Game Notes: (MBK) Heidelberg University @ North Central College (11/17/18)

Final Score
NCC 68, Heidelberg 57

Game Summary
Things got off to a slow start as the Cardinals (1-0) scored on the opening possession but surrendered the lead almost immediately to the Student Princes (0-1). But the Cardinals quickly got the lead back and led by as many as seven in the first half before the Princes fought back to make it a 26-24 game at the break. Heidelberg hit a three just 12 seconds into the second half to take the lead back, but the Cardinals responded with an 11-1 run to recapture command of the game. Heidelberg hung tough, but a couple threes by the Cardinals pushed the lead to 13 with under 10 minutes to go. The Princes would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as the Cardinals were able to put the game away.

Key Players

• Matt Cappelletti (NCC): 6-12 FG (0-2 3PT), 7-9 FT; 19 pts, 11 reb (2 off), 3 ast, 1 stl. On an off night for guys like Connor Raridon (3-14 FG), it was nice to see a guy like Cap pick up the slack in the scoring department. He also did a good job on the boards as well as putting the game away late at the line. This is big year for the junior, who will need to step up on a team without a true elite big.
• Blaise Meredith (NCC): 3-7 FG (0-3 3PT), 4-5 FT; 10 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 2 stl, 1 blk. Blaise was a key spark plug for this team. He played excellent defense, picking a couple pockets for some wide open dunks that got the crowd (and himself) into a frenzy. The fact that he crashed the boards with such impunity helped as well.
• Myron Prewitt (HEI): 4-8 FG (0-2 3PT), 2-5 FT; 10 pts, 11 reb (4 off).  Prewitt is the main returning piece from last year's Heidelberg team, but he got off to a slow start in this one, posting just two points and four rebounds in the first half. His second half was better, albeit flawed, as he picked up a key technical following getting fouled on a shot, so instead of trimming the Berg deficit to seven, it was held at nine. He would foul out a couple minutes later.

Key Stats

• NCC: 3-23 3PT (13.0%). I talked to assistant coach Vince Kmiec after the game, as well as a few fans/insiders I've developed relationships with over the past few years, and the common refrain was about how this was a sloppy game. This was part of the reason why. But we all agreed there's too much shooting talent on this team for them to shoot this poorly every night. One game I'm willing to ignore as an aberration, and the fact that this team still found a way to win speaks volumes.
• Heidelberg: 9-16 FT (56.3%). I wonder if this played as big a role in the Student Prince defeat. They hit both attempts in the first half before falling to a 50 percent clip in the second half. Making even three or four more of those wouldn't have changed the outcome, but it might have made things a little more interesting down the stretch.

Final Thoughts

Like I mentioned above, this game was a little sloppy for both teams, but North Central especially. They aren't going to shoot this poorly though, so I'm optimistic going forward. The concern I have is going to be how this team will match up. Their big flaw this season, after years of it not being an issue, is the lack of size. Jack Bronec was the only true "big" on this team to see action on Saturday, and it was for only 16 minutes. He played well (6 points, 5 rebounds, an assist and a block), but the Cardinals don't have much behind him other than a very green Jack Clausel, who didn't see the floor.

Instead, the Cardinals spent a bunch of time playing small ball with Cappelletti and Raridon as your forwards and a rotating backcourt. I do think they can get away with this against a lot of teams, the most notable exceptions being Augie and Illinois Wesleyan. They're a little ways ahead though, so I don't want to start worrying about those games yet. And the Cardinals won't either... not with the Battle of Chicago/Maple Avenue coming up tomorrow night.