by Wayne23 » Sun May 05, 2019 2:46 pm
1/1/2112: 8-5, 2-0. GREAT start to AEC play! RPI #282. We beat UMass-Lowell by a single point at home when PF Josh Hart hit an 8 footer with a hand in his face at the buzzer. He had 17, 13 to lead us. SF Pat Fall had 15 and 9, and SG Jay Buon had 13, 6. Sub forward Jon Call had a really great night with 12. +12 RBs, which was a huge factor in the win. 18 TOs though.
Then we won by 13 at Maine. Buon had a great night with 23, and Hart had 13, 7, 6. Fall had 15 and 6. Center Mat Carr isn’t putting up huge numbers on O but he is getting it done on D and on the boards. 15 TOs, but they had 20.
This week we’re home to a tough Vermont team and at Binghamton.
The new year finds Nell and me very grateful for what our new life has provided us with.
1/8: 9-6, 3-1. RPI #248. Vermont beat us by 7 at our place. 18 TOs and -3 RBs. As usual, Hart, Fall, and Kell played well, but Buon had an uncharacteristically poor game, in foul trouble all night, and Carr was just so-so. We won by 13 at Binghamton. 17, 10 for Carr, and great D on his man. Solid, but unspectacular play by the 6 other guys who get minutes. +7 RBs, +4 TOs. It’s very early but we’re tied for 1st with Vermont, and we’re one win away from reaching one of our goals. I’m feeling good!
1/15: 10-7, 4-2. RPI #234. We beat Albany by only 2 at home. Mal Carr, who had 24 to lead us, blocked a shot at the buzzer to preserve the win. It was a great block and a gutsy move considering that he had 4 fouls at the time and if he had fouled it was possible that we would have had to play OT without him. 14, 11 for hart. Buon has been committing way too many fouls lately and it’s hurting us. As a senior he should be showing more control.
We lost by 16 at MD- Balt. We let them shoot 50.8% and we seemed a step slow all night.
Admittedly, it’s a long bus ride to Baltimore, and mechanical trouble delayed our arrival, so we were tired. That’s an explanation, but it’s not an excuse. Kids this age should be able to overcome that sort of thing. We do all that we can to be sure our buses are safe, but mechanical difficulties are very frequent. The university, especially since the Christmas tragedy, is prioritizing safe tires above all else on the buses. I can’t argue that.
So with ten regular season games to play we already have our 10 wins, and at least at this point we’re in great position to finish in the top 3 in the AEC. So far so good!
1/22: 11-7, 5-2. A one game week. We beat Stony Brook by 7 at home. RPI #216. In a 3 way tie for 1st in the AEC. 23, 13 for Hart, 20, 2, 5 for Kell. Buon is still not playing as well as we think he should be.
1/29: 12-8, 6-3. We split 2 road games this week and I’ll take it! But 23 TOs in the loss which is absolutely unacceptable. We followed with only 11 TOs in the road win. Good news in that Buon seems to have re-found his shooting touch, 18 and 17 in his last two games.
RPI #206; I’d love to get below 200! -0.1 PPG, #178 in PPG, #167 in PPG allowed; I’d like to do better with the latter. +6.2 RBs, and we’re #14 in that category. -1.3 TOs, #138.
Buon still leads us in scoring with 14.6, but Josh Hart is closing in with 14.2, and he leads us with 9.5 RBs. The best news is that Hart is only a soph. We’re in a 2 way tie for 2nd, ½ game back of 1st, 1 up on 4th.
2/5: 13-9, 7-4, RPI #195. Finally below 200! Alone in 2nd, ½ back of 1st, ½ up on 3rd. We beat Manie by 15 at home. 23, 10 for hart, 22, 6, 4 for Buon, 10, 2, 10 for Kell. +16 RBs, only 12 TOs.
Then Vermont beat us by 18 there. 16, 11 for Hart, 17 for Kell, 10, 11 for Carr, but 21 TOs (-13).
Sub forward Jon Call turned an ankle. He’s out for about a week.
2/10: Great news!!! My sister-in-law Lara was just hired to do cleaning in the dorms here at U. Hart. No job yet for Rav, but her job means they will be assigned campus housing and they will be able to take their meals here. He’ll need to get here in time for meals from his job downtown, but that shouldn’t be an issue. He gets out of work at 6:00 and the cafeteria here is open until 7:00. Under normal circumstances he should easily be here by 6:30 or even earlier. They are thrilled. Rav still really wants a job here, of course, but this will make a big difference in their lives and in the lives of their two daughters, ages 7 and 4.
2/12: 14-10, 8-5, RPI #197. In a 2 way tie for 2nd, 1/2 back of New Hampshire with 3 to play, 2 at home.
2/19: 15-11, 9-6. RPI #182. Alone in 3rd, 1 back of 1st. The road loss was not our finest moment, or mine either. The refs were awful, calling 23 fouls on us, 11 on them, which was pure bull- well, you know. I picked up my first T of the season, and then, in the final minute, my second, which means I was ejected. I don’t know if we would have won with decent officiating, but I know we never had a chance tonight. And, for the record, I have not complained much at all about officiating this season.
1 game to play, at home with New Hampshire, who are tied for 1st. They crushed us by 18 at their place but we’re a better team now.
2/26: 15-12, 9-7, RPI #216. -0.5 PPG, #186 in PPG, #180 in PPG Allowed. +6.1 RBs, #17, -1.5 TOs, #157. We lost the finale but the team battling us for 3rd lost too, so we wind up finishing 3rd in the AEC and achieving both of our preseason goals.
New Hampshire beat us up in the finale, by 17. We lost 3 of our last 4, which is not good. I’m guessing we’ll need to win the AEC tourney to be invited anywhere. That’s a tall order.
Senior guard Jay Buon leads us in scoring for the regular season with 15.0. Soph Josh Hart got 14.4, and led us with 9.2 RBs. Junior Center Mat Carr got 10.7, 8.6.
2/28: We play #7 seed Maine, 10-17, 8-8, in the quarter finals of the AEC tournament. We beat them by 13 and 15 during the regular season. Interestingly enough they are favored by a ½ point.