SAME FEDORA-NEW CROWN?

[PointGuard]

Nov. 14, 2037: Cal Poly Mustangs (0-0) @ Mississippi Rebels (0-0)

Jody Hedde, 2nd Assistant Coach (scouting)

Ole Miss has been a solid middle of the pack SEC team the past couple years that got to the NIT Quarterfinals 2 years ago. C Michael Morris averaged in double figures for both scoring and rebounding last season. He’s going to be a handful. Freshman SG Cedric Lawson isn’t starting but he was a 4-star recruit who’s a great rebounder and defender and who will become a star for the Rebels. SG Rufus Sullivan averaged 11.6 ppg last season and PF Vernon Toxey averaged 9 ppg and 6.4 rpg last year. But I think we have equal or better starters at each position other than C. Playing on the Rebels home court will be tough, though, and we have to break Mississippi’s 2-3 zone.

Unfortunately, I’m going to miss the game since I’ll be scouting an upcoming opponent.

PF Rodney Boykin

I’ve been loyal for 3 seasons, coming off the bench all 3 years. There were a lot of people who encouraged me to transfer, but I stuck it out. It’s great to finally be in the starting lineup. I’m going up against Vernon Toxey. He’s a good shooter, so I need to stick with him and keep him from getting clear and contest each and every one of the shots he does take. Defense isn’t my forte, but I’m going to work my butt off tonight.

Game time: The crowd’s already pretty frenzied. Gotta use their enthusiasm and jeers of us to stimulate an on-court effort that will foil their fans. Morris grabs 2 offensive rebounds after the Rebels control the tipoff, but can’t get the ball into the hoop and then Calvis Barnes drills a 3 for us. I pull down an offensive rebound and put it back up and in to put us ahead 7-5 two minutes into the game and then do the same thing 3 minutes later to give us a 15-8 lead. Coach Fed subs me and most of the other starters out 8 minutes into the game. But we have a 20-14 lead and I got 2 steals as well as the 4 points and keeping Toxey from scoring. All 5 of us starters has scored at this point in the game and we’d forced Ole Miss to make 7 turnovers. It took our subs nearly 4 minutes to score from there but we maintained our lead so some good D. We finished the half with a 35-31 advantage.

Both teams had a tough time scoring early in the 2nd half. After missing a couple attempts earlier, I scored on a baseline jumper with about 15-1/2 minutes remaining to put us ahead 40-35. I then stepped in to steal a pass and tossed it upcourt to Nikolos Ivelitsch for a breakaway layup. Scotty Lee gave us our first double-digit lead at 46-35 with 12 minutes to go. Our D was cookin’. But we had a tough time scoring which allowed the Rebels to tie the score at 48-48 with 3-1/2 minutes remaining. They went ahead by 3 but Coach Fed called a time out to set up a 3 point shot by Scotty Lee which worked to perfection to knot the score at 53-53 with a minute to play. The Rebels worked the shot clock down but missed a shot as it expired. They grabbed an offensive rebound and again worked the ball around for a last second shot that missed to send the game to overtime.

Poor shooting by both teams with no scoring for over 2 minutes in the OT. But Scotty Lee finally sunk a 3 with 2:38 to play. I got a nice block with 1:40 to play to help maintain our 3 point lead. Ole Miss finally scored with a minute left making it 56-55. Scotty then stole a pass and got it up court to me for a jam to make it 58-55 with 34 seconds on the clock. Scotty hit a 15 foot jumper putting us up by 5 with 17 seconds to play. They scored but we came away with a 60-57 overtime victory. We hit just 29% of our shots, but Ole Miss didn’t do much better (31%). We out-rebounded the Rebels 55-45. The refs called just 15 total fouls (7 on the Rebels and 8 on us). Really nice to win our opener on the road against an SEC team.

Leading our scoring was PG Scotty Lee who tossed in 15 points. PG Danny Preston had 11 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. SG Nikolos Ivelitsch scored 10 plus had 9 points and 4 assists. I put in 8 points, grabbed 11 rebounds (including 6 offensive boards), and had 4 assists, 3 steals and a block. Coach Fed gave me a big pat on the back for that but even more for holding Vernon Toxey to just 2 points (which he scored in the final seconds when we had the game wrapped up).

Coach Fred Aura

Our team’s defensive effort against Mississippi was outstanding for nearly the entire 40 minutes. Our offense…meh…but the Rebels’ D, particularly in the 2nd half, was also outstanding. We have to be happy to get out of there with an OT win. Although not totally surprised, I was definitely pleased with Rodney Boykin’s effort on both ends of the court. I think he was trying to show me how keeping him as a reserve for 3 seasons was a mistake. As Scotty Lee had done for us last season in several game, he came in off the bench with some key baskets late in the game that ended up getting us by Ole Miss.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 17: Massachusetts Minutemen (0-1) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (1-0)

Benny Tamago, realtor (fan)

Slow start with neither team scoring in the first 3-1/2 minutes…and it took over 5 minutes for the Mustangs to get on the board. Even though Cal Poly shot horribly, the finally garnered an 18-17 lead with 6-1/2 minutes left in the half. When the half ended the Mustangs trailed 29-27 due to their hitting just 28% of their shots.

The Mustangs ragged play continued in the 2nd half and they scored just 2 of the first 14 points to drop behind by 12 with 16 minutes to play. After falling behind by 18 points, Cal Poly began cutting into the Minutemen lead with 7 minutes remaining and got within 7 points with 3 minutes to go. But their shooting again went stone-cold and UMass ran away to whip the Mustangs 79-64. The team not only shot poorly (32%) but seemed dispirited. A very disappointing effort.

SG Ivelitsch—13 pts, 8 reb, 2 stl; PG Scotty Lee—11 pts, 3 stl; C Calvis Barnes—8 pts, 5 reb; PF Brandon Bailey—8 pts, 3 ast; C Estell Luton—8 pts, 5 reb; SF Eddie Erskin—7 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast; PG Danny Preston—7 pts.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 21: Cal Poly Mustangs (1-1) @ Colorado Buffaloes (2-0)

Omari Aura, 3rd Assistant Coach (player development/practice)

We’ve had a tough time getting the ball in the basket in both games thus far. It seems as though that when we have difficulty scoring it just is infecting the entire team and our shooting confidence suffers. We need to get on a roll tonight so that we don’t play so uptight.

Of our 4 freshmen, only Brandon Bailey is providing any punch. The other 3 have each gotten into both games. Their playing time has been pretty limited but none of them have yet to score.

Ivelitsch connected on our first FG attempt of the game, but then both teams experienced difficulty scoring. The lead shifted back and forth but in the final 5 minutes our D shut down the Buffaloes giving us the chance to build a 32-24 halftime advantage. We hit 41% of our shots. Not great but a big improvement over our previous games.

Ivelitsch hit 4 FG’s in the first 2-1/2 minutes of the 2nd half to put us up 40-27. In the middle portion of the half, Colorado went on a 22-2 run that put us behind 54-48 with 10 minutes left in the game. Our guys fought back to narrow the gap to 4 with 4 minutes left. But then the momentum shifted and Colorado pulled away for a 79-69 victory.

Topping our scoring were: SG Nikolos Ivelitsch—18 points and 2 steals; PG Danny Preston—12 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists; SG Damien Harris—10 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists; Calvis Barnes—8 points and 8 boards.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 24: Akron Zips (1-2) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (1-2)

Barry Shipley

I’m the coach of a youth basketball team. I brought my team’s players to the game tonight so they could see how the game is played.

Akron may have lost 2 games thus far, but their win was over #11 ranked Oklahoma in the opening game of the Pre-Season NIT Tourney. Their C Brian Speed is averaging nearly 20 ppg as well as almost 9 rpg.

Speed is good at working his way down low and muscling up shots but Ivelitsch scores 7 points to give Cal Poly at 10-6 lead. Then a 10-0 run by the Zips gives them a 6 point lead, though. Ivelitsch continues to put the ball in the hoop to get the Mustangs back into the game. With 8 minutes remaining in the half, the teams are tied at 25-all. Fouls are really piling up on Akron. That’s allowing the Mustangs to move in front. The half ends with Cal Poly holding a 43-33 lead. Nikolos Ivelitsch put in 19 points in the first half.

Akron’s firing away in the 2nd half, but not hitting enough of their shots to make a dent in the lead. Midway through the half the Mustangs go on a run to go ahead 64-47. Cal Poly continues to roll and buries the Zips by a final score of 91-60. Total domination.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch looked like a Norton Award finalist by scoring 28 points, hauling down 7 rebounds and dishing out 3 assists. PF Rodney Boykin had 14 points and 4 boards. C Calvis Barnes scored 11. PG Scotty Lee hit for 8 points while dishing out 8 assists.

[PointGuard]

Nov. 26: St. Louis Billikens (2-1) @ Cal Poly Mustangs (2-2)

Jody Hedde, 2nd Assistant Coach (scouting)

If we can solve the Billikens 1-3-1 zone defense and hold PG Cameron Hayden (18 ppg and 6 apg) in check, I think we should win this game. I’m surprised that their coaching staff has yet to let freshman PF Coray Cole get into a game. I saw him at a camp and was very impressed…good scorer, rebounder, and defender. For us SG Nikolos Ivelitsch has been improving every game this season…from 10 to 13 to 18 and then 28 points in our 4 games. And his shooting percentage which was about 25% in our first two games has been about 50% in our last 2 games. Nikilos has also averaged 6.5 rpg and 2.5 apg. PG Scotty Lee was experiencing migraines but has been OK today and SF Eddie Erskin is not 100% due to soreness in his shoulder.

C Michael Davis scored the first 6 points of the game. We had some good opportunities but failed to connect until Danny Preston intercepted a pass and got it upcourt quickly to Nikolos Ivelitsch for a breakaway layin with 16:49 on the clock. We had only hit 3 of 15 shots in the first 10 minutes of the game and Ivelitsch had made all 3 of those baskets. At that point we trailed 22-6 because Saint Louis was beating us in the paint. We fell behind 30-11 before we began to cut a bit into that lead. None of our interior players scored from the field until there were just 3 minutes to go in the half. We got within 9 points but let Saint Louis hit the final two baskets so we trailed 38-25 at the break. Davis had 13 points and 5 boards for the Billikens, but Hayden had just 3 and all those were scored from the free throw line.

We kept trimming the lead to 6-8 points only to make mistakes that allowed the Billikens to reopen a double digit lead with Hayden warming up from the field. But we finally slowly crept up and with 6:11 on the clock we were within 2 points after Danny Preston sunk 2 free throws. Then Estell Luton dropped in a 14 footer from the baseline to tie the game at 60-60 with 5-1/2 minutes remaining. Luton knocked down a 18 foot jumper from the left of the key to give us our first lead at 62-60 and our bench and the fans went wild. The Billikens then went to the line for a 1-and-1 and missed the shot. We brought it up quickly and Brandon Bailey popped in a 16-footer to continue our 10-point run. Not to be outdone, Luton canned a 19-footer on our next possession and we owned a 66-60 lead with 3:41 to go. The entire team was patting Estell on the back in the final media timeout that followed. Saint Louis roared back to take a 70-69 lead with 52 seconds left to play. Coach Aura called a timeout and we ran his pick and roll play to perfection with Danny Preston sinking the shot to put us up by a single point. With the shot clock winding down the Billikens had to fire up a 3 that missed and we rebounded. But Saint Louis PG Billy Lindsey thought we’d foul and must have made the wrong comment to the officials who assessed a technical foul. Preston made one of two shots, but we had the ball and Preston was immediately fouled after the inbounds pass. He calmly sunk both shots. The Billikens were unable to score and we came away with a late comeback 74-70 victory with the crowd going crazy.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch had 12 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks; Danny Preston also scored 12 and had 3 assists and 2 steals; Calvis Barnes had 11 points and 3 boards; PF Brandon Bailey scored 10 and added 3 boards; SF Eddie Erskin put in 8 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots; PG Scotty Lee had 8 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists; and Estell Luton scored 6 plus pulled down 6 rebounds.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 1: Cal Poly Mustangs (3-2) @ Arkansas Razorbacks (2-1)

Bryan King, 1st Assistant Coach

This is the beginning of 5 straight away games against some very tough competition. Arkansas is likely to be a top-25 team this season. They’re coming off a 14-point win over #20 ranked Gonzaga. 4 of their 5 starters are averaging in double figures.

After 9 lead changes in the first 14 minutes Nikolos Ivelitsch carried us to a 39-33 halftime edge. The plan for the 2nd half was to buckle down on defense to keep the Razorbacks on their heels. And our guys did exactly that, making it extremely difficult for Arkansas to get off good shots and basically hounding them the entire final 20 minutes. We held onto a decent-sized lead throughout the half and came away with a very satisfying 70-60 road win over the Razorbacks. We held their shooting to 33% and totally dominated the boards, 43-34.

SG Nikolos Ivelitsch finished with 21 points and 5 rebounds, PF Rodney Boykin scored 11 and pulled down 6 boards, C Calvis Barnes had 9 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals, PG Danny Preston hit for 8 points plus dished out 5 assists, and SF Eddie Erskin scored 7 and grabbed 9 rebounds. So a solid performance by our starting 5.

[PointGuard]

Cal Poly Mustangs (4-2) @ #20 Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-3)

PG Danny Preston

It’s exciting to get to play the Zags and there will be a good TV audience for the game. For many years Gonzaga has been a powerhouse. It’ll be tough, but I think we have a chance against them. They’ve played 3 ranked teams and won two of those, but they LOST to Arkansas, a team we just got done whipping. Freshman SF Bryan Weaks is averaging 15.1 ppg and has hit a high percentage of his shots. Their PF is another highly rated freshman, Wade Paben, who is averaging 10.1 ppg, but the rumor is that he’s a head-case so while he may be a great player he might also become a cancer on their team. I think we’re stronger at the guard positions…and hope to prove that tonight.

Damn…we controlled the tip off but then screwed up our first 2 possessions…Nikolos got the ball tipped away from him and they scored on a breakaway and then Eddie’s shot got blocked and they scored again to make it 4-0. Nikolos then hit a jumper and a couple possessions later Calvis hit a 3 to put us up 5-4. The Zags were really connecting on their shots though and by the first media time out we trailed 17-9 and Coach Fed was all over us about our porous D. By the midpoint of the half we were down 30-12 and Gonzaga had hit about 2/3 of their shots including 6 of 7 of their 3’s and a lot of that damage had been done by the guy I was guarding, PG DeAntoine Clayton. Not a good show by us for the TV audience. The Zags quickness was tough to handle. Late in the half we got both our offense and defense working to narrow the gap to 39-32 at halftime.

I thought we’d come out blazing, but instead we sputtered and let Gonzaga knock down the first 7 points of the 2nd half. With 12 minutes to go we’d trimmed the deficit from 14 to 7 points and it looked like we might have a chance. We got within 6 but then missed 5 straight free throws before Nikolos hit a pair to make it 61-57 with 7:12 on the clock. The Bulldogs got hot down the stretch and we didn’t so Gonzaga rolled over us 86-65.

PG/SG Scotty Lee—15 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists; C Calvis Barnes—14 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists; SG Nikolos Ivelitsch—12 points, 2 blocks; SF Eddie Erskin—10 points, 6 rebounds. We were victimized by PG DeAntoine Clayton’s 21 points and SF Bryan Weaks 20 points (and 10 rebounds) for Gonzaga.

[PointGuard]

Jody Hedde, 2nd Assistant Coach (scouting)

Two consequences of our defeat by Gonzaga:

1. C Calvis Barnes took a hard fall in the game and was diagnosed to have sustained a mild concussion. He was put on a concussion protocol.

2. Freshman C/PF Sam Ridnour went on a tirade after the game calling out some players for a lack of effort and saying he should be playing more. Coach Aura pulled him aside and I understand that Sam initially was extremely defensive…to the point that Coach Aura nearly suspended him. But when Coach Aura laid into him more, Sam pulled back, acknowledged the error of his ways and said he’d rein in his attitude in the future. We’ll see. Sam has not shot or scored well during his limited playing time but has been a strong rebounder and done a pretty good job defensively. We’re going to try to gradually increase his playing time but that may be difficult since we have 3 straight very strong opponents coming up to conclude our pre-conference schedule.

[PointGuard]

Dec. 12: Cal Poly Mustangs (4-3) @ Baylor Bears (6-2)

KSBO-CD TV Sports Report

Earlier tonight Cal Poly took on the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas. The Mustangs started slow and trailed by as much as 16 points before rallying in the latter stages of the first half to close the half trailing by just a 35-31 score. Cal Poly made a game of it in the 2nd half and the lead was exchanged frequently. Then the Mustangs slowly pulled away in the final 8 minutes to come away with a 70-62 victory over the favored Bears.

Leading the scoring for Cal Poly were: C Calvis Barnes and PG Danny Preston who each scored 15 points with Preston also getting 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks. SG Nikolos Ivelitsch, who was held scoreless in the first half, put in 12 second half points.

During post-game interviews Coach Aura said, “This was really a hard-fought game. I was tremendously proud of how our guys came back from a huge deficit in the first half and then throughout the 2nd half gamely battled to edge by the Bears. Our defense throughout the 2nd half was really solid and the trio of Preston, Barnes and Ivelitsch gave us sufficient scoring in the 2nd half to gain the victory.”

[PointGuard]

Dec. 15: Cal Poly Mustangs (5-3) @ Brigham Young Cougars (8-3)

Omari Aura, 3rd Assistant Coach (player development/practice)

Another big challenge. The Cougars have lost to a couple ranked teams but have nice road wins over Duke and Utah. We’ve had a tendency to get off to a slow start and trouble getting the ball into the hoop early in games. We need to avoid that tonight.

Sloppy D by us throughout the first half allowed the Cougars to knock down 65% of their FG’s and 53% of their 3’s. We fell behind by 16 before rallying late to finish the half down 42-35.

Eddie Erskin and Danny Preston hit back-to-back 3’s to give us our first lead at 51-49 with 16:19 to play. With the defensive adjustments Dad made during halftime, BYU was having a tougher time scoring. Our offense was clicking and we opened at 64-54 lead with 11-1/2 minutes to go. But then Nikolos Ivelitsch who had 16 points by that point was called for his 4th foul. We went stone-cold and BYU got firing on all cylinders, going on a 15-0 run that put us 5 points behind with 7 minutes remaining. We scored the next 5 to gain a tie, but then the Cougars pulled away to stick us with an 84-74 loss.

PG Danny Preston had 16 points, 3 boards, and 5 assists; SG Nikolos Ivelitsch also scored 16 points while grabbing 3 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, and getting 3 steals; C Estell Luton came off the bench to finish with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals; SF Eddie Erskin also scored 11 points and had 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals; and PF Rodney Boykin had 10 points, 5 boards, and 2 blocks.

Another post-game meltdown, this time by Estell Luton who mouthed off that he should be starting rather than Calvis Barnes. He got a dressing down by Dad about that.

The next morning Damion Harris ate something for breakfast that gave him food poisoning. But he’ll recover in time for our next game.