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Post by rock70 on Dec 6, 2007 22:32:56 GMT -5
Gavin, Ronnie, and Cooper need to adjust to college basketball fast. There is too much of a drop off when Jordan and Scottie are out of the game. You can say that again. Once Scottie and Jordan went out with two fouls Valparaiso made their run to end the half. I am disappointed we had a three point lead with 1:25 left and had the ball only to turn it over three times in the last minute and a half. You can not lose like that at HOME and expect to compete in the Horizon League. Valparaiso is a good team who will be fighting for one of the top three spots in the Horizon League.
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Post by Fastbreak on Dec 6, 2007 22:37:12 GMT -5
Gavin, Ronnie, and Cooper need to adjust to college basketball fast. There is too much of a drop off when Jordan and Scottie are out of the game. You can say that again. Once Scottie and Jordan went out with two fouls Valparaiso made their run to end the half. I am disappointed we had a three point lead with 1:25 left and had the ball only to turn it over three times in the last minute and a half. You can not lose like that at HOME and expect to compete in the Horizon League. Valparaiso is a good team who will be fighting for one of the top three spots in the Horizon League. Valpo returned most of their team from last season and has played twice as many games as us already this year. With 7 new faces on our roster, we should have tried harder to schedule more games before HL play began.
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Post by rock70 on Dec 6, 2007 22:56:22 GMT -5
It is so easy to second guess now but was anybody wondering why Gardner was not in the game the last ten minutes or so after he appeared to play a very solid ten minute stretch the second half?
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Post by Raider Country on Dec 7, 2007 7:04:48 GMT -5
Raiders scoreless in final minutesBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Friday, December 07, 2007 FAIRBORN — Valparaiso prides itself on being some kind of academic Harvard of the Midwest. It also can play some basketball. Valpo, the Horizon League's newest member, outlasted defending champion Wright State 71-66 in a league opener Thursday night in front of 4,189 at the Nutter Center. The Raiders held a 66-63 lead with 2:37 to play on sophomore Vaughn Duggins' 3-point shot, but didn't score again. It wasn't the best way to get ready for undefeated Butler, ranked No. 13 in the country and visiting Saturday. "It's going to hurt a little bit tonight, and tomorrow we have to concentrate on our next team, which happens to be Butler," said Duggins, who led the Raiders with 18 points. "I'm sure our coaches will have a great game plan, as they always do, and we're just going to have to play our best." Scottie Wilson gave the Raiders (2-2, 0-1) an early 5-3 lead on two baskets, the second a 3-pointer. Eventually, the Raiders led 24-12 when Valparaiso coach Homer Drew called a timeout with 6:34 to play in the half. The Crusaders closed on a 22-6 run. The second half was closer, but similar. Once WSU took the lead on Duggins' basket, the offense not only shut down, but committed three straight turnovers, the final two leading to Valpo's winning baskets. "I felt we knew them good enough to win the game," Wilson said. "If we hold onto those balls, we'd probably be talking about a win today." Well, the turnovers and resulting baskets — a 3-pointer by Shawn Huff to tie it, and a fast-break layup by Jarryd Loyd, who seemed to be everywhere — gave the Crusaders (7-1, 0-1) a 68-66 lead. "We played exceptionally well early and really improved on some of the things we wanted to," WSU coach Brad Brownell said. "We lost momentum in the first half, which was disappointing. We had a chance to close the game, or at least put them in real jeopardy, and had costly turnovers. It's young guys trying to figure it out. "The kids who made mistakes late were the same kids who made a lot of big plays throughout the course of the game. We just didn't do what we needed to do in the last couple minutes to get better shots." Next game Who: No. 13 Butler (8-0) at Wright State (2-2) When: 7 p.m. Saturday Radio: WONE-AM (980); WIZE-AM (1430) www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/06/ddn120707wsubb.html
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Post by Raider Country on Dec 7, 2007 7:06:05 GMT -5
Wood's shoes hard to fill, WSU finding outBy Tom Archdeacon Staff Writer Friday, December 07, 2007 FAIRBORN — Right now, Wright State's basketball team is missing somebody it can call The Closer. We're not talking about Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, the TV cop with the grits-and-honey tone played by Kyra Sedgwick. No, the young Raiders need a Mariano Rivera-style closer. Somebody with ice in the veins and a "this-is-my-house" attitude like the longtime New York Yankees reliever. If Wright State had even a pale rendition of that Thursday night against Valparaiso at the Nutter Center, it would have — as senior Scottie Wilson said later — "been talking about a win right now." Instead WSU faded at the end for the second game in a row and lost its second straight, this one a 71-66 setback to the Crusaders. And that left guys like Wilson and sophomore guard Vaughn Duggins trying to explain the game's final two-and-a-half minutes, when their team lost a three-point lead, turned the ball over three times and missed three straight shots. It wasn't one player's fault. Three different starters — Duggins, Will Graham and Todd Brown — were involved in the turnovers and Duggins, Brown and Wilson all missed shots. In years past the finisher's role was handled solely by DaShaun Wood, the graduated Raiders legend now playing pro ball in Italy. "The ball's been in DaShaun's hands for four years, this is the first year it wasn't," said WSU coach Brad Brownell. "And really this is the first game we've had this year in this kind of situation ... and we just didn't execute. We just didn't finish. That's what's so frustrating. But that's all part of young guys trying to figure it out." Brownell pointed out that his team had done a lot of good things up to the late-game fade. It led Valparaiso 24-12 with just over seven minutes left in the first half and, though it faded to a four point halftime deficit and then trailed by nine soon after intermission — it showed some grit and fought back in what would be a seesaw game most of the second half. With 2:37 left, Duggins hit a 3-pointer to put WSU up 66-63 and if you remembered games of the recent past here — WSU had won 14 in a row at the Nutter Center before Thursday night — you figured they'd pull it out. But most of that string was from last year and as Wilson put it "Last year is last year ... this is a new season." Following the go-ahead basket, WSU never scored again, and no one took it harder than Duggins, who has fallen into the Wood role this season. "Coach told me I looked a little nervous at the end," he admitted quietly outside the team's dressing room. Was he nervous? "Aaah ... I wouldn't say nervous, maybe just a little jumpy. The thing is, it's a new role with a lot more responsibility. I need to play with a little more composure at the end. I got to hold onto the ball and keep everybody else in it and good things will happen. "If we do that, the next time out things will go a lot better." The only problem is that next up is 8-0 Butler, recent vanquisher of Ohio State and ranked 13th in the country. www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/06/ddn120707arch.html
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Post by Raider Country on Dec 7, 2007 7:07:26 GMT -5
Next games will pose tough tests for RaidersBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Friday, December 07, 2007 FAIRBORN — Thursday night's game with Valparaiso began a gauntlet of games for the Wright State Raiders. Saturday, No. 13 Butler comes to town with a 8-0 record. On Tuesday, it's 6-3 Bradley and next Saturday, 4-3 Miami. "We're playing two teams (Valpo and Butler) playing at a high level right now," Brownell said. "And not just these two teams. Our next four games are against high-quality opponents." Wright State ends its homestand with St. Bonaventure on Dec. 18, then goes on the road for five games, beginning at Cal State-Fullerton on Dec. 22. Valpo no pushover Junior WSU guard Will Graham was only thinking about Valparaiso, playing in its first Horizon League game. "They're not going to be a pushover," Graham said. "They're new in our league. They're looking to make a statement." Closer to home Valparaiso coach Homer Drew hoped to have a group of fans at the Nutter Center rooting for his team. "So many of our graduates live in the (Indiana-Ohio) area," Drew said. "I'm so happy to be in this league. We don't have to fly anywhere." In the old Mid-Continent, Valpo had to play at such places as Southern Utah, Oral Roberts (in Tulsa, Okla.) and Centenary (Shreveport, La.). Those days are over, although the Crusaders did schedule a tournament at South Padre Island, Texas, and will play at North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Dec. 30. That game might not lead to a Happy New Year. Keeping score Dot Nuechterlein, who teaches sociology at Valpo, also is the team's official scorer. She's been scoring games since 1984 (a couple of those years at Columbia in New York) and thinks she has the longest tenure of any women in that job in college basketball. "It's the most fun hobby anyone can have," Nuechterlein said. Waltzing into Nutter Vandalia native and Horizon League commissioner Jon LeCrone went from the Nutcracker to the Nutter Center after spending Sunday in New York, where his daughter Megan performed her first solo with the New York City Ballet. www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/06/ddn120707wsubbnotes.html
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Post by Raider Country on Dec 7, 2007 7:10:18 GMT -5
New-look WSU team has familiar looking startBy Marc Katz Staff Writer Friday, December 07, 2007 FAIRBORN — It's all looking so similar. A young, untested team, trying to make its mark in the Horizon League. An exciting beginning to the season. A couple of disappointing losses. And then ... Well, last season turned out great. Wright State opened with an exciting victory at Miami, faltered a bit, lost its second home game to Bowling Green then eventually caught and tied Butler for the Horizon League's regular-season championship and beat Butler in the title game of the tournament for that championship. This season, the Raiders opened with two nice victories at home — that's 15 straight at the Nutter Center for those keeping track — and Valparaiso spoiled it all with a 71-66 victory Thursday night. "This game is over," senior Scottie Wilson said. "We can't do anything about it. We've got a day to prepare for them (the Butler Bulldogs)." The thing is, this is a new Wright State team, trying to integrate seven new players in the mix. One, Kyle Pressley, has already been declared a redshirt. Another, N'Gai Evans, has yet to get in a game. It's not inconceivable that he will be redshirted, too. Another newcomer, Duquesne transfer Ronnie Thomas, played for the first time against Valpo. Coming back from a broken left foot, he didn't seem quite ready, but was passable in seven minutes. He didn't score, had two rebounds, two fouls and two turnovers. At least coach Brad Brownell thought his team played better than it did the last time out in a 79-64 loss to Marist. "We don't have a lot of depth right now inside," said Brownell, whose two starting big men, Jordan Pleiman and Scottie Wilson, were hampered with two fouls each in the first half. "This (Valparaiso) is a good basketball team here. They shoot it well, play with speed at the guard position, can beat you with size. It's unfortunate we lost the way we did. We fought back valiantly. We just didn't close the game, and that's a bitter pill to swallow. "We're a little down right now, as you can imagine, and we're playing a team (Butler) that's as high as you can be. "We're going to have a lot of ups and downs in December. Hang on for the ride." www.daytondailynews.com/s/content/oh/story/sports/college/wsu/2007/12/07/ddn120707raiderconnection.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=38
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Post by Raiderfan on Dec 7, 2007 8:55:38 GMT -5
I was finding myself very disappointed after our loss last night. I was thinking of all the players that "messed up" and what cost us the game. I realized that if I had posted last night it would have been a very negative tone and I'm sure I would have pointed fingers at some players. Boy oh boy what a good nights sleep can make!!! When I woke up and the family started getting up ( school delay) it is easy to put things back into perspective real quick. Thank goodness I've been blessed with a great family.
On to the last nights game! I'm probably going to rehash much of what has been said but here I go.
1. First I want to give credit to Valpo! They are a very good team that is well balanced and I fully expect them to compete in the HL on a nightly basis. They only proved to me last night that they were indeed a TERRIFIC addition to the HL
2. BB mentioned it on his post game talk and that is the need to develop our bench. Other then JDG the others are still trying to adjust to D1 basketball. When JAP & Scottie went out with 2 fouls our subs really struggled and Valpo dominated us in the paint. Just knowing BB as a coach I'm confident that he'll have our subs playing at a much higher level as the season progresses.
3. Speaking of JDG I thought he played a wonderful game. I may be proven wrong but I think in the not so distant future JDG will be a starter and contributing double digit points and over 4 assist per game.
4. We didn't play a horrible game last night just a "horrible" last minute and 1/2.
5. We need more shots from the paint. Whether it comes from feeding the ball in the low post to JAP or by dribble penetration I'd like to see us being more aggressive in the paint and drawing more fouls.
6. Let's get Butler!
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Post by jfarrell04 on Dec 7, 2007 10:09:00 GMT -5
Raiderfan,
How 'bout them Cavaliers
I agree.........rough loss last nite does not look quite so bad on this snowy morning (didn't we used to go to school on time after 1.5 inches of snow.........heck we even had to walk, mostly uphill both ways if I rememeber correctly). Ya gotta believe that the second place team in the Horizon league this year will have, at a minimum, three conference losses, so I think we still have two to give. (Yes, I think Buttler will "win" the conference (but not the tourney!!!)
I want to go on record that Raiderfan has indeed been "blessed with a great family"
GO BROWNS!!!!!
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Post by raiderrunt on Dec 7, 2007 17:28:40 GMT -5
Valpo Escape Wright State With Win December 7th, 2007 By Bill Kintner DAYTON – Valparaiso made a statement in their first game in the Horizon League; that they were ready to compete in a new, tougher conference, as the pulled out a road win against Wright State 71-66 where the visiting teams rarely win. Wright State on the other hand made two costly turnovers in the last 74 seconds of the game to lose the lead and let an important league game get away. With a 66-63 lead and a 1:14 left in the game Wright State’s Vaughn Duggins threw an errant pass to Will Graham that got away and went into the backcourt for a turnover. Valparaiso’s Shawn Huff scored on a feed by Jake Diebler at the 1:05 mark to tie the game at 66-66. When the Raiders brought the ball down the court Todd Brown turned it over in the lane. Jarryd Lloyd then took a pass from Brandon McPherson under the basket and laid it in to go up 68-66. After that Urule Igbavboa sank three of four free throws to get the score up to 71 points as Wright State (2-2, 0-1 HL) went scoreless for the last 2:36 of the game. “Unfortunately for us in the last minute or so we didn’t close the game or maybe put them in real jeopardy and we had two costly turnovers,” said Wright State coach Brad Brownell. “It is part of young guys trying to figure it out.” For Valparaiso coach Homer Drew he thought the turnover at half court was key. “The big key was when we were three down, Shawn (Huff) hit the big three and then we got a turnover. Then Jarryd’s (Lloyd) big 3-pointers in the second half were also key.” Scoring at the end of a half was no easier for the Raiders in the first half as they scored only one basket in the last 5:16 seconds. Of course, you could say that Vaparaiso (7-1, 1-0 HL) excelled in closing out each half with 14 points in the last 5:16 of the first half and eight points in the last 3:08 of the second half. This game saw the score tied three times and the lead change 11 times including eight times in the second half. To start the second half the Crusaders came out and scored five points in the first 40 seconds to go up 39-30 as McPherson hit a 3-pointer at 19:42 mark and then came back to put in a layup 22 seconds later. Four minutes later the Raiders were up again by one point on two jumpers by Brown and a layup and four foul shots by Jordan Pleiman. And back and forth it went until Valparaiso put the Raiders away for good. “We came out with a nine point lead and it wasn’t but seconds later we only had a three point lead. They are really efficient and a very, very good basket ball team,” said Drew. In the first half Wright State came out and took control pushing their lead until they went up 15-8 on a jump shot by Todd Brown with 12:54 left. At the 7:03 mark the Raiders went up 24-12 on a floater by Vaughn Duggins. Then two 3-pointers by Valparaiso’s Huff and a couple of free throws by Jared Lloyd and the score was 24-20 and that started a 20-3 run that lasted for six minutes. Finally at the 2: 06 mark the Crusaders got the lead on a layup by Igbavboa 28-27. As the half wound down with Vaparaiso leading 32-30 Huff took a feed from Lloyd with four seconds left and dunked it to put the Crusaders up 34-30 at the half. Brownell thought the Raiders played a little better but they were a little thin on personnel and needed to learn how to close out games. “It is young guys learning how to win and how to make big plays when you need them. It is trying to find a way to get things done.” Lloyd led the Crusaders with 18 points off the bench, 4 coming in the second half, while Huff and Igbavboa each scored 16 points. Duggins led all scorers with 18 points while Wilson and Brown each chipped in 12 points for the Raiders. Notes: -Wright State’s 15 game home court winning streak game came to an end tonight. -Wright State leads the all-time series with Valparaiso 5-3. -When asked about Valparaiso fitting into the Horizon League Brownell said, “When you look at our guys physically you would think we are making the jump. You measure the size of players, age of experience, all those things, I think they look bigger than we did at most positions. If they were one of the best teams in the Summit League or Mid-Con then they are a team that is going to formidable in our league.” -Valparaiso’s next game is on Saturday at Detroit at 2:05 pm. -Wright State’s next game is at home on Saturday against 13th ranked Butler at 7:00 pm. The game is televised on ESPNU. www.collegehoopsnet.com/new/story/valop_escape_wright_state_win41403
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Post by Pauley on Dec 7, 2007 19:00:53 GMT -5
"-Wright State’s next game is at home on Saturday against 13th ranked Butler at 7:00 pm. The game is televised on ESPNU."
I don't think this is correct information. I hope I am wrong.
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Post by bballraider on Dec 7, 2007 19:22:00 GMT -5
"-Wright State’s next game is at home on Saturday against 13th ranked Butler at 7:00 pm. The game is televised on ESPNU." I don't think this is correct information. I hope I am wrong. You are correct Pauley, the game AT Butler is on ESPNU, not the one at the Nutter Center, ESPNU is showing the NCAA Women's Volleyball championships at 7pm Saturday, although I am sure those will be good games, I would much rather watch the Raiders and Bulldogs. As far as the Valpo game, the Raiders played a pretty good game against a real good team. WSU did most of the things that I thought were keys to the game. They contained Haanpaa, and got out to an early lead in the first half. The trouble came when Pleiman and Wilson picked up fouls and went to the bench. We squandered the lead the last part of the half. I felt we needed to be up by 8-10 pts as Valpo has been a good second half team all year. If we had a bit more of a cushion at the end, we would have been able to weather Valpo's late run. Until most of the new guys are ready to contribute REAL solid minutes off the bench, any time are two super sophs or two seniors get in foul trouble we will have trouble stopping runs from other teams. I also think J.D. will start picking up more minutes as his defense is getting much better.
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Post by Raiderfan on Dec 7, 2007 19:49:15 GMT -5
Raiderfan, How 'bout them Cavaliers I agree.........rough loss last nite does not look quite so bad on this snowy morning (didn't we used to go to school on time after 1.5 inches of snow.........heck we even had to walk, mostly uphill both ways if I rememeber correctly). Ya gotta believe that the second place team in the Horizon league this year will have, at a minimum, three conference losses, so I think we still have two to give. (Yes, I think Buttler will "win" the conference (but not the tourney!!!) I want to go on record that Raiderfan has indeed been "blessed with a great family" GO BROWNS!!!!! Thanks jfarrell! You've got a pretty good family yourself. I saw your son and daughter at the game with your dad..........were you at the game? You're probably right that the 2nd place team will have at least 3 loses but unless we play a near flawless game against the Dogs I'm afraid we'll be in an early 0-2 hole.
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Post by jfarrell04 on Dec 9, 2007 22:06:15 GMT -5
Raiderfan,
the wife dragged me to a work-related "holiday" party up in Tipp City Thurs. nite. Called my son at the game toward the end of the game and he said we were up three with 1:03 to go. Had to excuse myself from the party for a bit to go out to the van to listen to the end...........musta jinxed 'em, cause we didn't score again, getting outscored 8-0 as I listened to the end. Spent some time with your boy at the Buttler game on Sat. nite.........he and Derek and Alex were pretty fired up at the end!!!!
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Post by Wolf on Feb 28, 2008 23:43:46 GMT -5
vs. Round 2Sat., Mar. 1 at Valparaiso (ESPN2) * Valparaiso, IN 12:00 PM Valparaiso is 16-12 and 8-9 in the HL. They have an RPI of 122 and SOS of 135.
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