Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts: 3988
Reg: 11-23-04
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01-03-18 10:40 PM - Post#241944
Nice to win against a pretty good teem, particularly when you didn't shoot well (1 of 10 from 3 in the first half. Cambridge and Anderson were contained, Okolie was great. Brown was down 10 in the first half and went up 10 in the middle of the second, then led the rest of the way. Good D in the second half and few TOs made the difference.
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Bruno
PhD Student
Posts: 1414
Loc: Brooklyn, NY
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: NJIT 01-04-18 12:29 AM - Post#241948
In response to Old Bear
Perfectly said. Not an inspired performance by any stretch, especially given NJIT losing two of their key players during the game. But it is really good to know that Brown can beat a team that would win games in the Ivy when it shoots the three poorly, doesn’t get to the line a bunch, and gets considerably less scoring from its guard trio.
Okolie carried them through the most crucial stretch in the second half, creating buckets from nothing, and it was great to see him fully back in a rhythm where he manages to slash inside and get to the hoop. They don’t win without him.
Finally a double digit scorer down low! Nice performance by Choh. He got them some key buckets and who knew he could hit the three.
Hunsaker, Anderson and Cambridge did just enough. Nine assists between Hunsaker and Anderson is strong.
Massey a huge bucket and a quiet 8 boards. Brown was going so small at times, with Massey in essence the 4 and Choh at the 5.
By the way, great to see a cameo from Fuller. What’s he do in his two minutes? Scores and dishes an assist - which he does better than any other big man on the squad. Something tells me he’ll find a place back in the rotation come the Ivy.
Now my least favorite part of the season. A two+ week period playing one opponent twice. Worst scheduling ever.
LET'S go BRU-no (duh. nuh. nuh-nuh-nuh) |
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JBears
Senior
Posts: 334
Reg: 06-06-12
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Re: NJIT 01-05-18 07:59 PM - Post#242208
In response to Bruno
Gritty, hard fought win for the Bears. As stated prior, great to see Okolie heathy and playing like himself again. Our depth just got a nice organic upgrade. And T Choh is quietly establishing himself more and getting up to D1 speed. An outside game, or just the threat of one, will enhance his ability to drive which already very effective.
The Bears got six turnovers in the game's first few minutes, but only five more for the balance of the game. And that was against a very active and athletic defense. The improved ball control and strong free throw shooting (it was actually sub-par the other night) are two major reasons we are winning close games. Very refreshing to see and speaks to the increased talent level Martin has established.
I agree that the schedule needs to break from this yearly period when we come out of exam break, only to have more downtime that hinders any momentum you're trying to establish. Spread that non-league schedule out to both sides of the exams with at least two games to get ready for league play. But I have to tell ya. If that's all I can complain about at the moment, I'd say we're having a very promising season.
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Old Bear
Postdoc
Posts: 3988
Reg: 11-23-04
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01-05-18 09:02 PM - Post#242215
In response to JBears
Agreed JB, but when most D1 conferences begin league play after 1/1 it is hard to schedule non-league teams. The Ivies start league later than most.
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JBears
Senior
Posts: 334
Reg: 06-06-12
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01-05-18 09:44 PM - Post#242217
In response to Old Bear
Good point OB. Most of the leagues may have more teams than the Ives. This may be a way to stretch out the schedule unless you want to start later or end sooner than the norm. It is frustrating..
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