Philly Gym Rat (The Perry “QM” McMullin Story)

[PointGuard]

On February 11th, Jerell Brown was named a semifinalist for the Norton Award. He also picked up his 4th Player of the Week award for the Great West Conference.

Whereas he was a 2nd Team All-American each of his first two seasons, I’m concerned he might get passed over for this year since we have other players putting in points thus decreasing his scoring average. He has been rebounding much better this year though, so hopefully that will pull him through.

[PointGuard]

Game #26; Feb. 13, 2015: Chicago St. Cougars (9-16, 6-6) at #20 CSU Bakersfield (21-4, 10-2)

We edged the Cougars 82-77 in our first meeting this year, so I’m happy we are playing them at home this time. They bring in a 3-game win streak that has brought them into a tie for 3rd place in the conference. Their two starting guards are averaging a combined 27.0 ppg, but their shooting percentage has been low.

Chicago State’s two guards came out and scored 16 of their first 20 points to give them a 20-15 lead with 11 minutes to play in the first half. We caught up a couple times but poor shooting and horrible ball control let the Cougars take a 35-28 lead at the half. We hit just 36% of our shots but let Chicago State knock down 50% of theirs. We had 8 turnovers to the Cougars’ 5. We were out-rebounded 17-14. The players got a blistering in the locker room. Our top scorer was Ali Lyde with 9 points but he got all those in the first 5 minutes of play.

Early in the 2nd half, the refs repeatedly called fouls against us earning me a technical. Midway through the half we still trailed 45-40. We dropped behind by 10 points with 7 minutes left. With 4 minutes remaining we were down by 8. Nothing worked and we lost badly. We simply stunk up our own gym.

Final Score: Chicago State-56, CSU Bakersfield-45. CSU Bakersfield season record: 21-5; Great West record: 10-3 (2nd place).

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-15, Durham-9, Lyde-9.

Rebound leaders: Lyde-6, Jrl Brown-6, Wiatre-5.

Assist leaders: 2 players with 2 each (we had a grand total of 6 (yes SIX) assists by our entire team!

Player of the Game: Chicago State’s PG Antonio Booker-16 pts, 4 assists.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Terrance Wiatre—1 pt, 5 reb (in 4 minutes of play) (hell, nobody else played well)

Other notes: We hit 31% of our shots—abysmal! We made 16 turnovers—abysmal! We hit 5 of 22 threes (23%)—abysmal! We were out-rebounded 36-30—abysmal! We got called for 19 fouls while Chicago State was charged with 8 fouls—abysmal! We got 8 free throws (making 6), Chicago State got 25 free throws (making 15)—abysmal! We let the Cougars two starting guards score 29 points—abysmal! Our final game at home…and we tanked it—abysmal!

I went home and barfed.

[Wayne23]

HATE those games. We all have them, unfortunately.

[PointGuard]

Game #27; Feb. 16, 2015: #20 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (21-5, 10-3) at TX Pan American Broncos (11-15, 4-9)

I’m hoping we can rebound from the embarrassing loss we sustained in our last game.

Texas Pan-American has played well at home and terrible on the road. We beat them 94-80 on our gym, but I suspect tonight will be a tough game for us. SG Tim Daniels is scoring 15.2 ppg and has shot for a high percentage so we need to not let him get hot.

While we didn’t shine, we doggedly played throughout the half, slowly built and expanded a lead, and finished the half with a 39-31 lead. We hit 50% of our shots and worked hard on the boards pulling down 21 rebounds to 12 for the Broncos. Jerell Brown’s 12 points were high for us.

We shifted into high gear in the 2nd half, shooting well, defending well, rebounding like beasts, and playing great team basketball. Our lead continued to expand to the very end.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-85, TX Pan American-60. CSU Bakersfield season record: 22-5; Great West record: 11-3.

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-29, Saunders-15, Lyde-12, Durham-8.

Rebound leaders: Saunders-8, Lyde-7.

Assist leaders: Dunn-5, Durham-4, Curry-3.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-29 pts, 3 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: C Mark Saunders-15 pts, 8 reb, 1 steal, 1 block.

Other notes: We knocked down 51% of our shots (and 50% of our 3’s). TX Pan American shot well at the beginning of the 2nd half, but we then squelched that so that they finished shooting 43% (22% of their 3’s). We completely dominated the boards, 41-24. We turned the ball over 10 times, TX Pan American had 13 turnovers. We scored a phenomenal 42 points in the paint. Mark Saunders had another dominating game inside.

New Jersey Tech won their final game to take the conference championship, but I was very happy with how we played in the final regular season game.

Even though we lost a game at home and played poorly, the strength we showed in the final game of the season kept us ranked. We just dropped one spot to #21 in the Media Poll and 2 spots in the Coaches Poll to #25. Our RPI dropped to 28th best in the nation.

We’re 29th and New Jersey Tech is 54th on the “Who’s In” Bubble Watch list.

[PointGuard]

New Jersey Tech...12-2.....19-8.....RPI: 34
CSU Bakersfield.......11-3.....22-5.....RPI: 28
Houston Baptist........7-7....11-16.....RPI: 245
Chicago State..........7-7....10-17.....RPI: 261
Seattle...................7-7....15-12.....RPI: 165
TX Pan American.....4-10....11-16.....RPI: 306
North Dakota..........4-10.....9-18.....RPI: 307
Utah Valley.............4-10.....9-18.....RPI: 297

[PointGuard]

Utah Valley (9-18, 4-10) vs New Jersey Tech (19-8, 12-2): New Jersey Tech carved out a 42-33 half-time lead and held on to win by a score of 73-67. Utah Valley was undone by their 20 turnovers. Adam McLean scored 14 for New Jersey Tech and Rowan Kerr scored 20 for Utah Valley.

TX Pan American (11-16, 4-10) vs Houston Baptist (11-16, 7-7): Houston Baptist opened a 16 point lead in the first half only to let TX Pan American cut the lead to 41-36 at the half. The second half was tight all the way with Houston Baptist barely hanging on to score an 82-80 victory. Aaron Renn tossed in 33 points for Houston Baptist. Kevin Sullivan led TX Pan American with 16 points.

Seattle (15-12, 7-7) vs Chicago State (10-17, 7-7): Seattle held a 29-27 halftime lead but Chicago State came back in the 2nd half to pull out a 59-51 win. Gerald Woods scored 21 for Chicago State and Phil Higgins had 12 for Seattle.


Game #28; Mar. 1, 2015: North Dakota Fighting Sioux (9-18, 4-10) vs #21 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (22-5, 11-3)

We beat the Fighting Sioux 69-43 and 61-54 during the season. We have to be careful not to get intimidated by their 2-3 zone.

Ali Lyde picked up 2 fouls in the first 2-1/2 minutes of play. North Dakota hit 44% of their shots, but fortunately we shot better (52%). We out-rebounded the Fighting Sioux 15-11 and held a 11-7 turnover advantage. That translated into a 39-29 halftime lead for us. Jerell Brown was HOT…hitting 7 of 11 shots and scoring 19 points.

We came out flat in the 2nd half going 4-1/4 minutes before scoring. North Dakota continued turning the ball over, though. That allowed us to play hot-and-cold throughout the half and still hold onto our lead.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-71, North Dakota-60. CSU Bakersfield season record: 23-5.

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-25, Evans-16, Pastner-8.

Rebound leaders: Pastner-7, Lyde-5, Saunders-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-5, Evans-3.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-25 pts, 4 reb, 1 assist, 3 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF/SG Marcus Evans-16 pts, 4 reb, 3 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: Even though we didn’t shoot well in the 2nd half, we still finished the game hitting 45% of our shots. North Dakota hit 42% of their FG attempts but 50% of their 3’s. We held a 30-28 rebounding advantage. The big difference in the game, though, was that we made 13 turnovers and caused North Dakota to make 24.We scored 20 fast break points to the Fighting Sioux’s 2.

[PointGuard]

Chicago State (11-17) vs New Jersey Tech (20-8): New Jersey Tech held a slight advantage throughout the first half but was up only 32-31 at the break. But the Highlanders came out and put Chicago State away in the second half, winning going away, 77-60. Earl Cliff scored 18 for New Jersey Tech. Kenny Nelson and Gerald Woods both scored 13 for Chicago State.


Game #29; Mar. 2, 2015: Houston Baptist Huskies (12-16) vs #21 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (23-5)

We came out and scored well in the 1st half, building a 15 point lead and finishing the half with a 42-30 advantage. Jerell Brown scored 11 points.
Led by Aaron Renn, Houston Baptist came back in the 2nd half and we had to fight hard at the end of the game to hold them off.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-75, Houston Baptist-66. CSU Bakersfield season record: 24-5.

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-24, Durham-14, Bryson-10, Dunn-9.

Rebound leaders: Bryson-5, Lyde-5.

Assist leaders: Durham-5.

Player of the Game: SG Jerell Brown-24 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF Isaac Bryson-10 pts, 5 reb, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Other notes: We put in 46% of our shots and Houston Baptist hit 45%. Both teams hauled down 29 rebounds. We turned the ball over just 9 times while Houston Baptist had 16 turnovers.

[PointGuard]

Game #30; Mar. 3, 2015: #21 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (24-5) vs New Jersey Tech Highlanders (21-8)

The two top teams in the conference throughout the season meet for the rubber game since each team won by big margins on their home court during the regular season.

Shooting well (60%) and playing tenacious defense (holding the Highlanders to 17% shooting), we built a 17-4 lead after 8-1/2 minutes of play. We played nearly a perfect half, finishing on top 39-18. We made 52% of our shots (57% from 3 point range) and held New Jersey Tech’s shooting to 30% (20% from beyond the arc). We had a 17-12 advantage on the boards and an 8-5 turnover advantage. Marcus Evans scored 11 points.

We expanded our lead to 24 points in the 2nd half. Playing our reserves, New Jersey Tech narrowed the margin but there was never a doubt about the outcome.

Final Score: CSU Bakersfield-69, New Jersey Tech-55. CSU Bakersfield season record: 25-5.

Scoring leaders: Jrl Brown-16, Lyde-15, Evans-11, Durham-9.

Rebound leaders: Lyde-8, Jrl Brown-7, Saunders-5.

Assist leaders: Lyde-4, Durham-3, Saunders-3.

Player of the Game: PF Ali Lyde-15 pts, 8 reb, 4 assists.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: SF/SG Marcus Evans-11 pts, 2 reb, 2 assists, 1 steal.

Other notes: We put in 44% of our FG attempts while the Highlanders hit 40%. Rebounding was even (32-32) but we held a 15-8 turnover advantage.

We nailed down the NCAA bid , but New Jersey’s loss dropped them to 20th on the “Who’s Out” bubble watch list.

We moved up to 19th in the Media Poll, 22nd in the Coaches Poll, and our RPI improved to 27th best in the nation.

BRING ON MARCH MADNESS!

[PointGuard]

My ranting about defense a month ago did the trick. The team stepped up and got defensive! In our last 9 games, our opponents averaged just 58.8 ppg and none of them scored more than 66 points. We won 8 of those 9 games.

[PointGuard]

On March 4th Jerell Brown was named as a finalist for the Norton Award for the 3rd straight year.

So we had a double celebration...the team winning the Conference Tourny (and thus advancing to the NCAA Tourny) and Jerell being a Norton finalist and an All-American.