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

Final Score
Benedictine 62, NCC 60

Summary
This was another bipolar-type game for North Central (6-5). They jumped out to a big lead early, leading 31-17 at one point in the first half, but the Eagles (4-8) came roaring back to within 3 at the half. In the second half, the Cardinals were able to hit a few 3's to stay in front, but the Clogged Toilet Offense caught up with them. 18 turnovers (10 in the 2nd half) tend to bite you, as Benedictine took advantage of the constant miscues to take the lead for good with less than 2 minutes to go.

Key Stats

• Michelle Gaede (BEN): 8-14 FG, 1-3 3PT, 1-1 FT, 18 pts, 8 reb. She came up with what turned out to be the game-winning basket late, but hit a bunch of big shots over the course of the game. Player of the game for sure.
• Helen Muleya (NCC): 1-8 FG, 2 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 3 to. Played a good game on defense, but continues to be nightmarish at the offensive end. Forces a lot of bad passes and bad shots. She had a look at the game-tying layup, but spun it out. She needs to go straight up with her layups, and the numbers will improve. She has a lot of talent, but needs to improve her decision making.
• Lauren Hernandez (NCC): 3-5 FG, 3-4 3PT, 9 pts. She's a great scorer off the bench and someone to take pressure off of people like Jenny Swanson (1-7 from deep, an off night). She had some of the big 3's to keep the Cardinals in front before the final collapse. A freshman with a great future on this team.

Final Thoughts
Before getting into these last thoughts, congratulations to Benedictine's Tracey Walsh, who with 1:57 left in the first half became the sixth Eagle to score 1000 points in her career.

One of the people at the scorers' table said it best (quote is paraphrased): "This team has played 10 games, they shouldn't be doing this stupid stuff!" This is a team that plays well on defense, and is a good rebounding team (especially for their size), but the offense... ye gods. The ball movement is not good most of the time, there's a lot of catching passes and waiting before passing onwards. There's minimal movement inside, when you could potentially have the Emily's (Collins and Murphy) averaging double figures if you have them set some screens for each other.

This team is picked to finish 7th in the CCIW (play starts Wednesday). That said, I think they can overachieve and maybe sneak into the CCIW Tournament, but they need to stop getting beat by their own worst enemy: themselves.

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!