Game Notes: (MBK) Millikin University @ North Central College (1/6/16)

Final Score
NCC 83, Millikin 54

Game Summary
The Cardinals (9-4, 2-0) opened the game playing to their strength by going inside for a couple early buckets. The Big Blue (6-7, 0-2) countered with five straight points to take the lead, and seemed in control for a chunk of the half behind some early threes. The Cardinals would work their way back, leading to a back and forth game with four ties and four lead changes, the last coming with the start of an 8-0 Cardinal run to close out the half, capped by a three at the buzzer. The Cardinals picked up where they left off to start the second half, getting a three point play to push the lead to double digits, and despite a couple Millikin baskets, pushed the lead with some outside shooting, ultimately using a 23-5 run to build a 25 point lead. It wouldn't last, as the Big Blue hit four straight threes to cut the lead to 16. The Cardinals quickly regained control and were able to get the end of the bench in for the final couple minutes to the delight of the bench and the crowd.

Key Stats

• NCC: 12-28 3PT (42.9%). I mentioned to more than one person at the table last night that this game reminded me of the 2012 CCIW Championship Game (aka the Kevin Gillespie Game), especially in the second half, where the Cardinals shot 7-11 from deep. Pretty much everyone got in on the fun. Especially...
• Erwin Henry (NCC): 8-8 FG (4-4 3PT), 0-2 FT; 20 pts, 4 reb (1 off), 2 ast. We may have to call this the Erwin Henry Game. He notched a couple of baskets while being fouled, but the three pointer line is what amazes me. Erwin isn't an outside shooter, and I wasn't sure on a few of his threes if they'd go, but they did. Sometimes it's just your night, and last night was Erwin's night.
• Connor Raridon (NCC): 4-7 FG (2-3 3PT), 2-3 FT; 12 pts, 5 reb (1 off), 8 ast, 2 blk. Connor just keeps getting better and better before our eyes. He was by far the best distributor last night and also had a good day shooting. His highlight came right at the end of the first half, where he inbounded the ball, quickly got a bounce pass back, and hit a three at the buzzer to push the Cardinal lead to seven.

CCIW Scoreboard Watch

• @ Illinois Wesleyan 82 (7-6, 1-1), Wheaton 66 (4-9, 0-2)
• @ Elmhurst 77 (12-1, 2-0), Augustana 75 (12-1, 1-1) (OT)
• North Park 87 (9-4, 1-1), @ Carthage 79 (7-6, 1-1)

Matt Nadelhoffer Jacket Watch
Per the suggestion of friend of COAS Geoffrey Clark, I'm including this fun little tidbit in every men's home game the rest of conference play. Geoffrey thinks, and I quote, "You need to be a special breed of crazy to be a college coach." I don't necessarily disagree, as one thing I seem to notice in a lot of games is coaches taking their suit jackets off as they start to disagree with things going on on the court.

Now, I almost feel a little bad doing this to Coach Nadelhoffer, as he is also an Aurora Christian alumnus (class of 1993) and member of some of the best teams ACS ever put out on the floor. He is also part of the 80 game home winning streak (second longest in Illinois history) back during the glory days of basketball at 801 W Illinois Ave in Aurora, where ACS went something like 232-21 or something obscene like that in that gym. However, new tradition must take the place of the old tradition. Coach Nadelhoffer removed his jacket at the 19:00 mark of the second half, though not in reaction to anything from what I could tell. Clearly he went to the Don Davidson School of Coaching. Geoffrey's comment: "Maybe I jumped the gun on my suggestion." Maybe, but I'm sticking with it.

Final Thoughts
Stat that wasn't a key, but seems important: Millikin had 16 turnovers, probably half of which were traveling calls. You don't expect that at this level, but fundamental flaws didn't help the Big Blue last night.

On another note, what I loved most about last night's game was the end of the bench getting involved. They got a couple minutes of run time, with points scored by Geoff Godwin, who's a fan favorite, and Hayden Witt, who hit a three. There was a small group of fans who made a ton of noise following Godwin going 2-2 at the free throw line, and the bench went nuts when Witt hit his three. That's a great sign of team chemistry and camaraderie, and as someone who played that role at the end of my career, I feel a kinship with guys like that. I'm thrilled for those guys.

It was also awesome to get to see a familiar face in Don Davidson, legendary former coach at Aurora Christian who tries to make this game every year to see Coach Nadelhoffer. I got to talk to him a bit both before and after the game, and it's always great to see an old mentor.

Looking forward, this team's biggest flaw is free throw shooting. They were 11-16 last night, which is okay, but for the year they're at 65.5 percent. You can get away with that against the Millikin's of the world, but not the elite teams.

North Central embarks on a three game road trip now,all of which will be tough games: at Wheaton on Saturday, at Augustana (who won't be #1 next week, but will probably still be at like #2 or #3) on Wednesday, and at Illinois Wesleyan that Saturday. It's a tough trip, but if this team plays the way they did last night, they'll be fine.