Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Thu Dec 29, 2022 11:43 pm

“Good afternoon, Mr. Harrigan, have a seat.”

The athletic director holds out a hand, as I pull a chair up to his desk and take a seat.

“I assume you’re aware of what’s been going on with the program?” he asks, sitting himself.

“Somewhat,” I say, taking a breath to gather my thoughts. “We’d agreed to move our program to Division I level several years ago, while I was still a player on the team. Now the board has threatened to pull back on funding across all levels of Bellarmine athletics, which led to a number of players transfering out. Now you’re saying you have a plan to change that?”

“That’s about it,” he sighs. “It’s been a clusterf--- to say the least. You’ve already been doing a lot of work for the team as a grad assistant, and I appreciate the hell out of you for that. But I’ve got a big ask.”

“And that is?”

“We’ve got eight players left committed to our program this season, and they need a coach.”

“They have coaches, don’t they?” I ask. ‘What happened to Bremer?”

“Coach Bremer just told us he’s bailing, he’d rather retire than coach a team he said … and I think I’m getting this right … ‘couldn’t win their way out of a D-III gym with the other team playing blindfolded.’”

“Ouch.”

“Damn right, ouch. And his assistants all got poached for various other jobs, so we’re left with nothing going for us. I’m willing to join in as an assistant, maybe even as Associate Head Coach, but I’m also having to run this department and we’re treading water as it is. I don’t want to be spread too thin to keep all the other sports afloat as well.”

I started to sense where this was going, and felt my stomach drop.

“Are you asking me to take on the head coaching job?” I manage to get out. “I’m only 24, and I just graduated from Bellarmine last spring.”

“Right,” he says, nodding. “But you’re also the best damned point guard we ever had play here, and you know the program in and out.”

“True,” I admit. “But I’m still 23. And in top-division NCAA basketball that’s unheard of. You think I’m Branch McCracken here?”

“No, but damn it, Tyler, you know basketball. You see the game better than anyone around here, and I trust you’d put together a team that can at least make games entertaining. You always had a mind for creating offense, and there’s absolutely no pressure. As long as you’re aware there’s never going to be a ton of money in the job, I’m willing to give you pretty much free reign. I have a couple assistants in mind to join us, guys who know the local area and help scout and run practice, and if you’re willing you and I can hit the ground running and see what recruiting can be done.”

“Eight players?” I ask, my mind reeling a bit at the thought. “We’ll be lucky to keep guys conditioned enough to play through the season at that rate.”

“Yes, eight players. Four are seniors coming back from last year’s team, with two juniors and a pair of freshmen who didn’t leave because they knew no other team in the country at this level would give them any playing time.”

I sit back and put my hands behind my head, thinking. “We’ll have no bench, they’ll all have to play. You really think we can make this happen?” I ask, knowing he’ll give me the good college try to at least sign on.

“We’ll make something happen, at least,” he laughs. “First things first, we’ll make the Courier-Journal: ‘Local Idiot AD Hires Grad Student at $80.000 Per Year To Lead Bellarmine To The Bottom’ or some such headline.”

“It doesn’t have to be that bad, if we do things right,” I say almost to myself. “If we do it right, we could surprise some people and build something really cool here in Louisville.”

“Does that mean you’re in?” he asks, standing.

“I suppose so, Mr. Rancik,” I smile. “At the very least I get these damned student loans paid off. And best case scenario we make some legit news.”

I stand up and walk with him to the door. “I guess it’s time I go find my office and get to work,” I laugh. “We’ve got a lot of scholarships to fill for next year, and only a few months before we get to practice with the guys we have now.”

That’s how I, Tyler Hannigan, at age 24 found myself heading into the craziest job situation I hadn’t even thought worth imagining.

- - - - -

For this dynasty diary I'm starting from as close to rock bottom as I can. I've sliced and diced my team down to eight roster players, and I have recruiting settings set to as hard as possible. With the modern day transfer rules in effect I may eventually be able to benefit some from that, but with essentially half my team to fill (including four graduating players remaining, really it's MORE than half) I'm already starting out with as much against me as I can. Let's see what happens!
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Re: Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Fri Dec 30, 2022 1:44 am

Coach Info
Name: Tyler Hannigan (24)
Contract: $80,000 / 3 years
National Reputation: 10% (Poor)
Offense: 54%
Defense: 22%
Scouting: 31%
Recruiting: 35%
Development: 8%

School Info
School: Bellarmine Knights
Location: Louisville KY
Conference: Atlantic Sun
Arena: Freedom Hall (18,252)
SAT Minimum: 900
Facilities: D
Academics: C+
Team Prestige: -4%
Conf. Prestige: 16%

June 26, 2022
This may have been a crazier job to take than even I’d thought at first glance. Our prestige nationally is in the toilet thanks to all the bad press we’ve gotten -- coaches bailing, players bailing, administration giving us just enough rope to hang ourselves -- no one thinks we’ll win five games, if even that. And no one expects me, a novice straight out of college, to be able to bring in any Kentucky players, let alone good ones. “A glorified high school team trying to be a D1 program, with a coach who probably wouldn’t even lead most in-state JV programs,” the Courier-Journal called us. So sky’s the limit, or we could drop into the sub-sub-basement. Either call’s a valid one at this juncture.

I’ve got nine available scholarships, and just under $33,000 with which to wrangle up some players, or next year we’ll have a team of walk-ons, if anyone would be foolhardy enough to walk on and play for us without a scholarship. To give you a hint of what we’re looking at, the son of my athletic director turned Associate Head Coach, Lamond Rancik, told us our campus visit “was hardly worth while, nothing personal.”

Nobody said it would be easy.

September 18, 2022
No committed recruits yet, though now we have our non-conference schedule and it’s bleak. We’re on the road for nine of 13 games, and we’ll have some tough road “buy games” to navigate, though thankfully we’re not facing anyone in the preseason top 25. The tough thing will be negotiating a four-game road stretch before we even play our first home game (Nov. 30, versus Eastern Illinois). Our best home opponent prestige-wise appears to be the Princeton Tigers, who come to Louisville to play us on December 14. As far as road games go, Davidson (Nov. 23), UNLV (Nov. 26) Houston (Dec. 3) and Wake Forest (Dec. 28) look to be the toughest, though with only eight active players on the team I’d say every game on our schedule will be a challenge.

October 2, 2022
I got two recruits to give their verbal agreements this week!

Tyson Sanchez, a three-star forward from Lexington who has played two years of JuCo ball, comes in ranked just inside the top 200 nationally and #46 in the Southeast, having averaged 13.6 points 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 assists while playing in junior college. He has excellent outside shooting skills and above average potential as a scorer and inside shooter. His raw athleticism left him as a question-mark for many schools, but I was impressed with his 2.5 GPA. No need to worry about SATs, and I think we can get him into a good study hall situation come fall to keep him from backsliding.

Chris Allen, a three-star high school senior from Cadiz, can shoot but is very raw overall beyond that. He’ll play for us immediately, but how well his 15.7 points and 9.3 rebounds per game translate to college will remain to be seen. He’s got height, though, and though he’s played primarily power forward, at 6’8” he should be able to put in strong minutes at center as well. Nationally he’s ranked outside the top 250, but is rated 70th overall in the Southeast.

October 16, 2022
Jason DeWitt, a 6’4” forward from Prestonsburg, has chosen to be the third member of our incoming recruiting class. A two-star recruit per WSSN coming in from high school, DeWitt is ranked just inside the top 500 nationally, 116th in the region. Averaging 15 points per game (and not much else) in high school, he has solid athleticism and good ability to shoot from the outside, and he has good overall potential. But he’s definitely a diamond in the rough candidate, as there’s no way we’ll know what he can do until he’s wearing a Bellarmine uniform. His 2.9 GPA suggests he’ll fit in well academically, with little reason to expect him to struggle in his coursework.

October 23, 2022
We have our fourth recruit, though there’s concern he may struggle on the SAT, so we’ll have to keep an eye out through January to see that he passes it. Jani Cook, a 6’8” forward from Covington, comes in as a three-star recruit averaging 16.4 points 4.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. He’s ranked in the top 350 nationally and is 88th in the region. He’s a great shooter inside and has athleticism and overall upside, but his grades (if he does pass the SAT) are going to need work. Consider him a potential redshirt candidate if he gets in, at which point we can focus on his grades.

November 13, 2022
Heading into the start of the season, here’s what our roster is looking like:

PG - Elton McCutcheon (6’3” 215 lbs Fr) Glasgow KY (Glasgow HS) 2.9 GPA (2.5/2.5)
SG - Joseph Cherry (6’1” 170 lbs Sr) Louisville KY (Eastern HS) 3.2 GPA (3.5/4.0)
SF - Terrence Harris (6’5” 204 lbs Sr) Harlan KY (Cawood HS) 2.1 GPA (3.0/3.5)
PF - Kareem Jennings (6’6” 213 lbs Fr) Louisville KY (Holy Cross HS) 3.1 GPA (1.0/3.0)
C - Ahmad Brooks (6’8” 278 lbs Jr) Hopkinsville KY (Hopkinsville HS) 2.9 GPA (3.5/4.0)

6 - Tommy Poster (6’4” 174 lbs Jr) Liberty KY (Casey County HS) 3.7 GPA (2.5/3.0)
7 - Jason Graham (6’2” 183 lbs Sr) Bardstown KY (Bethlehem HS) 2.8 GPA (2.0/3.0)
8 - Johnny Cooper (6’8” 245 lbs Fr) Eminence KY (Eminence HS) 3.0 GPA (1.0/1.0)

All three bench players will be playing at LEAST 12-14 minutes per game, and that’s if our starters can handle their roles. If not, I expect all our reserves to have to pick up big minutes on occasion. I’m also loathe to trust all our scouting information, since our lead scout is also our Athletic Director, and he’s trying to run an entire department and do team scouting. It’s going to be an interesting year, I can assure you.

I plan to use this as a coach every game myself dynasty, so strap in … this should be a hell of a ride! I am letting my coaches handle all the strategies and practice sessions, while I’ve taken the helm in all matters recruiting, as well as setting up our depth matrix.
Last edited by jksander on Fri Dec 30, 2022 4:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Fri Dec 30, 2022 3:11 am

November 16, 2022
Bellarmine (0-0) @ Northern Kentucky (0-0)

We kept this one close early on, never letting the Norse get too far ahead at any moment. With 13:34 to go in the first half we were knotted 14-14, led by eight early points by Joseph Cherry, who has been providing much-needed veteran leadership in the pre-season. But Northern Kentucky put on a run from there and very efficiently put together a 21-31 lead with just 6:24 before halftime. We fought hard down the stretch, however, battling back to tie the game 41-41 thanks to a Cherry three-point jumper with seconds left in the half. Unfortunately the Norse went into the break leading 41-43, but we’d made our presence felt early, with all eight players on the court at least scoring something. Cherry, of course, led the half with 11 points two assists and a steal.

Alas, we were completely gassed at this point, and we came out floundering to start the half, letting Northern Kentucky put up a 14-0 run to open the stretch. With 9:50 to go we trailed 58-80, and the Norse ran away with it down the stretch to win 100-78. We did our best to keep things respectable, but we simply did not have the depth to outlast their relentless offensive onslaught. Everyone on the team played at least 14 minutes, so we put everything on the line.

Player of the Game: Joseph Cherry (16 pts 3 reb 2 ast 4 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Ahmad Brooks (12 pts 9 reb 1 blk) Kareem Jennings (12 pts 4 reb 2 ast) Johnny Cooper (8 pts 4 reb 3 ast 1 blk)

November 19, 2022
Bellarmine (0-1) @ Old Dominion (1-0)

We actually held our first lead of the season as this one opened, with Jennings and Brooks teaming up to put us ahead 6-2 with 16:02 to play in the first half. But less than 90 seconds later ODU rushed ahead 8-9, and from there we were in the dogfight we’d expected. The Monarchs played tough defense, and though we fought to at least maintain a place in the game, they quickly took control. Down 18-26 with 9:53 remaining, we fought hard to narrow the gap. At the half we felt lucky to be within five points, trailing 41-46 in a game we could have been losing by 20. Ahmad Brooks led our team at the half with 15 points and five rebounds, with only one turnover.

We gained ground in the early minutes of the second half, fighting to within three, down 50-53, on a 10-footer by Brooks with 15:09 to play, and Jason Graham helped us tie it with a jumper of his own, making it 59-59 with 12:58 left in the game. Kareem Jennings hit a three that gave us a brief 63-62 lead, at which point we traded positions with the Monarchs in what was becoming a taut battle. We remained tied 69-69 with 8:16 to play, but Ahmad Brooks put us back up 73-71 with 7:06 remaining. We remained neck and neck the rest of the way and did well from the line, staying out of foul trouble ourselves but stumbling in the final seconds. Old Dominion pulled this one out 87-86, spoiling our chance at an early season road upset.

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (28 pts 7 reb)
Honorable Mentions: Joseph Cherry (19 pts 4 reb 2 ast 3 blk) Tommy Poster (14 pts 3 ast 1 stl 1 blk)

November 23, 2022
Bellarmine (0-2) @ Davidson (1-1)

Davidson came out fired up, and the Wildcats appropriately led 13-19 with 12:08 to go in the first half. But as we’ve done so far in every game we shot well under duress and fought our way back into this one. With 1:28 to go in the half we trailed 34-36, and we went into halftime knotted 36-36, with Brooks and Cherry both in double figures scoring! We opened the second half on a 7-1 run, and though Davidson fought back quickly, we’d fired the first shots. With 17:20 to go we led 45-42, and it became a raw catfight from there. Down 60-64 with 7:18 to play, I begged our guys to just stay in our rhythm, our shots would come. With 1:07 to play we were down just two, 74-76, but the Wildcats held tough from the line down the stretch and we couldn’t get anywhere. Davidson won this one 81-76 and we slid to 0-3 on the season.

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (22 pts 12 reb 1 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Joseph Cherry (13 pts 4 reb 1 stl) Terrence Harris (10 pts 4 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

November 26, 2022
Bellarmine (0-3) @ UNLV (1-1)

UNLV came out flat initially, and we built an early 12-9 lead only to let the Runnin’ Rebels outscore us 13-0 in three minutes to lead 12-22 with 10:04 to play in the first half. Unbelievable! But we stuck to our guns and told Vegas what we thought of the 20-point spread, fighting back to within 26-29 with four minutes remaining in the half. We tied it with 2:29 left to play thanks to a 7-footer by Joseph Cherry, and at the break we found ourselves exactly where we were last game -- knotted, 36-36, our scoring spread fairly evenly across the board. UNLV’s defense kept this one close but we were fighting for respect in the second half, and with the score still knotted 55-55 with just 7:37 remaining, I think we were starting to get that. The final thirty seconds were pure chaos … Terrence Harris nailed a 14-foot jump shot in traffic to put us within one, down 70-71, and Ahmad Brooks quickly fouled with UNLV only getting one of the two free throws. With just ten seconds left, we got the ball down the court, into the hands of Harris again, who, with two guys guarding him, GOT A THREE-POINTER THROUGH THE NET HALF A SECOND AHEAD OF THE BUZZER! We won this one in epic style, 73-72 -- take THAT, Vegas!

Player of the Game: Terrence Harris (22 pts 3 reb 2 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Ahmad Brooks (14 pts 4 reb 2 ast) Johnny Cooper (7 pts 6 reb 1 ast 1 blk)
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Re: Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Fri Dec 30, 2022 4:22 am

November 30, 2022
Eastern Illinois (1-3) @ Bellarmine (1-3)

In front of our home fans at long last, we wasted no time taking control, building a 14-4 lead on the Panthers before the first media timeout! By the time we were nearing the break we had this one already in near-blowout position, ahead 35-21 on Eastern Illinois with 5:44 left to be played. By halftime we were up comfortably 47-33 and just needed to keep our foot on the gas long enough to shut them out for good, and a 10-2 run in the first three minutes of the second half did that nicely. Though all the upper decks were curtained off, the home crowd we did draw made plenty of noise as we put this one away, beating Eastern Illinois in a rout, 88-68, improving to 2-3 on the young season! We only get a few of these home games before the start of Atlantic Sun play, so we’re glad to make them count.

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (20 pts 3 reb 1 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Terrence Harris (19 pts 3 reb 2 ast) Johnny Cooper (11 pts 7 reb 2 ast 3 blk)

December 3, 2022
Bellarmine (2-3) @ Houston (2-2)

This one was a battle from the jump, with a handful of lead changes before Houston really asserted themselves midway through the half. With 7:01 to play in the first half we were still within reasonable reach, down 22-26, and with 4:35 to go we’d cut the margin to a single point, down 30-31 against the Cougars. Tommy Poster nailed a three-pointer to give us a two point lead moments later, but we’d head into the break trailing again 38-39. Another nailbiter, led by 11 points from Cherry and another 10 from Poster off the bench.

Houston’s defense to start the half was absolutely stifling. They outscored us 14-6 over the first nine minutes of the half, but we fought hard to stay in this one and with 6:46 to play we were only down by four, 59-63! We battled them shot for shot down the stretch and at the buzzer Ahmad Brooks nailed a jumper that knotted it 69-69 to force overtime! We kept it tight during the extra frame but just didn’t have the juice to force a second one. Tommy Poster missed a three with seconds to go and we lost this one 74-77. What a heartbreaker!

Player of the Game: Joseph Cherry (15 pts 4 reb 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Terrence Poster (16 pts 2 reb 2 ast 1 stl) Ahmad Brooks (14 pts 6 reb 1 blk)

December 7, 2022
South Carolina State (3-4) @ Bellarmine (2-4)

We were a bit sluggish out the gate, letting the Bulldogs score the first six points, but we fought back to tie it 11-11 with 15:10 to play, and with 9:01 remaining we were comfortably in the lead 20-13. But SC State had some bite in them, as the Bulldogs clawed back to retake the lead 33-34 with 2:05 left before the break. We held tough and went into halftime knotted 38-38. How familiar! But we knew we needed to get help for Ahmad Brooks, who had led the first half with 16 points to go with a single rebound and FIVE BLOCKS.

We opened the second half on an incredible 13-2 run to hint at breaking this one open, but we couldn’t count on just coasting through, because 10 of those points had come from Brooks who was taking us on his shoulders. We held tough on defense and slowly maintained our control, leading 66-55 with 7:19 remaining in the game. Terrence Harris had a double double midway through the second half, and his strong defense helped us stay in control. We held tough to win this one 86-74!

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (28 pts 5 reb 1 stl 7 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Terrence Harris (17 pts 10 reb 4 ast 2 stl) Tommy Poster (10 pts 2 reb 8 ast 3 stl)

December 10, 2022
Bellarmine (3-4) @ Western Kentucky (4-4)

We are experimenting by moving Tommy Poster into the starting lineup as our point guard, having earned the shot with his strong offense and densive performances so far. McCutcheon has struggled to find his offensive footing so far, and by moving him to the 6th-man spot we’re hoping to spur him to be more comfortable. Maybe 12-14 minutes a game is more his style at this point in his freshman season.

The pace of this one was intense! The Hilltoppers came out fired up, but we matched them shot for shot, and with 10:17 to go in the first half we trailed by just one point, down 25-26! We traded leads several times and then Western Kentucky ran with it -- by halftime they led 37-58 and we were almost too stunned to be humiliated. We’ve been fighting above our weight class all year so far, and this time it just came back to bite us. We fought hard in the second half, outscoring the Hilltoppers 42-36 during the second frame, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the end of the first. We lost this one 79-94, falling to 3-5.

The PG experiment is a wash so far, so I’ll let Poster stay as the starter for our next game. He had only four points but added four assists with no turnovers, while McCutcheon put up four points of his own with eight assists and no turnovers. Both played starter-level minutes, so it’s a matter of seeing where each proves more comfortable.

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (27 pts 16 reb 2 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Terrence Harris (13 pts 3 reb 2 ast) Jason Graham (10 pts 3 reb 2 stl)
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Re: Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Sat Dec 31, 2022 5:52 am

I have a ton of football to watch tomorrow, but I'll be hitting this one hard on Sunday ;)
Hope you all dig the start of this one ... I like that I am playing it out a game at a time ... if losing gets too much I can sim a quick season of my Michigan State diary, so both should stay alive and well :)
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Re: Tyler Hannigan at Bellarmine: Starting at Rock Bottom

Postby jksander » Sat Jan 07, 2023 7:06 am

December 14, 2022
Princeton (4-5) @ Bellarmine (3-5)

We knew going in that this one was going to be a challenge, and Princeton proved that to be truthful -- by the first media timeout we trailed 2-10 and were looking worn out and confused on the floor. But our strong defense through the remainder of the first half made up for our lack of offense and gave our shooters time to find their footing. With 5:42 to play in the half we were within two, down 19-21, and Joseph Cherry sunk a beautiful trey with 2:54 remaining that gave us our first lead, 24-23! We led 30-26 at the break and seemed poised to put our slow start behind us. Sure enough, we outscored them 12-4 in the first four minutes of the second half, and another 12-4 run put us ahead 54-24 with 11:31 to play, turning this one quickly into a rout, led by Ahmad Brooks who quickly blew past 20 points and had the team on his shoulders. We completely declawed the Tigers down the stretch and won easily 85-49.

Player of the Game: Ahmad Brooks (30 pts 11 reb 5 blk)
Honorable Mentions: Joseph Cherry (14 pts 6 reb 3 ast 1 stl) Terrence Harris (11 pts 6 reb 2 ast 3 blk)

December 17, 2022
Bellarmine (4-5) @ New Mexico State (4-5)

New Mexico State took us apart early and then went to work, building a 4-17 lead with 12:42 to go, leaving us looking like most had expected us to look all year. We’ve battled back before, but this was a whole different kind of hole. We trailed by as many as 21 midway through the half and were “lucky” to be down only 15 at the half, trailing the Aggies 26-41 -- we’d been completely outclassed. Midway through the second half our deficit had balooned to 30+ and I was just grateful we weren’t being televised. We’d go on to lose this one in brutal fashion, 46-81. It’s going to be interesting to see how we compare to other teams in our conference, because we’re not good enough right now to beat teams like the Aggies, which despite a similar record to ours seems destined to fight for a postseason bid. I suspect we’ll be happy to finish anywhere near .500 for the year, and that’s a lofty goal.

Player of the Game: Joseph Cherry (17 pts 7 reb 4 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Ahmad Brooks (7 pts 8 reb 2 blk) Jason Graham (7 pts 3 reb)

December 21, 2022
NC Asheville (4-6) @ Bellarmine (4-6)

We’re undefeated at home, and the administration has kept ticket prices quite reasonable, so we came home from our brutal loss to find the massive Freedom Hall about half full, mostly with families and their kids all decked out in Christmas garb. It’s nice to see that our fans know what we’re fighting against, and they’re not abandoning us even though we’re not winning like in our D-II National Title days in the 2010s.

We gave them a real show tonight, as Tommy Poster finally came out of his shell in the opening minutes, scoring five quick points and acting like an actual field general as we built a 9-4 lead in the first 2:11, before Asheville’s coach called a frantic timeout! With 12:35 remaining we’d built the lead to 25-14, and Poster was already in double figures … making me glad I’d trusted my instincts in making him our starting PG. He just needed the chance to find his rhythm. But Asheville came fighting back, knotting the score at 31-31 with 7:41 to go in the half, and we had to regroup quickly as this one became a shootout! With 4:55 to go we led 43-41 thanks to a Kareem Jennings three, and Poster remained red hot. By halftime we led 58-47 (insane!) and Poster led all comers with 23 points to go with two rebounds and six assists!

We outscored the Bulldogs 8-2 in the first five minutes of the second half, slowing things down and focusing on our defense. And, never letting them truly get back into their fast-break offense, we were able to continue to stifle them through the rest of the game. We led 84-63 with 6:12 remaining, and were able to ride our defensive pressure through to the end from there, winning 102-73!

Player of the Game: Tommy Poster (32 pts 2 reb 10 ast 2 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Terrence Harris (22 pts 5 reb 2 ast 2 blk) Kareem Jennings (11 pts 8 reb 1 ast 1 stl)

December 24, 2022
Bellarmine (5-6) @ Washington State (8-1)

The Cougars come into this one undefeated on their home court, though they’re barely in the top 100 of the NET Rankings. Still, we’ve played so inconsistently on the road, no one had any expectations of us even holding it close in this one. But we held our own early, leading 10-3 at the first media time-out, and Washington State seemed surprised to see a team playing any kind of defense on their court. And something seems to have clicked with our whole rotation, as they withstood everything the Cougars could throw at us, maintaining the lead at 33-22 with 7:28 remaining in the half! Washington State pulled close several times and we kept them at bay, going into the break with a stunning 44-37 advantage, led once again by Tommy Poster with 12 points and six assists.

The Cougars fought to within four points early in the half, down 44-40, but that was as close as we let them get, going on an 11-6 run ourselves to lead by nine with 11:32 remaining in the game. They again cut it to four, and we rebuilt the lead to 12 again with 6:24 to play, up 68-56. For a moment late it looked like they might mount a serious attack, pulling again to within five, but we rallied from the free-throw line and were able to pull the stunning upset, 79-68! They’re not a ranked team, and they may not even wind up being an NCAA Tournament team, but they were the best team we’ve faced this year and we proved we can hold on. Merry Christmas, Knights fans!

Player of the Game: Tommy Poster (21 pts 1 reb 12 ast 3 stl)
Honorable Mentions: Ahmad Brooks (14 pts 4 reb 4 ast 2 stl) Jason Graham (10 pts 4 reb 2 ast)

December 28, 2022
Bellarmine (6-6) @ Wake Forest (6-3)

We played the Demon Deacons even for the first six minutes, knotted 10-10 with 14:16 to play in the first half, and though they led by as many as six a few mintues later, we kept ourselves right in this one. With 7:29 to go we were down 24-28, and a pair of Elton McCutcheon free-throws with :51 left managed to tie the game up again at 40-40! Terrence Harris stole an errant pass seconds later and hit a perfect triple to put us up by three, and that was enough to put us into the half up 43-40 on a Wake Forest team we seem quite evenly matched against.

We fought a tough battle in the second half, and despite half a dozen lead changes we still held a 55-54 lead on the Deacons with 11:27 remaining. They slowly took control, however -- three times they built a lead to seven or more and we’d battle back, but it was proving to be a heavy load on our slight roster. With 2:55 to go we were down 65-74, and though we didn’t quit -- not even close! -- we still lost this one 75-79.

Player of the Game: Tommy Poster (23 pts 2 reb 5 ast)
Honorable Mentions: Ahmad Brooks (18 pts 9 reb 3 blk) Terence Harris (13 pts 8 reb 3 ast 1 stl)

Here’s the conference standings list heading into Atlantic Sun competition:

A-Sun East Division
1. North Florida (6-7) - NET: 124
2. Jacksonville (6-7) - NET: 130
3. Liberty (6-7) - NET: 114
4. Stetson (5-8) - NET: 164
5. Kennesaw State (4-9) - NET: 287
6. Florida Gulf Coast (4-9) - NET: 289

A-Sun West Division
1. North Alabama (7-6) - NET: 127
2. Lipscomb (7-6) - NET: 168
3. Bellarmine (6-7) - NET: 154
4. Jacksonville State (5-8) - NET: 300
5. Eastern Kentucky (4-9) - NET: 233
6. Central Arkansas (3-10) - NET: 316

We play each divisional rival twice and the A-Sun East teams once apeice during the 16-game conference slate. Looking at the NET rankings, there aren’t going to be many chances to showcase our team to the bracketology crowd. I’d be shocked if an A-Sun champ gets above a 16-seed this year.
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jksander
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