Tiger Burns and Gamecocks Win (Recap of Rider vs. South Carolina)

Monday night was the third straight day with a basketball game in a third straight different venue.  Saturday evening was the Mack Center in Hempstead.  Sunday was Cameron Indoor Stadium for the Iona - Duke women's basketball game.  I was now back in Columbia to see South Carolina host Rider in another Hoops for Hope regional game at the Colonial Life Arena.

It was also the third straight game I saw with my dear friend Tony Terentieff, aka Tieff to the loyal readers of this site.  Tieff stayed with me in Columbia after the Iona-Duke game and we went together to the arena.  Our plan was to have dinner at the Thirsty Fellow which is conveniently located by the arena, then take in the basketball game.

But right across from the arena, USC was having it's annual Tiger Burn (I am sure the World Wildlife Federation just loves that term).   It's an annual event before the annual Clemson-South Carolina football game.  As part of tradition, in the week leading up to the game, there is an event where each school burns an object of the other team.

This year, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers student group built a thirty foot tiger that was to be burned during a ceremony.   As Tieff and I made our way from the parking lot, we saw a large crowd of students being treated to a musical act while the giant Tiger stood nearby.  We took a couple of pictures as we knew the fate that awaited the tiger.

We walked into the Thirsty Fellow.  It's a restaurant/ bar that has bookcases filled with books adorning most of the walls in the restaurant.  If you didn't know you were at an establishment near campus when you first walked in, you definitely knew within a few seconds. After a couple of minutes, we were able to find two seats at the bar.   A Sam Adams Winter Lager for Tieff, a Newcastle for me and then we ordered dinner.

Not too long after we got our meals, we heard and saw fireworks going off in the distance on the field which is across from the Thirsty Fellow.  The Tiger was now meeting its predestined fate.  We decided to just eat our meals and we would see the results in a little while.

After a tasty meal, we left the Thirsty Fellow just as the students were dispersing from the Tiger Burn event.  All that was left of the thirty foot tiger was a smoky shell.  The fireworks did their job and South Carolina had its annual Tiger Burn sacrifice.  It was onto the basketball game.

The Hoops for Hope Classic is one of those "tournaments" where four predestined teams play two home games against supposed "lesser" teams, then play the semifinals and finals in an exotic location.  In South Carolina's case, it's Puerto Vallarta.  The rest of the "lesser" teams that are in this tournament, like Rider, end up playing each other in a much less exotic location.  College basketball, like life, isn't fair.

Frank Martin could care less if South Carolina was playing in Puerto Vallarta, Columbia or your local YMCA.  He expects his teams to play at a high level at all times. If his Gamecocks are not playing up to his standards, you will see it on his face.

Martin would be a terrible poker player.  You know where he stands at all times; whether it's covering his face after a bad play, or staring hole through a player after a really bad play, or better yet, following his player he just yanked to his seat on the bench and giving a teaching lesson right on the spot.  

It's simply great theater and to be honest, part of the fun of watching a Gamecocks' game is just seeing Martin go off.  The only coach I would compare Martin to is Bruiser Flint on Drexel.  You have to see both live to truly appreciate them.

Unlike the previous USC game I attended, where they were down for most of the game, then rallied to force overtime before eventually defeating Wisconsin Milwaukee, the Gamecocks got off to a good start.  Aided by a very dumb technical foul by Rider's Nureen Lindsey, South Carolina jumped out to an 18-9 lead.   After an Eric Smith layup, the Gamecocks extended the lead to 29-15.

But South Carolina had a difficult time maintaining a double digit lead due to shooting themselves in the foot.  After a telegraphed cross court pass by Damien Leonard that resulted in a steal and a Lindsey layup to cut the lead to 32-23, Martin immediately called timeout.  The Gamecocks got the lead backup to double digits with a three from Leonard.  But again, Rider would cut the deficit to single digits and only trailed 44-37 at the half.

The Gamecocks were shooting the ball well for the most part, but Tieff and I thought they were too three point happy in the first half.  Half of the Gamecocks' thirty two first half attempts were from beyond the arc.  Though they hit sixteen of them, you would like to have seen them get the ball to their forwards Lakeem Jackson and R.J. Slawson more in the first half.

Well they got the ball to Slawson in the second half.  The first problem was he was outside the three point line. The second and more consequential problem was that Slawson hoisted an ill advised three that was way off the mark.  That prompted Martin to immediately yank Slawson and give him the death stare.  South Carolina was only up 50-45.

Slowly though, the Gamecocks started pulling away from the Broncs, due in large part to Brenton Williams.  Williams had another terrific game for South Carolina, scoring twenty two points and adding four assists.  The hero from the free throw line against the Panthers, Williams was again a perfect three for three from the line.   But what stood out was a play about midway through the second half where Williams leaped over the press row and ended up into the first row as he saved a ball from going out of bounds.  It was an impressive feat of athleticism and hustle.

However, even Williams' outstanding play on the night didn't spare him from Martin's wrath.  After hitting a basket, Williams didn't get into position and fouled a Rider player on a drive attempt.  Martin yelled out to Williams as clear as day "WHY ARE YOU REACHING?!"

Despite allowing some easy Broncs' layups, eventually the Gamecocks pulled away with a 13-2 run and went up 86-66 with three minutes left.  It looked like South Carolina was putting it all together.

But the Gamecocks got sloppy with four turnovers and the Broncs went on an 10-0 run.  During the run, Smith threw a bad pass which resulted in a turnover, where he subsequently made matters worse by fouling Lindsey on a layup.  This resulted in one last classic Martin outburst as he immediately took Smith out of the game  Martin preceded to follow Smith to his spot on the bench and gave him quite the tongue lashing.

South Carolina eventually ended up winning 88-76.   Martin had to be happy with his offense.  The Gamecocks were much more economical from beyond the arc in the second half, hitting seven of their eleven three pointers in the last twenty minutes.  South Carolina shot fifty three percent from the field.  Williams led four Gamecocks in double figure scoring.

However, Martin was probably not happy that Rider shot fifty percent from the field, including twenty one of thirty nine from two point range.  Lindsey, the transfer from St John's, led all scorers with twenty six points.

All in all it was a fun night for many of the fans in attendance.  They got to see a Gamecock win, a Tiger burn and Frank Martin burn.  What else can a fan ask for?

It's Late Night With Scott Machado (Recap of Rider vs. Iona)

A couple of days ago, when I went on Iona's web site and saw the game time for last night's home game was 10:00 P.M., I did a double take.  But when you are dealing with the wonderful people in Bristol, Connecticut and their ESPNU channel, anything is possible.  Yes, the World Wide Leader thought it was a brilliant idea to put a MAAC women's game at 6:00 PM; Loyola - Maryland vs. Marist, then a Horizon League game at 8:00 P.M; Green Bay vs Cleveland State, then finally the Rider vs. Iona  MAAC game at 10:00 PM.

So as a result, two east coast teams were playing at a time that's normally reserved for West Coast Conference games (based on Eastern Standard time).  Most sane, normal people would have decided to stay home and watch the game on television.  But basketball fans like you and me are not most sane, normal people.  We like to see good live college basketball at any time.

When I first got home last night, I prepared for the late start...by taking a nap.  Yes, when you're nearly forty six years old and you get up at 6:00 AM to walk your dog to start your day, to stay up late, a brief nap is a requirement.   When I woke up from my nap, it was that exhausted feeling that you get when you didn't get the proper sleep time.  I worked that off with an evening walk with my dog.

Then it was off to New Rochelle.  Well, not exactly.  When I got on the Southern State Parkway, I realized I better check to see if I have my EZ-Pass.   No, it was in my wife's Honda CRV.  So I went back home, got the EZ-Pass from the other car and headed back out.  I made excellent time to the campus of Iona and was there about forty five minutes early.

Once I got my ticket, I went into the Hynes Center.  Since I was there so early, there were few people there.  Maybe I was just tired, maybe because it wasn't crowded yet, but the gym had an early morning glow.  As the Iona Pep Band played a seemingly slower version of Earth Wind and Fire's "Fantasy", which they normally play, I felt like I needed to have eggs and mimosas.  Too bad they don't let food and drink into the gym.

But as it got closer to tipoff, the crowd filled in nicely, especially the students' section.  Oh, to be twenty one again.  Apparently the students loved the idea of a10:00 P.M. start.  It certainly wasn't too late of a start  for them based on their attendance.  Chances are this was only the beginning to their night. The entire general admission/student section would be packed by game time, so much so that the gym entrance ushers started sending students over to our side of the gym.  It made for a very lively atmosphere

I sat with Guy Falotico, otherwise known on Twitter as @IonaGuyF. Guy is an Iona alum and is the moderator for IonaHoops.Com.  He is also a fellow member of John Templon's Big Apple Buckets New York City Power Poll and he knows his basketball. Guy would also provide the funniest moment of the night at the end of the game.

Neither Rider or Iona were phased by the late start as both teams put on a show in the beginning of the game.  In the first three and half minutes, each team scored eight points.  Novar Gadson buried two three pointers.  Unfortunately for the Broncs, Gadson would only score four more points the rest of the night.

Now if you are going to have a late show, you need a late show host.   Sure enough, Scott Machado would fill the Letterman role last night.  Machado, the nation's leader in assists per game at 10.3 assists per game, got off to a hot start as he assisted on the Gaels' first three baskets.  His fourth assist of the game, a layup by Momo Jones ended an Iona 9-1 spurt as the Gaels went up 14-8 with 15:28 left in the half.

The Broncs responded and came back to tie the game at sixteen with eleven minutes left.  The Broncs were scoring most of their points on drives to the baskets.  It looked like Rider was equal to the task of staying with the fourth highest scoring team in the country.

But every good late show not only has a good host, but also superstar special guests. And in Iona's case, they would be Sean Armand, Momo Jones and Michael Glover. Armand came off the bench to perform his specialty; hitting three pointers.  Armand would hit four shots from beyond the arc over the span of five minutes to put the Gaels out in front 32-23 with five and half minutes left in the half.

When Armand wasn't hitting threes, it was Glover working hard inside for layups or getting to the line as the result of fouls, as he had nine first half points. And if it wasn't Armand firing a three pointer, or Glover being the hardest working man on the court, it was Momo Jones knifing his way through the Broncs' defense to the basket.  He had ten first half points, eight of which came on layups.  Meanwile, Iona clamped down on Rider defensively and the Broncs main scoring weapon, the layup, was taken away.

The end of the first half came as a result of good coaching.  After Eddie Mitchell on Rider hit two free throws with three seconds left, Machado dribbled the ball to half court.  Iona Head Coach Tim Cluess called timeout with 2.2 seconds left in the half.  Off the timeout, Machado found Sean Armand who buried his fifth three pointer of the first half.  The Gaels entered the locker room up 46-32.

As the second half started, it appeared that Rider left their perimeter defense back in the locker room. Momo Jones immediately hit two shots from beyond the arc. Then after Jones hit another layup, Machado buried a three pointer.  Not even four minutes into the second half, Iona had gone up by twenty, 60-40.

Things didn't get any better for the Broncs.  Machado hit an old fashioned three point play, then setup Glover for their typical lob and dunk.  In this case, Glover did a nice job corralling the ball and slamming it  home to give the Gaels a 65-40 lead.  But as he dunked the ball awkwardly,  Glover hung on the rim to try to balance himself.  He was called for a technical foul.   Unfortunately for Rider, Jonathan Thompson missed both of their technical foul shots, which was probably his best chance at scoring all evening, as he was scoreless in twenty nine minutes of action.  It just wasn't the Broncs night.

Things would actually get worse for Rider, as Iona would actually extend the lead.  A three point barrage by Jermel Jenkins and Kyle Smyth put the Gaels up 85-56 with over seven minutes remaining.   The game had been no longer in doubt for several minutes and the fans knew this.  Several of them actually started leaving. Guess it was either past their bedtime or they were going on to the next activity for the evening. They had seen enough of a successful Iona show.

But the show always come back to its host.  In fact, Machado was the focus at the end of the game.  Machado had much earlier in the game achieved double digits in assists, as he would have fifteen on the night (with only two turnovers, which is amazing).  He also reached double figures in scoring early in the second half as well.   But Guy had been checking the live statistics and noticed Machado was getting very close to double figures in rebounds.  That would give him the rarely seen triple double, double figures in assists, points and in this case, rebounds.

With fifty one seconds left, Machado grabbed his ninth rebound.  Now the triple double watch was on.  With twenty six seconds left, Glover was at the line shooting a one and one. Machado was at the line on the left hand side of Glover, ready to get the rebound.   But Cluess decided to replace Machado. You could tell on Machado's face he knew about the triple double.  He wanted to stay in and get that tenth rebound.

Now we were only a few rows behind the Iona bench,  and it was quiet enough that Cluess and the players on the bench could hear the fans if they were loud enough.  On cue, Guy started yelling at Cluess "He's got a chance for the triple double, Tim!  Put him back in the game!  Give him the rebound!"   Many of us in our section started laughing hysterically as Guy continued to plead loudly with Cluess to get Machado back in to the game.

Sure enough, Glover missed the free throw and the ball bounded to the left side, right where Machado would have been.  Machado gave an "Aww, man!" look on the bench as the chance for the triple double went away.  Still, eleven points, fifteen assists and nine rebounds was quite an impressive night for Machado, whose reward was to do the post game interview with ESPNU.

Iona won the game 91-71.  Glover had twenty one points and Momo Jones had twenty points to lead Iona. Armand added fifteen points and Smyth chipped in with thirteen to give the Gaels five double digit scorers on the night.  The Gaels shot seveteen of thirty nine from beyond the arc and fifty five percent overall.  Jeff Jones led Rider with seventeen points, one of four Broncs in double figures in scoring.

After I said goodbye to Guy, I headed out back to the parking garage.  Due to many people leaving early, it was actually relatively easy to get out of the Iona lot, which normally is not the case for a men's game.  As I made my way driving back down the Hutchinson River Parkway at 12:30 A.M. in the morning, I had one thought.

Is it too early to stop at a diner for breakfast?

Seawolves Ring in the New Year on a High Note (Recap of Rider vs. Stony Brook)

Last night was the second game I saw in Pritchard Gym in three days.  On Wednesday, Stony Brook gave up a twenty point lead to Cornell but won in overtime 68-59.  This time the defensive minded Seawolves were hosting the Broncs of Rider.  It was the last non-conference game for both teams before conference play truly begins (MAAC teams each have already had two conference games, America East teams start conference play next week).

The Seawolves were trying to win their second game in a row in a string of three straight contests at Pritchard Gym.  On Monday, they start conference play at home vs. Vermont.  Stony Brook was looking to keep the momentum against a Rider team that has struggled on the season.  The Broncs were coming into the night having won two games in a row after losing ten of their first eleven.  This season has been a far cry from last season for Coach Tommy Dempsey as the Broncs were 23-11 last season and finished third in the MAAC with a 13-5 conference record.

Pritchard Gym wasn't as filled as it was for the Wednesday night game against Cornell.  But there was still a solid crowd and a lot of kids would be a part of the Cotton Eyed Joe dance performance later on in the evening.  The crowd would also be treated to another solid Stony Brook performance as well.

You could immediately tell that Rider was in for a long night when the Broncs started the game off with a shot clock violation.  In fairness to Rider, Stony Brook's man to man defense was quite stingy last evening.  The Broncs had a turnover in four of their first five possessions (including the shot clock violation).  This allowed Stony Brook to jump out to a 14-4 lead with 14:35 left as six different Seawolves scored.

Rider rallied to cut the lead to 16-12 as Virginia transfer Jeff Jones buried two three pointers.  Jones played three seasons at Charlottesville, but decided to transfer to Rider probably due to a lack of playing time.  Watching him hit five shots from beyond the arc on the night, you could see he certainly is a high level talent.  Unfortunately he waited three seasons before making his decision.  Now he only has this season left to play.

Four points would be the closest the Broncs would get the rest of the way.  That's because Stony Brook went on a 18-2 run over the span of nearly nine minutes.  That was due mainly the Seawolves using their staple, the three point shot.  Stony Brook hit three shots from beyond the arc during that span to go up 34-14 with about two and half minutes left.

But the Seawolves run also came due in large part to the hardest working player in the America East, Tommy Brenton.  Watching Brenton hustle all over the court, force turnovers and see him work the glass is an absolute treat.  He is only six foot five, but he plays like he is six foot nine on the boards.  He started the run with a jumper and kept one possession alive with an offensive rebound, one of his twelve rebounds on the night.

But my favorite Brenton play would not show up on the stat sheet.  Later in the first half when Rider missed on a long jumper, he literally cleared his man out, backing into him with his arms spread out making sure that player never had a chance to touch the ball.  Another Stony Brook player grabbed the rebound, but it was a literal clinic by Brenton on how to box out your man.

Rider went into the half down 37-19.  They only had twenty shots in the first half while Stony Brook had thirty three.  A lot of this was due to the Seawolves having nine offensive rebounds and forcing ten Broncs' turnovers.  Meanwhile, Stony Brook only had one turnover in the first half.  Ball possession is always key in basketball and the Seawolves did an excellent job of that in the first twenty minutes.

Rider came out in a half court trap in the second half trying desperately to get back in the game.  And it slowly worked for the Broncs.  Rider finally used its height advantage and went inside to Daniel Stewart.  Stewart scored nine of Rider's seventeen points over the first seven and half minutes.   Stewart's last points of the span cut the lead to 46-36 with twelve and a half minutes left.   The Broncs finally were back in the game.

But Stony Brook stretched the lead back out to sixteen, 52-36 with 11:15 left as back to back three pointers by Bryan Dougher and Dave Coley.  It meant Rider would have to work hard again to get the lead back to single digits, eating up precious time and effort.   The Broncs would get as close as nine points, 59-50 with a little less than seven minutes left, as four of their last five baskets in that time frame were three pointers.

In Wednesday night's game, the Seawolves' intrepid mascot, Wolfie, pulled out a "shake weight" in the second half.  And he used that as a distraction to the Cornell players shooting free throws, as they missed three free throws in a row.  So sure enough, last night in the second half Wolfie tried the "shake weight" distraction again.  However it had no effect on the Rider players as they hit every free throw when he tried distracting the players.  Wolfie finally slumped his head in disappointment on the last free throw made.

But that was the only disappointment on the evening for the Seawolves, as they  would score twenty of the last thirty two points in the game to win 79-62. And it was a team effort as four Stony Brook players scored in double figures led by Coley, who had sixteen points.  Dallas Joyner had fifteen points while Dougher scored fourteen and Al Rapier added twelve points.  Brenton just missed a double double with nine points and twelve rebounds.    Rider was led by Jones' seventeen points, Stewart added eleven and Brandon Penn had a double double with ten points and eleven rebounds.

As the teams left the court, one team, Stony Brook, left knowing they would ring in the new year on a high note.  They shot forty nine percent on the night and had only seven turnovers on offense.  Coach Pikiell had to be pleased with his team's effort last night.

The other team, Rider, left wondering what has happened in the span of several months.  They had eleven losses all last season.  Now they have as many losses this season after just fourteen games.  Coach Tommy Dempsey must be shaking his head at this moment in disbelief

As for Rider's sudden turnaround, all I can think is what Morehead State coach Donnie Tyndall once said in an interview with Kyle Whelliston, "The game will hurt you".