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

[PointGuard]

Point Guard:
Jerry Yearwood: 30 G, 30 starts, 23.7 mpg, 10.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 3.6 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.3 bpg, 1.5 A/TO
Lionel Benjamin: 30 G, 0 starts, 13.1 mpg, 6.3 ppg, 1.6 rpg, 1.7 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.3 A/TO
Brett Cook: 17 G, 0 starts, 6.8 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.0 bpg, 2.1 A/TO

Shooting Guard:
Brett Holt: 30 G, 30 starts, 24.9 mpg, 12.0 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.1 bpg, 1.9 A/TO
Harold Masters: 21 G, 0 starts, 7.0 mpg, 2.6 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.6 A/TO
Edmund Little: 30 G, 0 starts, 9.9 mpg, 3.3 ppg, 1.1 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.4 spg, 0.3 bpg, 1.2 A/TO

Small Forward:
Mitchell Jarmond: 26 G, 26 starts, 24.3 mpg, 5.7 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 bpg, 1.6 A/TO
Tyson Morris: 24 G, 0 starts, 6.1 mpg, 1.0 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.0 bpg, 3.0 A/TO
Jermaine Vershaw: 21 G, 0 starts, 4.3 mpg, 0.7 ppg, 0.6 rpg, 0.3 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.0 bpg, 0.8 A/TO

Power Forward:
Awvee Calton: 30 G, 30 starts, 26.6 mpg, 11.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.7 spg, 0.6 bpg, 0.7 A/TO
Mike Dotson: 26 G, 4 starts, 13.2 mpg, 3.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.5 spg, 0.3 bpg, 0.8 A/TO

Center:
Jeff Gilbert: 30 G, 30 starts, 27.2 mpg, 9.5 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg, 1.2 A/TO
Marcelle Pastner: 30 G, 0 starts, 8.7 mpg, 3.8 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.4 sgp, 0.3 bpg, 1.1 A/TO
Mark Saunders: 30 G, 0 starts, 10.6 mpg, 4.1 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.4 bpg, 0.7 A/TO

[PointGuard]

We scored 72.8 ppg (21st best in the nation), and allowed just 61.7 ppg (42nd best in the nation). We made 14.9 apg (110th best in the country), while our opponents made just 13.1 apg (32nd lowest in the country. We turned the ball over 11.4 times a game which is 3rd best in the nation and forced our opponents to make 17.4 tpg (11th best in the country). We had 7.5 spg (30th best in the nation) while our opponents stole the ball from us 3.7 times a game (2nd lowest in the country). We also had 4.1 bpg (8th best in the nation), but let our opponents get 3.3 blocks against us each game (352nd best in the country). We’ve pulled down 35.9 rpg (11th best in the nation). Our opponents have grabbed 30.8 rpg (165th best in the nation).

Our home record was 17-0 and our road record was 7-6. Our overall 24-6 record yielded us an RPI that was 11th best in the country, and we were ranked 15th in the Media Poll and 17th in the Coaches Poll.

[PointGuard]

1. Oklahoma State, 28-4
2. Florida State, 26-5
3. Utah, 27-3
4. North Carolina, 24-6
5. Indiana, 25-7
6. Florida, 23-7
7. Louisville, 23-7
8. Syracuse, 23-10
9. Arizona, 23-8
10. Connecticut, 24-8

[PointGuard]

#1 Seeds: Oklahoma State, Florida State, North Carolina, Utah

We’re the #6 seed in the San Antonio Region and play the #11 seed Old Dominion (22-9).

Later news: In the NIT, Seattle is the 3rd seed in the Midwest Region and will play #6 seed Drexel (18-11)

[PointGuard]

Championship: Arkansas-67, Norfolk State-36

[PointGuard]

Round 1:

6th seed Drexel Dragons(18-11) vs 3rd seed Seattle Redhawks (22-8)—[Seattle jumped out on top and clamped down defensively in the first half. They Redhawks went to the locker room with a 37-22 lead. Drexel made a strong comeback in the 2nd half as Seattle’s offense got sloppy (20 turnovers). The Dragons nearly caught up as they closed in fast at the end of the game. Adam Givens hit 12 of 23 from the field (including 6 of 12 from beyond the arc) to finish with 32 points for Seattle. Alex Bain came off the bench for Drexel to lead their scoring with 15 points. Final Score: Seattle-64, Drexel-60.]

Round 2:

3rd seed Seattle Redhawks (23-8) vs 7th seed Nevada Wolfpack (21-11)—[The lead bounced back and forth throughout the first half with Nevada finishing with a 32-31 lead. Seattle eventually pulled away in the 2nd half even though they were outshot by Nevada and again turned the ball over 20 times. The Redhawks controlled the boards, though, 38-25. Nevada was able to keep Adam Givens from breaking loose, holding him to 12 points (on 4 of 17 shooting) so that he shared high point honors for Seattle with Billy Green and Patrick Smith. Nevada’s David Whitney scored 15. Final Score: Seattle-62, Nevada-53.]

Round 3:

3rd seed Seattle Redhawks (24-8) vs 8th seed Davidson Wildcats (18-13)—[Davidson maintained a small lead throughout the first half. Seattle trailed 30-24 at the half. In the 2nd half, Davidson slowly pulled away as Seattle shot poorly (31%). The leading scorer for Davidson was Craig Smith with 15 points. Adam Givens of Seattle led all scorers with 18 points. Final Score: Davidson-61, Seattle-50.]

Championship: Washington-76, Houston-65
...........Personal side note: (Hooray for the Huskies!!!)

[PointGuard]

Round 1:

Game #31; Mar. 17, 2017: 11th seed Old Dominion Monarchs (22-9) vs 6th seed #15 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (24-6)

Old Dominion finished the season tied for 2nd in the Colonial Athletic Association, but then won the conference tournament. They have the 22nd best RPI in the nation. The team’s leading scorers are C Travis Hallbauer (11.8 ppg) and Rod Bersticker (11.5 ppg). Hallbauer is a 6-3 PG who is playing center, but moves all over the court and has hit 47% of his FG attempts (and 43% of his 3’s).

We repeatedly drove into the key and were fouled at the beginning of the game, allowing us to score one basket plus 6 free throws and take an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes of play. The Monarchs shifted to a 2-3 zone which stopped that tactic. The first half turned into a defensive battle as we hit just 38% of our shots but held Old Dominion’s shooting down to 23%. Had they not controlled the boards 21-14, we likely would have built a big lead. Instead we left the floor with a 26-20 lead. Our leading scorer was Brett Holt with 6 points.

Jerry Yearwood picked up his 4th foul with 16-1/2 minutes to play. Old Dominion tied the score at 31-31 with 15:17 to play. We re-established a small lead but could not break away. Old Dominion hit a 3 at the 2:22 mark to tie the game back up at 53-53. Awvee Calton was called for a foul with 41 seconds remaining and Old Dominion hit both shots to go ahead 57-55. We called a time out to set up a pick and roll play which failed. We fouled and they hit both shots to give them a 4 point lead. We again called a time out and mapped out a 3 point shot. Brett Holt’s shot hit the rim and the Monarchs rebounded forcing us to foul again. With 12 seconds on the clock, they sank both free throws. We brought it up court quickly and fired a 3 from way outside which missed and Old Dominion grabbed the rebound to seal the game.

Final Score: Old Dominion-61, CSU Bakersfield-55. CSU Bakersfield season record: 24-7.

Scoring leaders: Calton-11, Holt-10.

Rebound leaders: Calton-8.

Assist leaders: Three players with 2 each.

Player of the Game: Old Dominion’s PG Morgan Tolliver-10 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Awvee Calton-11 pts, 8 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Other notes: Our downfall was letting the Monarchs dominate the boards 38-24. We were unable to gain a real advantage on any team statistic. Unceremoniously we were out of the tournament, and for yet another year we headed home with our tails between our legs.

[PointGuard]

4th seed Iowa-74, 6th seed Western Carolina-60

2nd seed Georgia-61, 1st seed North Carolina-54

[JMD]

Round 1:

Game #31; Mar. 17, 2017: 11th seed Old Dominion Monarchs (22-9) vs 6th seed #15 CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners (24-6)

Old Dominion finished the season tied for 2nd in the Colonial Athletic Association, but then won the conference tournament. They have the 22nd best RPI in the nation. The team’s leading scorers are C Travis Hallbauer (11.8 ppg) and Rod Bersticker (11.5 ppg). Hallbauer is a 6-3 PG who is playing center, but moves all over the court and has hit 47% of his FG attempts (and 43% of his 3’s).

We repeatedly drove into the key and were fouled at the beginning of the game, allowing us to score one basket plus 6 free throws and take an 8-0 lead in the first 2 minutes of play. The Monarchs shifted to a 2-3 zone which stopped that tactic. The first half turned into a defensive battle as we hit just 38% of our shots but held Old Dominion’s shooting down to 23%. Had they not controlled the boards 21-14, we likely would have built a big lead. Instead we left the floor with a 26-20 lead. Our leading scorer was Brett Holt with 6 points.

Jerry Yearwood picked up his 4th foul with 16-1/2 minutes to play. Old Dominion tied the score at 31-31 with 15:17 to play. We re-established a small lead but could not break away. Old Dominion hit a 3 at the 2:22 mark to tie the game back up at 53-53. Awvee Calton was called for a foul with 41 seconds remaining and Old Dominion hit both shots to go ahead 57-55. We called a time out to set up a pick and roll play which failed. We fouled and they hit both shots to give them a 4 point lead. We again called a time out and mapped out a 3 point shot. Brett Holt’s shot hit the rim and the Monarchs rebounded forcing us to foul again. With 12 seconds on the clock, they sank both free throws. We brought it up court quickly and fired a 3 from way outside which missed and Old Dominion grabbed the rebound to seal the game.

Final Score: Old Dominion-61, CSU Bakersfield-55. CSU Bakersfield season record: 24-7.

Scoring leaders: Calton-11, Holt-10.

Rebound leaders: Calton-8.

Assist leaders: Three players with 2 each.

Player of the Game: Old Dominion’s PG Morgan Tolliver-10 pts, 4 reb, 4 assists.

Coach’s Pat on the Back Award: PF Awvee Calton-11 pts, 8 reb, 1 assist, 1 steal.

Other notes: Our downfall was letting the Monarchs dominate the boards 38-24. We were unable to gain a real advantage on any team statistic. Unceremoniously we were out of the tournament, and for yet another year we headed home with our tails between our legs.

Oh well. There's always next season.

[PointGuard]

Championship: 4th seed Iowa-74, 2nd seed Georgia-58