2018-19 Game 31: Horizon Quarterfinal v. Northern Kentucky
Mar 5, 2019 19:54:29 GMT -5
motorcitysam likes this
Post by Commissioner on Mar 5, 2019 19:54:29 GMT -5
Horizon League Quarterfinal
Northern Kentucky
When: Wednesday, March 6, 7:00 p.m.
Where: BBT Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
TV: ESPN+
Radio: AM 910
Well, as they say, three's a charm. The Titans go up against Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights on Wednesday, after getting hammered twice by the Norse in the regular season. NKU beat us by 22 in January and 32 in February. 42 in March? Or the Titans spring the first round surprise of the HL tournament.
This is an unfortunate draw for us, as I think we match up least well with Northern of all the teams in the conference. But we blew it ourselves--had we won against UIC on Saturday we'd be playing just up the road at eminently beatable Oakland. Anyway, Cleveland State beat NKU at NKU. A few days ago Cal, winless in the PAC 12 and losers of 15 straight, whacked Washington, which had won 14 of 15 and sat in first place. That's why they play the games.
The Titans obviously need a big game from Antoine Davis, but Davis can't force it. If NKU defends him as everyone does these gays--grabbing, double-teaming, blocking--well, he's got to find the open man when he's got the ball, or perhaps serve as a decoy when he doesn't. And our other guys have to then hit their shots. The first game was close until the final 2 minutes of the first half--it was tied at 34 17:30 into the game--and Antoine actually had a good game, scoring 33 points on 13 of 24 shooting. Darrien King was also OK, with 14 on 6 of 11. But our bigs got crushed--Blackshear, Brandon, Curry, Long and Nguidjol combined for 2 points (from Boe, no less) on just 4 shots. Just 4! And Josh had perhapd his worst game of the year, shooting 1-10. In game 2, the rout began about 10 minutes in. Davis again had a good game, if not one of his better ones, with 26 points on 10-23 shooting, but nobody else hit double figures.
But our hopes in this game more turn more on defense than offense. The Norse lit us up for 95 and 97 points in the first two games, and that just can't happen. I don't now what the answer is--I suppose that's why Mike Davis gets the big bucks--but we have to figure out a way to stop the Norse. 6 Norse scored in double figures in the first game, five in the second. The Norse out-rebounded us 42-26 in that second game, too. HL Player of the Year Drew McDonald has not started the last couple games while nursing minor injuries, but he has played. I expect he'll be the lineup tomorrow.
The HL tournament has been held in Detroit for 3 years, and we've yet to get a win. if we don't win this one, we won't even get to the Palace. It's a shame to waste 4 years of having the tournament in our home city. I've not much more to say here except that we need to play better. No team in this league is unbeatable, and win Wednesday would set us up to whomp Woakland in the semis at the Palace. It's time for a big game. Go Titans!
Northern Kentucky Starters
G – #15 Tyler Sharpe, 6-1 Jr. (14. ppg, 1.6 apg, 36.5% 3PtFG)
G - #12 Trevon Faulkner, 6-4 Fr. (4.6 ppg, 36.4% 3PtFG)
G – #11 Jalen Tate, 6-6 RS Soph. (14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 42.0% 3PtFG)
SF - #32 Dantez Walton, 6-7 Jr. (11.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 33.% 3PtFG)
PF - #34 Drew McDonald, 6-8 Sr. (19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 42.3% 3PtFG)
Top Reserves
PG – # 5 Zaynah Robinson, 6-0 RS Sr.(7.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, 36.3% 3PtFG)
G - # 2 Paul Djoko, 6-5 Fr. (1.6 ppg, 1.3 apg)
F - # 4 Adrian Nelson, 6-8 Fr. (2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 58.5% FG)
F - #0, Silas Adheke, 6-10 Soph. (2.1 ppg,, 1.9 rpg)
C - # 33 Chris Vogt, 7-1 Soph. (4.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 56.4% FG)
Northern Kentucky
When: Wednesday, March 6, 7:00 p.m.
Where: BBT Arena, Highland Heights, Kentucky
TV: ESPN+
Radio: AM 910
Well, as they say, three's a charm. The Titans go up against Northern Kentucky in Highland Heights on Wednesday, after getting hammered twice by the Norse in the regular season. NKU beat us by 22 in January and 32 in February. 42 in March? Or the Titans spring the first round surprise of the HL tournament.
This is an unfortunate draw for us, as I think we match up least well with Northern of all the teams in the conference. But we blew it ourselves--had we won against UIC on Saturday we'd be playing just up the road at eminently beatable Oakland. Anyway, Cleveland State beat NKU at NKU. A few days ago Cal, winless in the PAC 12 and losers of 15 straight, whacked Washington, which had won 14 of 15 and sat in first place. That's why they play the games.
The Titans obviously need a big game from Antoine Davis, but Davis can't force it. If NKU defends him as everyone does these gays--grabbing, double-teaming, blocking--well, he's got to find the open man when he's got the ball, or perhaps serve as a decoy when he doesn't. And our other guys have to then hit their shots. The first game was close until the final 2 minutes of the first half--it was tied at 34 17:30 into the game--and Antoine actually had a good game, scoring 33 points on 13 of 24 shooting. Darrien King was also OK, with 14 on 6 of 11. But our bigs got crushed--Blackshear, Brandon, Curry, Long and Nguidjol combined for 2 points (from Boe, no less) on just 4 shots. Just 4! And Josh had perhapd his worst game of the year, shooting 1-10. In game 2, the rout began about 10 minutes in. Davis again had a good game, if not one of his better ones, with 26 points on 10-23 shooting, but nobody else hit double figures.
But our hopes in this game more turn more on defense than offense. The Norse lit us up for 95 and 97 points in the first two games, and that just can't happen. I don't now what the answer is--I suppose that's why Mike Davis gets the big bucks--but we have to figure out a way to stop the Norse. 6 Norse scored in double figures in the first game, five in the second. The Norse out-rebounded us 42-26 in that second game, too. HL Player of the Year Drew McDonald has not started the last couple games while nursing minor injuries, but he has played. I expect he'll be the lineup tomorrow.
The HL tournament has been held in Detroit for 3 years, and we've yet to get a win. if we don't win this one, we won't even get to the Palace. It's a shame to waste 4 years of having the tournament in our home city. I've not much more to say here except that we need to play better. No team in this league is unbeatable, and win Wednesday would set us up to whomp Woakland in the semis at the Palace. It's time for a big game. Go Titans!
Northern Kentucky Starters
G – #15 Tyler Sharpe, 6-1 Jr. (14. ppg, 1.6 apg, 36.5% 3PtFG)
G - #12 Trevon Faulkner, 6-4 Fr. (4.6 ppg, 36.4% 3PtFG)
G – #11 Jalen Tate, 6-6 RS Soph. (14.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 42.0% 3PtFG)
SF - #32 Dantez Walton, 6-7 Jr. (11.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.7 apg, 33.% 3PtFG)
PF - #34 Drew McDonald, 6-8 Sr. (19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 42.3% 3PtFG)
Top Reserves
PG – # 5 Zaynah Robinson, 6-0 RS Sr.(7.1 ppg, 2.6 apg, 36.3% 3PtFG)
G - # 2 Paul Djoko, 6-5 Fr. (1.6 ppg, 1.3 apg)
F - # 4 Adrian Nelson, 6-8 Fr. (2.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 58.5% FG)
F - #0, Silas Adheke, 6-10 Soph. (2.1 ppg,, 1.9 rpg)
C - # 33 Chris Vogt, 7-1 Soph. (4.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 56.4% FG)