COLGATE – Game 11 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)

Forum Forum Lehigh Sports Lehigh Men’s Basketball COLGATE – Game 11 (Wednesday, February 16, 2011)

This topic contains 20 replies, has 1 voice, and was last updated by  norcalfan 13 years, 1 month ago.

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  • #3268

    LU65
    Participant

    LU (14 – 11….5 – 5) vs. COLGAGTE (14 – 11….3 – 7)

    Sagarin Rankings and Resulting Lines

    Rankings (345 D-I schools)

    Lehigh / Colgate
    Sagarin Predictor: 184 / 320
    RPI: 197 / 312
    Pomeroy: 175 / 313

    Resulting Line and Chance of Winning /u]
    Sagarin: Lehigh – 16 1/2
    Pomeroy: Lehigh wins 83 – 66 (94% Chance)

    [u]
    Game Notes

    From LU: await release
    From CU: http://www.gocolgateraiders.com/documen … df?id=1732

    Commentary

    Since the two team last met………

    LU has gone 4-2, CU has gone 2-4
    LU beat LC; CU lost to LC
    LU beat Navy; CU lost to Navy
    We both loss to BU and AU
    We both beat HC and Army
    We’re in 3rd place @ 5-5; CU is in eight at 3-7.
    We’re on a roll scoring 165 points in the last two games – winning them both; CU scored 125 in their last two – losing them both.
    We’re coming home after two on the road; CU is playing their second of back-to-back road games.
    Conclusion: Sagarin is right. We win in a blowout.

    No so quick. This game has T-R-A-P written all over it. After Colgate, we face our arch-rival, Lafayette in what could be a battle for 3rd place if not a move toward 2nd should AU stumble against Army tomorrow. Colgate will be looking for the sweep and has the firepower to hurt us from outside should we let our guard down (CU is 2nd as a team in 3FG% @ .360 and has the league’s deadliest 3-point shooter, Jr. Guard (off the bench) MIke Venezia (.472) on their roster playing alongside another not so bad (8th ranked) long-distance specialist in Mitch Rolls (.382). We escaped their deadly 3’s last time out as the Raiders could only manage 6 from long range. Yet, they still won the game – our most disappointing loss of the year. We shot poorly from the free-throw line (12 of 22), let a 12 point lead slip away in the 2nd half, and applied inconsistent defensive pressure throughout. To top off the evening, Mitch Rolls hit a shot with 8 seconds remaining in the game and we didn’t get a foul call at the other end as time expired. Bottom line: you can’t sell this CU team short. Yet with strong team play, as evidenced by 37 assists on 54 made FGs resulting in .455 FG% over the last two games – contests that saw us outrebound the service academies 91 to 61 while at the same time finding our outside game (17 for 40 or .425 3FG%) – we should win this match-up tomorrow night. Then and only then should all eyes – including the nation’s (CBS College Sports) turn to Lafayette and our Sunday showdown at Stabler. For those who like to look a bit further ahead, we pay our annual visit to Lewisburg on Wednesday.

    Other contests tomorrow night include:

    BU @ LC
    AU @ Army
    Navy @ HC

    Go ARMY!

    #3269

    norcalfan
    Participant

    This could be a scary week. LU needs to take one game at a time. Since this is the last set of home games, I expect the guys to have some parents in attendance, especially the seniors. Good luck LU!

    #3270

    LU65
    Participant

    LU Game Notes: http://www.lehighsports.com/assets/1/wo … /42622.PDF

    #3271

    LUHoops00
    Participant

    I got to stop watching games live, because every time I do we lose…bad job by reed and company in big spot at home down the stretch to inferior team(IMO)….can’t lose this game, probably kiss 3 seed goodbye now, just tough tough game to lose at home…

    #3272

    norcalfan
    Participant

    Oops!

    #3273

    norcalfan
    Participant

    No so quick. This game has T-R-A-P written all over it. After Colgate, we face our arch-rival, Lafayette in what could be a battle for 3rd place if not a move toward 2nd should AU stumble against Army tomorrow. Colgate will be looking for the sweep and has the firepower to hurt us from outside should we let our guard down (CU is 2nd as a team in 3FG% @ .360 and has the league’s deadliest 3-point shooter, Jr. Guard (off the bench) MIke Venezia (.472) on their roster playing alongside another not so bad (8th ranked) long-distance specialist in Mitch Rolls (.382). We escaped their deadly 3’s last time out as the Raiders could only manage 6 from long range. Yet, they still won the game – our most disappointing loss of the year. We shot poorly from the free-throw line (12 of 22), let a 12 point lead slip away in the 2nd half, and applied inconsistent defensive pressure throughout. To top off the evening, Mitch Rolls hit a shot with 8 seconds remaining in the game and we didn’t get a foul call at the other end as time expired. Bottom line: you can’t sell this CU team short.[/quote]

    This is right on point! Reed and company are not deep enough. How do you take a former ROY and not give him or others for that matter a shot in a game like this? Other coaches know that Reed is afraid or does not have confidence in his players, except for his 5. CJ got a technical and a pat on the back by Reed. Granted it was a soft push, it was a push. I have seen him react badly to Maneri and Adam’s technicals in the past. Criticize all we want, this team does not have it together. Seems like a mutiny to me by the upperclassmen. Let’s see what’s up on Sunday. Oh yes, why take Pentice out? He was doing a good job. Ok let let me have it! Bad shooting on LU’s part, equally bad coaching. Trap game indeed.

    #3276

    LU65
    Participant

    Worse fears realized! Prophetic when I didn’t mean to be. Venezia and Rolls did what they do best and did it often – hit 3’s (8 of 13) and score a combined 45 points. CU made 12 from long range – double their normal output – and took it to us shooting 57.1% from beyond the arc and 55.2% overall. After watching the game in person and again on PL All-Access this morning, there’s little else you can do but tip your hat to Colgate. Of their 12 three’s, 8 (perhaps 9) were well-guarded. But it wasn’t just the "three" last night, it was Yaw Gyawu bulling his way into, around and thru Knutson and Greiner. The junior forward hit 10 of 12 (hard to recall what two he missed) and was the perfect complement to Rolls and Venezia.

    Norcalfan, I disagree with you about a "mutiny by the upperclassmen." In general, the sophomores and freshmen are getting it done and have outplayed the juniors and seniors. As you may know, nagging injuries have hampered Mineri (junior) and Adams (junior) for much of the year and limited their time on the court. As for Safstrom (senior), you can’t ask for more than you’re getting out of this walk-on. He’s perhaps one of the most like guys on the squad. When it comes to Ojo (senior), he’s our lightning rod and fun-loving teammate to all. The other senior, Keefer (ROY three years ago), has been in my eyes nothing but a "good soldier" watching CJ excel and sharing time with D’Orazio (freshman) as the coach looks to build for the future. I love Keefer’s game and wish we could have seen more of him this year, but yield to the coach who, I’m sure, has the best interest of team in mind.

    All is not well, however, as we wind down the season. What worries me most is our inconsistent and, at times, stagnant play – on both sides of the ball, our on again/off again passion for the game, and the idea that CJ will always be there to bail us out of trouble. I’m telling no tales out of school. Coach Reed has said it before and knows the score. It must be fixed. Yet, remember we remain the highest scoring offense in the league (76.3ppg) and the top rebounding squad, as well. At 4-6, you don’t see it, but it’s there and so, too, is the potential for us to win on any given night. That, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to witness greatness (CJ) keeps me coming back night after night.

    #3277
    StablerBum
    StablerBum
    Participant

    I have to say, that as great as CJ is – I think he may have a bit too much free reign.

    With the ball and roughly 30 seconds left CJ held the ball until the double team came with about 20 seconds, Prentice was standing unguarded parallel to CJ just inside halfcourt. Instead of giving up the ball and getting it back, CJ forced a turnaround jumper at the foul line while triple teamed with 12 seconds left. I’m not upset at the shot as much as the fact that he took it with 12 seconds which gave Colgate an opportunity for the win in regulation.

    He then opened up overtime with a couple of long contested jumpers – one while double teamed.

    Obviously we need CJ to shoot and score to win. He knows that, Reed knows that, his teammates know that, and we know that. But that doesn’t mean that you abandon all team concepts and let your best player do whatever he wants.

    If this team is going to be successful going forward (over the course of the next 2+ years), I think Mackey is going to have to take over some of the creative responsibilities on offense. He obviously needs to earn this responsibility (most notably from CJ – and perhaps a little from Reed as well), but if he does, I think it will help the team tremendously.

    #3278

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "LU65" wrote: Worse fears realized! Prophetic when I didn’t mean to be. Venezia and Rolls did what they do best and did it often – hit 3’s (8 of 13) and score a combined 45 points. CU made 12 from long range – double their normal output – and took it to us shooting 57.1% from beyond the arc and 55.2% overall. After watching the game in person and again on PL All-Access this morning, there’s little else you can do but tip your hat to Colgate. Of their 12 three’s, 8 (perhaps 9) were well-guarded. But it wasn’t just the "three" last night, it was Yaw Gyawu bulling his way into, around and thru Knutson and Greiner. The junior forward hit 10 of 12 (hard to recall what two he missed) and was the perfect complement to Rolls and Venezia.

    Norcalfan, I disagree with you about a "mutiny by the upperclassmen." In general, the sophomores and freshmen are getting it done and have outplayed the juniors and seniors. As you may know, nagging injuries have hampered Mineri (junior) and Adams (junior) for much of the year and limited their time on the court. As for Safstrom (senior), you can’t ask for more than you’re getting out of this walk-on. He’s perhaps one of the most like guys on the squad. When it comes to Ojo (senior), he’s our lightning rod and fun-loving teammate to all. The other senior, Keefer (ROY three years ago), has been in my eyes nothing but a "good soldier" watching CJ excel and sharing time with D’Orazio (freshman) as the coach looks to build for the future. I love Keefer’s game and wish we could have seen more of him this year, but yield to the coach who, I’m sure, has the best interest of team in mind.

    All is not well, however, as we wind down the season. What worries me most is our inconsistent and, at times, stagnant play – on both sides of the ball, our on again/off again passion for the game, and the idea that CJ will always be there to bail us out of trouble. I’m telling no tales out of school. Coach Reed has said it before and knows the score. It must be fixed. Yet, remember we remain the highest scoring offense in the league (76.3ppg) and the top rebounding squad, as well. At 4-6, you don’t see it, but it’s there and so, too, is the potential for us to win on any given night. That, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to witness greatness (CJ) keeps me coming back night after night.

    LU 65,

    As I expected we disagree. To my knowledge, reading blogs and the local paper, watching Adams and Maneri not suited up, they were injured for a week, at the most two. What happened the rest of the year? Maneri got a technical and has not seen the court since. Reed needs to go 10 deep to make a run. Take a look at Enoch Andoh last night. The unsung hero was one of the keys to the win. All I am saying is Reed is predictable and they need some surprises down the stretch. Do you think the lower classmen can contend with the experienced players needed down the stretch. The leadership is key. Again we do not need to agree, but experience counts. As for good soldiers, I would hope they all are.

    #3279

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "StablerBum" wrote: I have to say, that as great as CJ is – I think he may have a bit too much free reign.

    With the ball and roughly 30 seconds left CJ held the ball until the double team came with about 20 seconds, Prentice was standing unguarded parallel to CJ just inside halfcourt. Instead of giving up the ball and getting it back, CJ forced a turnaround jumper at the foul line while triple teamed with 12 seconds left. I’m not upset at the shot as much as the fact that he took it with 12 seconds which gave Colgate an opportunity for the win in regulation.

    He then opened up overtime with a couple of long contested jumpers – one while double teamed.

    Obviously we need CJ to shoot and score to win. He knows that, Reed knows that, his teammates know that, and we know that. But that doesn’t mean that you abandon all team concepts and let your best player do whatever he wants.

    If this team is going to be successful going forward (over the course of the next 2+ years), I think Mackey is going to have to take over some of the creative responsibilities on offense. He obviously needs to earn this responsibility (most notably from CJ – and perhaps a little from Reed as well), but if he does, I think it will help the team tremendously.

    Well you said it better than I could ever say it! He has free reign and a pat on the back from Reed. Seems like a very nice kid who wants to win, but…….

    #3280

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "LU65" wrote: Worse fears realized! Prophetic when I didn’t mean to be. Venezia and Rolls did what they do best and did it often – hit 3’s (8 of 13) and score a combined 45 points. CU made 12 from long range – double their normal output – and took it to us shooting 57.1% from beyond the arc and 55.2% overall. After watching the game in person and again on PL All-Access this morning, there’s little else you can do but tip your hat to Colgate. Of their 12 three’s, 8 (perhaps 9) were well-guarded. But it wasn’t just the "three" last night, it was Yaw Gyawu bulling his way into, around and thru Knutson and Greiner. The junior forward hit 10 of 12 (hard to recall what two he missed) and was the perfect complement to Rolls and Venezia.

    LU 65,

    I forgot to say I am jealous that you have the time to watch the game twice. How is that possible? A great fan you are. I wish there were more fans on line to banter back and forth with. Go LU!

    Norcalfan, I disagree with you about a "mutiny by the upperclassmen." In general, the sophomores and freshmen are getting it done and have outplayed the juniors and seniors. As you may know, nagging injuries have hampered Mineri (junior) and Adams (junior) for much of the year and limited their time on the court. As for Safstrom (senior), you can’t ask for more than you’re getting out of this walk-on. He’s perhaps one of the most like guys on the squad. When it comes to Ojo (senior), he’s our lightning rod and fun-loving teammate to all. The other senior, Keefer (ROY three years ago), has been in my eyes nothing but a "good soldier" watching CJ excel and sharing time with D’Orazio (freshman) as the coach looks to build for the future. I love Keefer’s game and wish we could have seen more of him this year, but yield to the coach who, I’m sure, has the best interest of team in mind.

    All is not well, however, as we wind down the season. What worries me most is our inconsistent and, at times, stagnant play – on both sides of the ball, our on again/off again passion for the game, and the idea that CJ will always be there to bail us out of trouble. I’m telling no tales out of school. Coach Reed has said it before and knows the score. It must be fixed. Yet, remember we remain the highest scoring offense in the league (76.3ppg) and the top rebounding squad, as well. At 4-6, you don’t see it, but it’s there and so, too, is the potential for us to win on any given night. That, and the once in a lifetime opportunity to witness greatness (CJ) keeps me coming back night after night.

    #3281

    LU65
    Participant

    norcalfan, stablerbum

    While we may disagree on a few things, at least we have one thing in common: LU Basketball. Great reading your comments. Wish the "silent" parties to the board would speak up. It’s a sad board when bison137 is one of our most active contributors.

    As for Mackey, I’m sold. Love his firery personality, ball control skills and outside shot – something we need to see more off, if you ask me. I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have him for three more years. I can think of a few teams around the league that wish they had a PG onboard now and ready to take over the reigns of leadership next year, and the next and the next. I’ve got no problem with sharing the ball with Prentice. After all, he’s a senior and has seen it all. It appears they work well together. Last night, they split time 25/21 minutes with Mackey getting the higher amount. Together they posted 14 points, 11 assists and 1turnover. In the previous game (Army), the pair had 17 points, 10 assists and just 1 turnover. No, PG play is not a concern.

    norcalfan, you say that Reed needing to go 10 deep to make a run. Don’t think so. A check the box scores last night will reveal that 7 of the 8 PL teams gave double-digit minutes to 7 players. Only Lafayette differed. They awarded double-digit time to 8 players. Looking back over the season and comparing BU to LU, you’ll see BU with 7 players earning more than 20 minutes/game and LU with 8 earning over 10mpg. What Andoh was able to do last night for BU was wonderful, I agree. I equate that to what McCarthy and Safstrom have been able to do on occassion for us when given the chance to perform.

    As for CJ’s foul line jumper with 10 seconds to go in reg. play last night, I agree it looked premature and perhaps unwise. Releasing it in traffic – looking of a foul to be called – with 4 seconds to go (time for put-back) might have been the call from the bench. We’ll never know. But, looking at the tape, you could argue the better option might have been a bounce pass down into the lower right box to a waiting Knutson. Then again, Gabe did not have one of his better nights, missing a couple of chip shots earlier in the game.

    #3282

    lfnadmin
    Keymaster

    My 2c is that of all of Lehigh’s league games, only one – the Bucknell game – was the only one where were were really blown out the door. Every other game has been a winnable game that this team has been unable to convert. Part of the problem is that everyone in the building knows CJ will get the ball at the end, but there have been other issues – the missed time out at the end of the American game, the OT where CJ was trying to do everything himself, the late-game collapse in Hamilton. Since I have to be an optimist about it, I have to take these three particular losses as "teachable moments" – games that could have been won, but lost. At its core, this team still needs to learn how to win – and what’s frustrating is that they’re oh-so-close.

    I’d like to see Ojo, Knutson or Mackey yell in that huddle in the last two minutes, saying: "Give me the damn ball!" If one – just one – could get like that, this could be a different team come tournament time.

    #3283

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "LU65" wrote: norcalfan, stablerbum

    While we may disagree on a few things, at least we have one thing in common: LU Basketball. Great reading your comments. Wish the "silent" parties to the board would speak up. It’s a sad board when bison137 is one of our most active contributors.

    As for Mackey, I’m sold. Love his firery personality, ball control skills and outside shot – something we need to see more off, if you ask me. I can’t believe how fortunate we are to have him for three more years. I can think of a few teams around the league that wish they had a PG onboard now and ready to take over the reigns of leadership next year, and the next and the next. I’ve got no problem with sharing the ball with Prentice. After all, he’s a senior and has seen it all. It appears they work well together. Last night, they split time 25/21 minutes with Mackey getting the higher amount. Together they posted 14 points, 11 assists and 1turnover. In the previous game (Army), the pair had 17 points, 10 assists and just 1 turnover. No, PG play is not a concern.

    norcalfan, you say that Reed needing to go 10 deep to make a run. Don’t think so. A check the box scores last night will reveal that 7 of the 8 PL teams gave double-digit minutes to 7 players. Only Lafayette differed. They awarded double-digit time to 8 players. Looking back over the season and comparing BU to LU, you’ll see BU with 7 players earning more than 20 minutes/game and LU with 8 earning over 10mpg. What Andoh was able to do last night for BU was wonderful, I agree. I equate that to what McCarthy and Safstrom have been able to do on occassion for us when given the chance to perform.

    As for CJ’s foul line jumper with 10 seconds to go in reg. play last night, I agree it looked premature and perhaps unwise. Releasing it in traffic – looking of a foul to be called – with 4 seconds to go (time for put-back) might have been the call from the bench. We’ll never know. But, looking at the tape, you could argue the better option might have been a bounce pass down into the lower right box to a waiting Knutson. Then again, Gabe did not have one of his better nights, missing a couple of chip shots earlier in the game.

    I agree with it all, except the 10 deep. The other teams may go 7-8 deep, but the fatigue showed last night with LU. The starters need to be spared a few minutes to catch their breath. The energy was not there and had they had a few minutes relief from the bench players, it is possible they could have pulled this thing out. That’s all I am saying.

    On another note, I was just looking at how much money LU and other PL schools give these players just to sit them on the bench! Wow! Nice payday. I am a state school brat myself and could never afford such an institution. All of them will leave with degrees that will afford them an opportunity to have a pretty good life. Good for all of them.

    Beat Lafayette!

    #3284

    norcalfan
    Participant

    "lfnadmin" wrote: My 2c is that of all of Lehigh’s league games, only one – the Bucknell game – was the only one where were were really blown out the door. Every other game has been a winnable game that this team has been unable to convert. Part of the problem is that everyone in the building knows CJ will get the ball at the end, but there have been other issues – the missed time out at the end of the American game, the OT where CJ was trying to do everything himself, the late-game collapse in Hamilton. Since I have to be an optimist about it, I have to take these three particular losses as "teachable moments" – games that could have been won, but lost. At its core, this team still needs to learn how to win – and what’s frustrating is that they’re oh-so-close.

    I’d like to see Ojo, Knutson or Mackey yell in that huddle in the last two minutes, saying: "Give me the damn ball!" If one – just one – could get like that, this could be a different team come tournament time.

    Give me the ball sounds like a good idea. I think Mackey and Ojo have the personality to do just such a thing! CJ should be able to trust someone else in the closing moments.

    Beat Lafayette!

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