NCC 54, Augustana 53
Game Summary
In another classic between these two rivals, the Vikings (11-6, 5-3) opened the game on an 8-2 run, including a couple early triples that prompted a quick timeout. That timeout from the Cardinals (14-3, 7-1) stopped the bleeding, and they climbed out of the hole, turning the game into a back and forth affair with one tie and five lead changes over the next several minutes, before the Cardinals finally took a little control, leading by as many as five before settling into the break with a 28-25 advantage. The Cardinals couldn't quite pull away in the second half, but managed to create a little breathing room from time to time, getting a couple big threes early in the half for that space. With about ten minutes to go the Cardinals had pushed the lead to eight, and a three point play a minute and a half later gave the Cardinals their biggest lead at nine. The Vikings slowly clawed their way back, pulling within one a couple times, including at that final margin with 38 seconds to go. The Cardinals missed a corner three on the ensuing possession, and Augie called for time with about 11 seconds to go needing one score to win. The Cardinals' defense played it perfectly for the first ten seconds, but after a little bit of a fumble, Augie got off a three before the buzzer... that just rimmed out, allowing the Cardinals to retain possession of The BeltTM and first place in the conference.
Key Players
- Blaise Meredith (NCC): 6-9 FG (2-4 3PT), 2-5 FT; 16 pts, 11 reb (1 off), 3 ast, 1 blk. I've spent a chunk of the year talking about how Blaise has kind of struggled this year... but he showed up to play last night. He had 10 points and eight rebounds at the break, including hitting an early three to help set the tone, and followed that up a few minutes later with a beautiful stepback three. Later in the game, he was able to attack the basket and get some nice layups. The free throws could have been a little better, but when he attacked the rim and the glass with the impunity he did last night, he's a big reason why the Cardinals escaped with a win.
- Pierson Wofford (AUG): 4-12 FG (0-4 3PT), 7-8 FT; 15 pts, 8 reb (2 off), 1 ast. Wofford was a big reason why the Vikings stayed close in last year's classic, so I was a little surprised that he seemed invisible early on in this game. But he made his presence felt as the game went on, leading his team in rebounding and getting to the basket and the line. He's been a good three point shooter as well this year (37.3%), so to go 0-4 from deep was huge in this one, but he definitely made his presence known.
- Micah Martin (AUG): 3-6 FG, 1-3 FT; 7 pts, 2 reb (1 off), 1 blk. Martin presents a unique challenge for opponents in his 6'11" frame, especially against this North Central team that doesn't have a true big. But Martin really struggled early in this one, missing three of his four first half shots, pretty much all of them early and right at the rim when he should have made them. You also expect a guy of that size to dominate the boards... but he finished with just two. Part of that was due to foul trouble, as he only played six minutes in the first half, sitting with three fouls the rest of the time. He played a clean second half, including getting a couple key layups during Augie's desperate comeback.
Key Stats
- NCC: Outrebounded 42-26. I feel like this is relatively normal for an NCC-Augie game the past couple years, given Augie's hoarding of bigs and outsizing the Cardinals, and sure enough, the numbers agree. The Vikings managed a ridiculous 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 11 second chance points (NCC had four offensive boards for seven second chance points, by comparison). For the Cardinals to win in spite of this is something. Normally I'd put this in Augie's section, but another stat tells the Vikings' tale a little better.
- AUG: 5-23 3PT (21.7%). As a team, the Vikings are shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc this season, so it's a little surprising to see a total this low. Credit the Cardinals for playing good defense, but let's make this number from last night really jarring. The Vikings hit their first two threes of the game, spanning the first two and a half minutes. Over the remaining 37 and a half minutes... that's a 3-21 mark, a 14.3% clip. That usually won't win you games.
Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch
It's time for my favorite feature of the season: The Grey Giovanine Jacket Watch! If you're new to Confessions of a Sportscaster or Division III basketball in general, you may not be too familiar with the gentleman pictured here. This is Grey Giovanine, longtime head coach at Augustana. During his tenure, Augie has become one of the perennial powers at the D-III level, largely due to the coaching of Giovanine. I have nothing but the utmost respect for him as a coach, but it's always fun when Augie comes to town, because watching Grey traverse the sideline is a show in and of itself... especially early in the game because the sport coat he starts the game with is coming off. It's just a question of when.
That question has prompted me to run a pool the past few years (and I even put it up on Twitter with mock gambling lines on Sunday). Tonight, I managed to to actually see the glorious moment with my own eyes: with 15:13 left in the first half, Grey Giovanine removed his jacket following a Micah Martin offensive foul. I had been peeking over shortly before this, feeling like we were on the verge of it, and I tried to swing my head immediately after the offensive foul was called... and sure enough, Giovanine was in the process of ripping his sport coat off. I've never been happier at a basketball game. I ran a pool of probably about ten people last night, with many figuring the jacket was coming off much later in the first half. Kevin, our official scorer, and I both won that pool, figuring the jacket was coming off about seven minutes in. But the 31 percent of respondents who correctly called it on Twitter... you guys also win.
Illinois needs to hurry up and legalize sports betting, because I want to start making this a prop bet.
Illinois needs to hurry up and legalize sports betting, because I want to start making this a prop bet.
CCIW Scoreboard Watch
- @ ELM 89 (16-1, 7-1), IWU 72 (11-6, 5-3)
- @ WHE 58 (11-6, 5-3), CRL 54 (9-8, 2-6)
- @ NPU 72 (3-14, 1-7), CAR 68 (11-6, 3-5)
- Bye: MIL (4-13, 1-7)
- WBK: NCC 70 (8-9, 4-4), @ AUG 63 (8-9, 3-5)
- WBK: WHE 62 (12-5, 5-3), @ IWU 59 (12-5, 6-2)
- WBK: NPU 66 (14-3, 7-1), @ CAR 59 (8-9, 3-5)
- WBK: ELM 64 (7-10, 2-6), @ MIL 53 (11-6, 4-4)
- WBK: Bye- CRL (6-10, 2-6)
Final Thoughts
I don't know that my heart rate has totally gone down from last night. Let's watch that final sequence again.
Breathe, Cardinal fans. You escaped with a win. That makes three in a row over the Vikings, the longest win streak since they won seven in a row from 2011 (the last basketball game I ever called for WONC, incidentally) through 2013, including a pair of CCIW Tournament wins. The win also keeps the Cardinals in first place, albeit tied with an extremely good Elmhurst team. I'll go into the CCIW at the halfway point tomorrow and dig into the numbers a little bit deeper.
This was a good win though, and it was nice to see the Cardinals hang on in a game where their closing out of an opponent wasn't as good as it has been on prior nights. It also marks the third straight defense of The BeltTM for the Cardinals, who seem to like having a supernatural totem hanging out in Gregory Arena.
They'll kick off the second half of CCIW play on Saturday at home, getting Millikin for the second time in ten days. The Cardinals won the first matchup by ten down in Decatur, and that was a tight one at times, so we'll see if the home cooking can give the Cardinals a little more of an edge.
Final from Naperville: North Central 54 Augustana 53 #d3hoops pic.twitter.com/6JxGLvGAJQ— Bob Quillman (@IWUhoopscom) January 23, 2020
This was a good win though, and it was nice to see the Cardinals hang on in a game where their closing out of an opponent wasn't as good as it has been on prior nights. It also marks the third straight defense of The BeltTM for the Cardinals, who seem to like having a supernatural totem hanging out in Gregory Arena.
They'll kick off the second half of CCIW play on Saturday at home, getting Millikin for the second time in ten days. The Cardinals won the first matchup by ten down in Decatur, and that was a tight one at times, so we'll see if the home cooking can give the Cardinals a little more of an edge.
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