Game Notes: Manchester College @ North Central College (12/30/11)

Final Score
NCC 62, Manchester 38

Summary
My first men's game of the year turned out to be a great pick as I filled in for Jim Godo as their PA guy. The Cardinals (6-5) got out to a great start especially at the defensive end. The first few minutes of this game were absolutely fascinating to watch with great switching and several steals. Manchester (3-8) has a lot of height, but just couldn't really shoot or get anything going offensively. For my first men's game, I am extremely impressed and figure that these guys will give every CCIW team fits.

Key Stats

• Aaron Tiknis (NCC): 6-8 FG, 2-2 3PT, 14 pts, 8 reb (3 off), 4 stl, 2 ast. Wow. He missed a bunch of time early last season, and in his first full year has emerged as a major component of this lineup. He can shoot from outside, but he has the size (6'6") to battle down low with the best of them. He'll be a big asset when the Cardinals start CCIW play next week.
• Vince Kmiec (NCC): 6-10 FG, 5-7 3PT, 17 pts, 6 reb. I took a basketball PE class last year, and Vince was in it. One thing I saw constantly during those 10 weeks was that Vince can shoot the three. And boy, did he do it tonight. I leaned over to Clark Teuscher (NCC's Sports Information Director) and told him after Vince hit the 5th three that he needed one more for a free shrug. At that point, the Cardinals were up by 34, so Todd Raridon called off the dogs. Alas.
• CJ Goldthree (NCC): 5-15 FG, 2-4 3PT, 12 pts, 8 reb. Most of his misses were on layups. The coaching staff told him to not do a finger roll on his layup attempts. I figure he can do that, he'll be fine. He's a good offensive player, and played excellent defense tonight as well. The amazing number is the rebounds. CJ is 6'0", and outrebounded a bunch of big guys.

Final Thoughts
This team was picked to finish 2nd out of 8 in the CCIW, and the only major loss from last year is Brian Evans' defense and energy. I see Kmiec as a taller Reid Berringer, and this team has a chance to host the CCIW Tournament for the second year. Todd Raridon is a great coach, and he once again has a great team. I hope to get to see some of their conference games this year, should be fun!