MSU vrs. Denver

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:34 pm

Audio down again tonight

From Yahoo MSU 18 Denver 14 w/ 12:14 left in the first

Tied at 22 with 8:38 left in the 1st

twentythreeOh4 · Post by **twentythreeOh4** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:05 pm

62-62 going to OT.

twentythreeOh4 · Post by **twentythreeOh4** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:23 pm

Bobcats win 84-76.

mslacat · Post by **mslacat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:23 pm

Cats win in Over time 84 - 76

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:41 pm

Just got back! Woo!

I'll post my thoughts later.

CelticCat · Post by **CelticCat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:03 pm

Okay, here is my modest assessment:

Jefferson - Nothing to be said here. The guy flat out is our best overall player. Made some great cuts to the hoop and some tough layups. Ended up with 23 I think.

Edmonds - Shot very well. Scored I think 16, including a game-clinching 3 pointer. He improves every game.

Dissly - Showed some signs of life! Made a couple nice drives, shot well from three point land, as well as the line. I think he ended up with 20, including an awesome steal that he ran coast to coast and slammed at the very end of the game to tell DU - NO REPLAY NEEDED HERE.

Beye - Matched up very well with Yemi. Had a huge block against him that got the crowd into the game. Rebounded well, and scored a few nice buckets. Definately is in better position defensively than Morris.

Durham - Handled the ball well, and was unselfish. Passed the ball when he had a couple open looks, drove to the hoop and created open shots. I was impressed with his play today.

Overall we showed a lot of hustle and played good defense against a very fast DU squad. They definately had the upper hand in athleticism, but we took it away with a solid gameplan. At times I felt we were out of position on D (triple team a G outside the 3 point line...?) but overall we made them force tough shots.

Bobcat fans, this team might be starting to pull it together!

BelgradeBobcat · Post by **BelgradeBobcat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:09 pm

Derrick Edmonds just needed a chance. He's our player of the week and the hero for tonight with a killer three in overtime. The guy has gone from no minutes at all to a key contributor in 2 games. 18 points with 4 three pointers.

Jeron Jefferson took it to the rack time and time again-great performance.

We made our free throws down the stretch-that's what it takes to win close games and keeps close games from getter closer.

Nick Dissly had 10 points in overtime! After passing up shot after shot, he finally went for it and made a huge difference.

Al Beye did a nice job on their big guy. If Al concentrates on defense and rebounding and let the points take care of themselves he'll really help us.

After a terrible first half we played about as well as a Bobcat team has played in a long time in the second half. And in overtime we only missed one shot and got that rebound.

Speaking of rebounds-we killed them on the boards!

I really like our freshman point guard-he could be a good one.

This team is actually running some stuff and looking like a real basketball team. Perhaps the turmoil has made the realize they have to rely on eachother?

Good win against a very good Denver team.

bozbobcat · Post by **bozbobcat** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:09 pm

I'll post my thoughts now. The Cats came out and looked sharp for about the first ten minutes. The next ten were dicey as Denver took a 7 point lead into the locker room. The Cats couldn't score. The second half was great as the Bobcats tied the game quickly and took small leads for most of the half until 12 seconds left when Denver tied on a 3. Then overtime seemed to be a "who won't score first affair" as the Cats and Pioneers matched scores and leads changed constantly. After Denver took a 4 point lead with less than 2 minutes left, Cats went on a 14-2 run to finish the game. Nick Dissly took over the extra session and Moss and Jefferson turned in stellar efforts. I was especially impressed with Al Beye's efforts against Yemi Nicholson. He scored his points, but Al did a great job containing him. This one was a feel-good win and as Mick Durham said, it was great to get this one for the players and what they've been through this season. Durham pumped his fists in the air as the game ended in a rare display of celebration from the coach. So it was a great win and I'm looking forward to a great contest with the North Dakota State Bison next Thursday.

PapaG · Post by **PapaG** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 11:10 pm

CelticCat wrote:Okay, here is my modest assessment:

Jefferson - Nothing to be said here. The guy flat out is our best overall player. Made some great cuts to the hoop and some tough layups. Ended up with 23 I think.

Edmonds - Shot very well. Scored I think 16, including a game-clinching 3 pointer. He improves every game.

Dissly - Showed some signs of life! Made a couple nice drives, shot well from three point land, as well as the line. I think he ended up with 20, including an awesome steal that he ran coast to coast and slammed at the very end of the game to tell DU - NO REPLAY NEEDED HERE.

Beye - Matched up very well with Yemi. Had a huge block against him that got the crowd into the game. Rebounded well, and scored a few nice buckets. Definately is in better position defensively than Morris.

Durham - Handled the ball well, and was unselfish. Passed the ball when he had a couple open looks, drove to the hoop and created open shots. I was impressed with his play today.

Overall we showed a lot of hustle and played good defense against a very fast DU squad. They definately had the upper hand in athleticism, but we took it away with a solid gameplan. At times I felt we were out of position on D (triple team a G outside the 3 point line...?) but overall we made them force tough shots.

Bobcat fans, this team might be starting to pull it together!

Let's hope the tide is turning for the season. DU is now on a four game losing streak, so I still can't take a lot out of this close victory. DU lost in OT at 2-7 SDSU, so let's just say I hope things are going to get better for the coaching staff.

grizzh8r · Post by **grizzh8r** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:21 am

The Cats out rebounded DU (41-21), and held Yemi to 1 rebound and 15 points. He AVERAGES 12 rebounds a game. It took a hell of a game by Walker (26 points) to keep them in this game.

Jefferson was ice cold in the first half, 0-5 from the floor (I think). Scored most of his 21 points in the second half and overtime. He is resilient, and our most consistent scorer.

Dissly scored 8 points in overtime, and was a MAN inside, pulling down a team high 9 rebounds, one of which was a HUGE rebound late in overtime.

The team made all of their late freethrows (the last 7 I think), 77% overall from the stripe.

Edmonds took a lot of shots (6-13), but made the big ones, and pulled down 5 rebounds in 25 minutes. Bobcat Player of the week.

I was very impressed with Casey's patience tonight. He made the extra pass to the open man when he could have taken the shot himself. He had some turnovers, but they were for the most part passes to players who cut away at the last second. He was unselfish.

Jacques Wilson played a good game with no turnovers in 12 minutes off the bench, and scored 4 points.

Marvin struggled from the floor (2-9), and he attempted three 3-pointers

. However he was 9 of 13 from the line, and scored a big bucket in overtime.

And on to Al. In tonights game, he looked like that "court leader" we have all been talking about, which surprised me. He high-fived fans after the game, and was very vocal throughout. He is definately the crowd favorite.

This WAS a feel good win, and this team needed it. Others have said it, but not having the players on the team that were problems could be a blessing in disguise. Plus, we are 2-0 without them. These two wins could be the spark this team needed. I look forward to the Holiday Classic! See you all there!

BelgradeBobcat · Post by **BelgradeBobcat** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:30 am

They said on the pre-game show that Al and Jefferson had heavy course loads this semester-something like 18 credits. Durham thought Al especially was wearing down. Maybe the Christmas break, where only has to concentrate on basketball, will rejuvenate him?

Helcat72 · Post by **Helcat72** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 12:37 am

I think Al could be an offensive option if he would learn not to hop when he makes his move to the basket. He made some great moves tonight but they were cancelled by traveling calls. He either needs to go right up... or put the ball on the floor once to reposition his feet.

BozeMan · Post by **BozeMan** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 2:55 am

How about Dissly in overtime? A huge three followed by an even huger rebound. He definately gave a huge contribution to the overtime comeback. Maybe this will jumpstart his season (hopefully!).

alasax · Post by **alasax** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 8:26 am

The Cats rock!
I love the inside/outside game.
Beye was tough(?) inside on D . And Mr. Hoppity on O.
Wilson is a VERY good true point guard.
Durhan had only 4 turnovers in, what, about 30 min? Not bad.
J.J. was SOLID
Durr played tough on D.
Nick looks like he might show up to the party after all.
Cool.

This will be a very entertaining season.
Good for Mick to find the chemistry on the floor.
Some great offensive play calling as well (posting up the smaller guys and reversing and sealing to the post)

Definitely not a boring team to watch.

See you at the Holiday Tourney
Go Cats

wbtfg · Post by **wbtfg** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 9:32 am

This was a very entertaining game to watch. There was a good flow to the game, and both teams were playing well.

Dissly had a very quiet first game until overtime, when he exploded. Good for him, I hope he keeps it going. He needs to improve on his free throws, and I'd like to see a better effort on the defensive end. Overall I still give him about a C (An A for OT), but I think he's finally starting to gain some confidence.

Beye played great on the defensive end, as did Moss and Morris. As stated before, Al probably would have had about 8 more points if he didn't have that little hop step. The more big Ted Morris plays, the better he gets. I think that he could end up being a pretty darn good player (he needs some conditioning though). He had some nice offensive moves, and he is definitely a bruiser in the paint. I think that he could be a pretty solid player for us next year.

JaRon...Another solid game. My favorite part about Jaron, that we haven't really seen since Jason Erickson is that he can take the ball strong to the hoop, he can shoot the 3, and he has a great in-between game. And he doesn't force anything....all of his points come in the flow of the game.

Casey: he is also getting better and better every game. He made some really nice passes, and this is maybe the first game that I've seen him pass up open shots to get the ball to someone with a better shot. Don't look now, but I think he's starting to become a point guard.

Moss: Started off a little slow, but he really came alive in the second half. He is FINALLY starting to realize that he can become a dominant player. Marvin is playing with a lot of confidence right now (free throws still need a lot of work).

Wilson: He is going to be a star....I would much rather have him on the floor than Brandon Miller. He still needs some work on his outside shooting, but he very quick and not shy to take the ball to the hole and challege the big guys. Most importantly, he's really staying within himself, and not forcing anything.

Edmonds: WOW....He was last nights MVP. He made big shot after big shot. Edmonds took a lot of shots last night, but I can only remember one where he really rushed it (I think it was more of a heat check than anything else). All of his points are coming within the flow of the offense, and I really see him as being our sharp shooter coming off the bench (a la Pete Conway) AND he is not afraid to dive the ball hard to the hole. He also seems to be a very good free throw shooter. I am VERY impressed with this kid, and I think anyone that was at the game came away with similar feelings. I really think that he has been a BIG reason why this team is playing so well.

I really think this team is starting to gel at the right time. We are playing confident and finally HAVING FUN on the court. Our defensive intensity on our traps could be better, but our rebounding (for the first time in a long time) has been dominant. I didn't see a box score, but I'd bet we had at least 5 guys (Beye, Jefferson, Dissly, Edmonds, Moss) with at least five rebounds.

Although I never like to see guys leave the team, I think Holmes and especially Miller leaving the team was the best thing that could have happened. With Miller, we had so many scorers that everyone started chucking up forced shots because they weren't sure when they would see the ball again. We are finally starting to play as a team, and I think that Casey is really starting do a good job of being a passer first and a scorer second. That is something that Miller just couldn't figure out.

I am really high on this team right now, but I think the holiday tourney will give us a good barometer if we are really on the way up, or if we were just playing crappy teams.

Oh...one more thing. GREAT CROWD. I think the announced attendance was 3,786. It got pretty loud in there, and as long as we keep playing well, I think we should average over 4k for conference season.