A Nice Road Win!

Hi everyone, Coach Moore here with an update from on the road, now in Mankato. Our bus got in last night right around 12:30 or so. It took a little longer then it should have taken as the roads at times were snow packed in some spots along the way but we are glad we made it here. So far this morning were got our guys up around 10 for breakfast over a local spot that was okay. Now we are just waiting for our 2 o'clock shoot around time over at the Taylor Center.

Well last nights game was the usual battle you would expect for a NSIC game. We played an outstanding first half as we attacked their press and knocked down a ton open shots. Our guys did a great job of not letting the press slow us down as they found open guys for shots or we converted a lay-up for most of the half. Defensively in the first half we played okay as we were active but we left way to many shooters open, luckily they did not knock down too many of the open shots. We were getting beat of the dribble too much causing others to help and then we did not recover very well. We also didn't rebound the ball all that great either as SMUS also had 8 offensive rebounds in the half. But we were happy as we shot the ball well and were up by 18 going into halftime.

The second half on defense was pretty much the same type of story as we gave up too much dribble penetration to them. This half they knocked down some outside shots or got to the free throw line, thus allowing them to get back into the game. We also were giving up a ton of offensive boards again until the last couple of possessions where we were able to get a couple of stops and huge defensive rebounds to close out the game. Offensivley we struggled at times to take care of the ball and we had some mental mistakes that lead to turnovers. We also started to rush some shots and take some bad shots that were not needed. This was also another reason why they were able to get back into the game. But in the end our guys stepped up, hit a couple of huge shots and then made free throws down the stretch to seal the deal.

Moving on to tonight contest. This again is going to be a fun game to be a part of. We are playing a team that is very deep and has many guys capable of going off for huge nights. We will again need to have a great effort on the defensvie end if we want to be in this game at the end. Mankato is a team that has some outstanding players as they are lead by senior Jake Marrow. Marrow leading the Mavericks in scoring as well as being the top three point shooter on the team. Another great player who does not get much attention but should is fellow senior, Mitch Gosson, Gosson is a tremendous defensive player and is capable of having a big night on the offensive end as well. A couple of other players to watch out for are post player, Travis Nelson, gurads Jadee Jones, Jesse Clark and Marcus Hill, each one of these players have the capabilities of having a huge game on any given night.

As for some keys to the game for us. Our first key is going to be handling the pressure that they will apply to us when we are on the offensive end. They really get after teams on defense with a ton of overplaying and denial defense. To counter this we are going to need to be strong with the ball, we will need to take the ball to the basket and we will need to use the back door cut maybe more then we have in previous games. The key is to be just as aggessive on offense as they are on defense and not let them dictate where we go with the ball. The next key will be rebounding. They are a great rebounding team, second in the NSIC. We will again need to be at our best on the boards, holding them to one shot on defense and getting second chances on our offensive end. The final key will be how well we contian them on the defensive end. They have many players who like to take the ball to the basket so we will need to contain them as best we can. We cannot allow them to break us down to get other guys wide open looks, we need to help and recover faster then last night as well.

Overall I think this game could be a great game for fans to watch. Their is a ton of talent that will be out on that floor tonight. Both teams should put forth a great effort and it should be a battle to the end. Hopefully in the end we can come out on top but it will take another team effort to get this done.

Until next time, Go Warriors!!!