 pts.)

Conference Q: Northern Illinois Huskies—71, Western Illinois Leathernecks (12-16)—43 (The Leathernecks were simply out-manned and out-gunned in this contest. By the end of the first half they were down 31-16. The Huskies continued to dominate in the 2nd half. PG Trent Cougar—14 pts.)

Conference R: Maryland-Eastern Shore Hawks (16-13)—82, NC-Wilmington Seahawks—66 (The teams swapped the lead 7 times in the first 4 minutes, but MD-Eastern Shore then spurted to a big lead and by halftime, they were ahead 46-26. The Hawks held onto their big lead all the way to the end of the game. Reserve C Kyle Mader—16 pts, 6 reb; C Andy Cummings—13 pts, 8 reb; reserve SF Anthony Wilks—13 pts.)

Georgia State and UC San Diego had first round byes.

[PointGuard]

Conference Tournaments

Round 2

Conference J: New Mexico State Aggies—84, Georgia State Panthers (20-8)—80 (Georgia State was cruising along. By the end of the first half, the Panthers led 49-30 and appeared headed to an easy victory. Their big lead continued through the first 8 minutes of the 2nd half, but then the Aggies clamped down defensively and began cutting into the lead. With 5 minutes to go New Mexico State caught up. There were then 5 rapid lead changes and then the Aggies edged ahead and held onto the lead the final 2 minutes. SF David Selby—15 pts; PG Elton Sheals—13 pts, 3 ast; C Jeremy Young—11 pts, 6 reb; reserve PG Mike Boxler—10 pts.)

Conference R: UC San Diego Tritons (20-8)—77, Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks (16-14)—65 (The game was close for 7 minutes but then the Tritons opened a lead and by the end of the half they were on top 42-31. MD-Eastern Shore was unable to get closer than 9 points in the 2nd half. For UC San Deigo: SG Brandon Payne—23 pts, 5 stl; C Tommy Jordan—14 pts, 5 reb; PG Solomon Rayner—11 pts, 5 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl. For MD-Eastern Shore: SF Rob Evans—17 pts, 7 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk; PG Jon Arrington—10 pts, 3 ast; reserve C Kyle Mader—10 pts, 5 reb.)

[PointGuard]

Conference Tournaments

Round 3

Conference R: East Carolina Pirates—75, UC San Diego Tritons (20-9)—66 (The Pirates were in command most of the game, but 4 minutes before the end of the first half and 5 minutes before the end of the game, the Tritons got very small leads. But UC San Diego was unable to maintain the lead either time. C Tommy Jordan—25 pts, 7 reb; SG Brandon Payne—15 pts, 3 stl; PF BNzryce Stafford—12 pts, 5 reb, 3 ast.)

[NOTE: Pretty poor showing by the coaches’ 5 teams. Two wins and five losses. Totally unimpressive.]

[PointGuard]

Team and Personal Stats:

Georgia State Panthers, Coach Dontell Spencer

Team:

Season Record: 20-8; Conference J Record: 11-5 (2nd place tie); NET Ranking: 80
PPG: 75.4 (39th); OPPG: 67.6 (124th); APG: 18.7 (35th); RPG: 34.7 (41st)

Players:

PPG: David Selby-14.9; Jeremy Young-12.9; Clint Strohm-9.5; Aaron Samuels-9.5
RPG: Aaron Samuels-8.3; Jeremy Young-4.8; Clint Strohm-4.7; David Selby-4.4
APG: Elton Sheals-4.5; Clint Strohm-4.1; David Selby-1.9

Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks, Coach Mike Mc Millan

Team:

Season Record: 16-14; Conference R Record: 7-9 (10th place tie); NET Ranking: 215
PPG: 67.7 (203rd); OPPG: 64.9 (56th); APG: 17.5 (124th); RPG: 31.2 (194th)

Players:

PPG: Anthony Wilks-13.2; Andy Cummings-11.9; Rick Miller-9.3
RPG: Rob Evans-6.8; Zamiro Colter-4.8; Andy Cummings-4.5; Anthony Wilks-3.8
APG: Jon Arrington-4.8; Rick Miller-3.1; Joseph Page-1.9

Southeast Louisiana Lions, Coach Ramon Montez

Team:

Season Record: 17-11; Conference N Record: 9-7 (4th place tie); NET Ranking: 115
PPG: 74.0 (66th); OPPG: 66.6 (96th); APG: 19.0 (20th); RPG: 30.7 (232nd)

Players:

PPG: Thomas Matthews-13.3; Mike Bree-12.2; Travis Dixon-10.8
RPG: Mike Sanders-6.3; Travis Dixon-6.2; Shawnelle Allen-4.9; Duane Simmons-4.4
APG: Mike Bree-5.1; Thomas Matthews-2.8; Shawnelle Allen-2.6; Tom Allen-2.1

UC San Diego Tritons, Coach Ken Yamoto

Team:

Season Record: 20-9; Conference N Record: 11-5 (tied for 2nd place); NET Ranking: 61
PPG: 73.6 (72nd); OPPG: 65.0 (57th); APG: 18.2 (74th); RPG: 28.8 (310th)

Players:

PPG: Tommy Jordan-16.0; Brandon Payne-15.3; Solomon Rayner-10.9; Bryce Stafford-9.3
RPG: Tommy Jordan-5.2; Steve McCrary-4.3; Brandon Payne-3.8; Merv Dye-3.8; Bryce Stafford-3.7
APG: Solomon Rayner-5.5; Brandon Payne-2.9; Tommy Jordan-2.0

Western Illinois Leathernecks, Coach Terry Morillo

Team:

Season Record: 12-16; Conference Q Record: 7-9 (11th place tie); NET Ranking: 186
PPG: 65.1 (284th); OPPG: 67.2 (113th); APG: 16.3 (236th); RPG: 28.1 (330th)

Players:

PPG: Trent Cougar-12.8; David Perry-11.8; Brandt Kennedy-10.4
RPG: Aloysius Worley-5.4; David Perry-5.0; Walter Jackson-3.7; Brandt Kennedy-3.2
APG: Trent Cougar-5.2; Brandt Kennedy-2.6; Aloysius Worley-1.9