Dante’s Hoops Inferno – a College Hoops 2K7 Dynasty

[DataKing]

Dante’s Hoops Inferno – a College Hoops 2K7 Dynasty
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I’ve been itching to start another dynasty report lately, but a couple of things have been holding me back. For starters, I was all excited to try a dynasty report with my first next-gen system, the Xbox 360, but was then sorely disappointed to learn that neither Madden or NCAA Football for the 360 featured a proper coach mode. This put a damper on things, as my dynasties are always coach-mode dynasties (I don’t want how well I mash buttons to have any impact on how my teams perform).
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I’ve also been somewhat concerned about my inability to follow-through on dynasties. I was especially disappointed with my ‘Making Grandpa Proud’ dynasty, which I wanted to re-create with the 360, until I ran into the aforementioned coach mode issues. So I’ve decided that perhaps a change in sport is required. I’ve always been a college hoops fan (<st1:state w:st="on"><st1>Kansas</st1> </st1:state>grad), and a friend recently recommended College Hoops 2K7 for the 360. I picked it up and I like it quite a bit, so I’ve decided to start a dynasty report based on it.
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What follows is the (hopefully) long and illustrious career of Dante King, a former sparkplug-style walk-on guard who eventually embarked on a head coaching career in the college ranks. Similar to my aborted ‘Making Grandpa Proud’ dynasty, this report will focus, long-term, on the coach rather than on one specific team. As you will see, Dante will be starting on the very lowest rung of Division I Men’s Basketball, but hopes to someday aspire to a Bob Knight-style legend status.
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The following house-rules and guidelines will be followed in this dynasty report:
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Games will be played in coach-mode only. No button-mashing allowed.
Set plays can only be called in the following situations. This is to prevent me from micro-managing my teams to an unrealistic level:
The first offensive possession of each half (and overtime periods).
After the first dead-ball period in each 4-minute segment (to simulate the 4-minute media breaks).
After each time-out taken.
Slider settings are as follows (User and CPU ratings are the same):
Shooting
Inside Range: 47
Mid Range: 48
3-Point Range: 49
Dunk Success: 45
Layup Success: 46
Close Shot Tendency: 50
Midrange Shot Tendency: 30
3pt Shot Tendency: 10
Drive Tendency: 60
Attributes
Offensive Awareness: 62
Defensive Awareness: 62
Dunk: 55
Ball Handling: 50
Off. Rebounding: 44
Def. Rebounding: 46
Block: 70
Steal: 10
Speed: 50
Gameplay
Team Unity Effects: 80
Dunks in Traffic: 50
Screen Success: 65
Screen Strength: 65
Steal Success: 12
Help Defense: 48
Help Recovery: 50
Fitness
Energy Fatigue Rate: 50
Energy Recover Rate: 50
Injury Frequency: 57
Injury Effects: 44
Recruiting: From what I hear, recruiting is pretty realistic in 2K7. That being said, I’m placing the following restrictions on myself, based on the size of the conference that Dante is coaching in at the time:
Small Conference: 3-star recruits and below
Mid-Major Conference: 4-star recruits and below
Major/Power Conference: all recruits are fair-game.
Dante’s progress as a coach will be restricted as well, in order to be fair. Equal attention will be paid to the Charisma attribute as to the other attributes combined. This way Dante doesn’t have the (unrealistic) ability to recruit at a top-notch level while not being able to coach his way out of a paper bag.That should just about cover it, at least for now.

[DataKing]

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[DataKing]

Current Season Schedule


Current Season: 2006-07


Date Opponent Result Record
11/10/2006 at Penn St. L 85-87 (2OT) 0-1
11/13/2006 vs Savannah St. W 75-44 1-1
11/17/2006 at South Alabama L 46-49 1-2
11/21/2006 vs E. Tennessee St. L 62-79 1-3
11/29/2006 vs Marshall W 80-70 2-3
12/02/2006 at W. Illinois W 83-63 3-3
12/07/2006 vs Austin Peay L 61-69 3-4 (0-1)
12/09/2006 vs Murray St. W 76-67 4-4 (1-1)
12/18/2006 at Tennessee-Martin L 70-82 4-5 (1-2)
12/20/2006 at E. Illinois W 75-62 5-5 (2-2)
12/23/2006 vs Hartford W 56-43 6-5
12/30/2006 vs C. Michigan W 66-38 7-5
01/02/2007 vs Tennessee St. L 75-86 7-6 (2-3)
01/06/2007 vs Tennessee Tech W 89-80 8-6 (3-3)
01/11/2007 at E. Kentucky W 57-48 9-6 (4-3)
01/13/2007 vs Tennessee-Martin W 76-64 10-6 (5-3)
01/18/2007 at Samford L 44-64 10-7 (5-4)
01/20/2007 at Jacksonville St. L 56-65 10-8 (5-5)
01/25/2007 vs SE Missouri W 86-73 11-8 (6-5)
01/27/2007 vs E. Illinois L 66-69 11-9 (6-6)
01/29/2007 at Tennessee Tech L 75-77 11-10 (6-7)
02/01/2007 vs E. Kentucky W 61-47 12-10 (7-7)
02/08/2007 at SE Missouri L 65-67 12-11 (7-8)
02/10/2007 at Murray St. L 64-94 12-12 (7-9)
02/13/2007 vs Jacksonville St. W 61-46 13-12 (8-9)
02/15/2007 vs Samford
02/22/2007 at Tennessee St.
02/24/2007 at Austin Peay

Conference games marked in Red

[DataKing]

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[DataKing]

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[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo_Large.gif


Dante King Named Head Basketball Coach at <st1><st1>Morehead</st1> <st1>State</st1> <st1>University</st1></st1>
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April 14^th, 2006
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<st1:city w:st="on">Morehead</st1:city>, <st1:state w:st="on">KY</st1:state> – Dante King has been named men’s head basketball coach at <st1><st1>Morehead</st1> <st1>State</st1> <st1>University</st1>. </st1>Most recently an assistant to Bill Self at the <st1><st1></st1></st1><st1><st1>University</st1> of <st1>Kansas</st1></st1>, it is hoped that King will bring with him a winning attitude and some fresh ideas.
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Athletic Director Brian Hutchinson seemed most optimistic about the hiring of a relative unknown in King. “We understand there may be some questions about Mr. King. Some may consider him too inexperienced, and other too brash for a head-coaching job, but those are exactly some of the reasons that Dante was hired. We need some new blood, especially after last season’s dismal performance.”
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Dismal is an understatement when talking about the Eagles’ performance during the 2005-6 season. The team suffered through a 4-23 season, including 3-17 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The team’s performance prompted then-head coach Kyle Macy to resign. Our reporting would be remiss if we did not mention that there were some, including unidentified elements in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1>Hutchinson</st1></st1:city>’s own office, that were happy to see Macy go.
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At 26 years old, King becomes the 12^th head coach in the history of the <st1><st1>Morehead</st1> <st1>State</st1> </st1>basketball program, and by far the youngest. After four-years as a walk-on guard at the University of Illinois, including two playing for Bill Self, King then remained on Self’s staff, first as a graduate team assistant and then as a full assistant coach. King followed self to the <st1><st1>University</st1> of <st1>Kansas </st1></st1>in 2003, and has helped the perennial powerhouse attain a 72-24 overall record over those three seasons.
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By all accounts, King is a solid recruiter and defensive coach, but some claim he can be a bit “rough around the edges.” During his playing days, Self once described King as “one of the most tenacious, annoying, and foul-mouthed players I’ve ever encountered.” Self went on to say that he was “a pleasure to have on my bench during games, but a headache waiting to happen during practice.”

[DataKing]

Morehead State University

-Location: Morehead, KY
-Resident Population: 5,914
-Enrollment: 6,750
-Athletic Conference: Ohio Valley
-Stadium: Johnson Arena (seats 6,500)
-Attendance (2005-2006 Average: 1,170 - 18%)

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Dante King
-Age: 26
-Overall: C
-Offense: C-
-Defense: C-
-Teaching: C-
-Scouting: C+
-Charisma: B-
-Discipline: C-

Given how late in the year it was before I was hired, I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to arrange in the way of assistants for the coming season. Granted, both of these guys have expressed interest in head coaching positions of their own, and may very well be on some other small schools' short lists, but we'll have decent support for the 2006-07 campaign at least.

Assistant Coach: Manuel Cobb
-Age: 30
-Overall: C-
-Offense: C
-Defense: D
-Teaching: C-
-Scouting: C
-Charisma: C-
-Discipline: D
-Ambition: A

I've named Manuel as chief scout for the coming season. He will be responsible for scouting potential recruits, and will be charged with helping me to get some actual basketball players to come to Morehead (as opposed to the useless piles of dog-turd that are currently on the roster). Cobb may also be of some help teaching our current kids how to maybe, every once in a while, make a shot or two.

Assistant Coach: Rhet Iguodala
-Age: 35
-Overall: C
-Offense: C-
-Defense: C+
-Teaching: C
-Scouting: C-
-Charisma: D
-Discipline: C-
-Ambition: A

Rhet is a coach after my own heart; defense first and foremost. You can shoot the rock all the live-long day, but if you can't at least occasionally stop the other team's scorers, you're never going to win a game. That's my take on it, anyhow, and Rhet agrees with me. He'll be my right-hand man during games and will run the team's practices when I'm on the road recruiting.


Up Next: A look at the talent :rolleyes: that is available to the Morehead State Eagles in 2006-07.

[DataKing]

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[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo_Large.gif

2006-07 Morehead State Eagles Basketball Team

Following is our roster for the 2006-07 season. Vital statistics are listed for each player, as well as a few of my own notes and the sort of contribution I expect from each player during the coming year. May God have mercy. (Overall ratings and potential are indicated as well).

Point Guards

#11 Brandon Callahan
-Height: 6'0"
-Weight: 155 lbs.
-Class: Junior
-Hometown: Dumas, AR
-Overall: 66
-Potential: C

Brandon will be our starting point guard for the next two seasons, barring some sort of disaster. He has the best on-court awareness of any of our point guards, and is the best pure shooter on the team as well. Trust me when I say that is not a good thing.

#5 Nikola Stojakovic
-Height: 6'2"
-Weight: 200 lbs.
-Class: Junior
-Hometown: Belgrade, Serbia
-Overall: 57
-Potential: D

Nikola features the best pure passing ability and the quickest hands on the entire team. Unfortunately he can't shoot worth a damn for a perimeter player (surprising given his European background). Still, we'll be looking to Nikola to spell Callahan on occasion.

#4 Cecil Brown
-Height: 5'11"
-Weight: 175 lbs.
-Class: Freshman
-Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI
-Overall: 56
-Potential: C

Cecil shows potential both as a passer and on defense, and could actually provide us with some nice point guard play in the future if he develops. All the same, at the moment he's way too raw to play at the collegiate level, and good depth at this position gives us the luxury of redshirting Cecil for the coming season.

#10 Chase Denson
-Height: 6'1"
-Weight: 180 lbs.
-Class: Freshman (walk-on)
-Hometown: Paducah, KY
-Overall: 52
-Potential: D

Strictly a depth player for us, but I really can't complain about Chase's possible contributions to the team. He's actually an OK spot-up shooter and has halfway decent hands. May see playing time in blowouts and under special circumstances.


Shooting Guards

#2 Quentin Pryor
-Height: 6'4"
-Weight: 170 lbs.
-Class: Senior (redshirt)
-Hometown: Eupora, MS
-Overall: 67
-Potential: C-

Quentin will be our starting 2-guard for the coming season, due primarily to his awareness and presence on the court. He does a number of things moderately well, and is rarely caught out of defensive position. Such positioning isn't my highest priority for the shooting guard position, but we have to make do with what we have available this year. Despite his shortcomings, Quentin is one of the three best players on the team (with PG Brandon Callahan and PF Shaun Williams).

#14 Jamyron Steward
-Height: 6'3"
-Weight: 185 lbs.
-Class: Junior
-Hometown: Buena Vista, GA
-Overall: 60
-Potential: C-

Of our four shooting guards (8 guards total on the roster...I know...Macy was an idiot), Jamyron has the best explosiveness and "verticality." As a result, he will actually be splitting time with freshman Vincent Crutcher at the small forward position. Steward will probably start under most circumstances, but will have to share minutes with the freshman.

#21 Cordaryl Ballard
-Height: 6'3"
-Weight: 185 lbs.
-Class: Sophomore
-Hometown: Westerville, OH
-Overall: 60
-Potential: C

Cordaryl benefits from being the best pure defender on the team (though not by much). He has one significant weakness, which is a lack of an even semi-consistent three-point shot. Until he develops one of those, I'm going to have a hard time giving him much playing time.

#1 Maze Stallworth
-Height: 6'4"
-Weight: 185 lbs.
-Class: Freshman
-Hometown: Elizabethtown, KY
-Overall: 56
-Potential: C-

The one benefit to having all of these guards on the roster is that it means we have good depth in the backcourt (not as important as frontcourt depth, but I'll address that once I get recruiting underway). This gives us the ability to stick the redshirt on Maze.


Small Forwards

#34 Vincent Crutcher
-Height: 6'4"
-Weight: 205 lbs.
-Class: Freshman
-Hometown: Louisville, KY
-Overall: 59
-Potential: C

Vincent will see significant playing time as a freshman, splitting with Jamyron Steward, by virtue of being the only true small forward on the roster. He is raw, but there is definite potential here, especially in his legs. He is the best pure leaper on the team, and regularly dunks over taller players in practice.


Power Forward

#15 Shaun Williams
-Height: 6'6"
-Weight: 216 lbs.
-Class: Senior
-Hometown: Irvington, NJ
-Overall: 71
-Potential: C

The most talented player on the squad as well as the unanimous team captain, Shaun provides us with a low-post presence that we're going to sorely need this season. He is by far the best low-post player, both offensively and defensively, that we have, and also possesses our best close-range scoring touch. The one thing he is really missing is good leaping ability, and rarely blocks shots.

#41 Dan Penick
-Height: 6'8"
-Weight: 240 lbs.
-Class: Freshman
-Hometown: Ludlow, KY
-Overall: 56
-Potential: D

After Shaun, our talent and experience levels in the frontcourt take a complete nosedive. The only two things that Dan has going for him are serviceable rebounding skills and the ability to occasionally make a free throw or a close range shot. We'll be asking him to play out of position this season and split time with center Clinton Reisz.

#22 Ryan Allen
-Height: 6'7"
-Weight: 215 lbs.
-Class: Junior
-Hometown: Columbus, OH
-Overall: 56
-Potential: D

Ryan is all-around mediocre at best. We're going to take advantage of his mediocrity and redshirt him this season. The thinking is that he's not talented enough to warrant a scholarship anywhere else should he decide to transfer, and he will at the very least provide us with some experienced depth next season after Williams graduates.

#12 Andreas Coleman
-Height: 6'6"
-Weight: 190 lbs.
-Class: Freshman
-Hometown: Danville, IL
-Overall: 55
-Potential: D

Andreas is an OK rebounder for his size, but that's about where his contribution to the team ends. Another talentless, zero potential freshman. It's entirely possible that I'll be cutting some of these losers free in a year or two, but for now I need Andreas as a body to throw into the mix when Williams needs a blow.


Centers

#53 Clinton Reisz
-Height: 6'10"
-Weight: 235 lbs.
-Class: Sophomore
-Hometown: Whitesville, KY
-Overall: 56
-Potential: C-

At first glance, Clinton doesn't look like much, but he could very well end up being a life-saver for us this season. I'm well aware that small schools have a hard time recruiting big men. When they do get big players, more often than not those players have zero ability, and just end up taking up space. Clinton has actually shown me the ability to make close-range shots as often as not, and to have enough lift in his legs to block the occasional shot. He is not completely without promise. He'll be our starting center, but we'll probably end up needing to use a committee approach and platoon him with Dan Penick.

#45 Bill Davis
-Height: 6'10"
-Weight: 305 lbs.
-Class: Freshman (walk-on)
-Hometown: Harrodsburg, KY
-Overall: 46
-Potential: D

What did I just say about "taking up space?" Case in point. Bill is a mammoth individual that looks like he should be wearing shoulder pads, not basketball shorts. Still, we're not wasting a scholarship on him so we're glad to have him (assuming, of course, I don't have to dip into my miniscule recruiting budget in order to feed him).


Depth Chart

I expect our depth chart to look something like this (though things will certainly change at least a little bit once the season gets rolling):

Starters
PG - #11 Brandon Callahan (JR - 6'0")
SG - #2 Quentin Pryor (SR - 6'4")
SF - #14 Jamyron Steward (JR - 6'3")
PF - #15 Shaun Williams (SR - 6'6")
C - #53 Clinton Reisz (SO - 6'10")

Bench
PG - #5 Nikola Stojakovic (JR - 6'2")
SG - #21 Cordaryl Ballard (SO - 6'3")
SF - #34 Vincent Crutcher (FR - 6'4")
PF - #12 Andreas Coleman (FR - 6'6")
C - #41 Dan Penick (FR - 6'8")

Reserves
PG - #10 Chase Denson (FR - 6'1")
C - #45 Bill Davis (FR - 6'10")

Expect Crutcher and Penick to be the only two bench players to see significant minutes.


Recruiting Priorities

We only have two scholarships to work with, as Williams and Pryor are the only two players scheduled to graduate. Our priorities on the recruiting front for the coming year are as follows:

#1 Center: I deperately want to develop some low post depth on this team, as I plan on running a motion offense that works through the power forward and center positions. I know we'll be weak at the power forward spot next year, but a legitimate big man to work with Reisz down low would more than make up for our other shortcomings. And as far as the power forward goes, at least we'll be able to rotate three guys (Penick, Coleman, and Allen).

#2 Small Forward: With the pending graduation of Quentin Pryor, we're going to need to move Jamyron Steward back to his natural shooting guard spot next year (possibly as the starter). That will leave only Vincent Crutcher to play the 3-spot. Hopefully we can land someone with a better shooting touch that Crutcher.


Up Next: A look at the upcoming 2006-07 season schedule.

[Tellistto]

Nice start, DK. I'll be following this. Good luck on the journey through the coaching ranks.

Tell

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo_Large.gif

2006-07 Morehead State Eagles Basketball Schedule



Date Opponent
11/10/2006 at Penn St.
11/13/2006 vs Savannah St.
11/17/2006 at South Alabama
11/21/2006 vs E. Tennessee St.
11/29/2006 vs Marshall
12/02/2006 at W. Illinois
12/07/2006 vs Austin Peay
12/09/2006 vs Murray St.
12/18/2006 at Tennessee-Martin
12/20/2006 at E. Illinois
12/23/2006 vs Hartford
12/30/2006 vs C. Michigan
01/02/2007 vs Tennessee St.
01/06/2007 vs Tennessee Tech
01/11/2007 at E. Kentucky
01/13/2007 vs Tennessee-Martin
01/18/2007 at Samford
01/20/2007 at Jacksonville St.
01/25/2007 vs SE Missouri
01/27/2007 vs E. Illinois
01/29/2007 at Tennessee Tech
02/01/2007 vs E. Kentucky
02/08/2007 at SE Missouri
02/10/2007 at Murray St.
02/13/2007 vs Jacksonville St.
02/15/2007 vs Samford
02/22/2007 at Tennessee St.
02/24/2007 at Austin Peay

Conference games marked in Red
A quick look at our schedule reveals something different than most college basketball programs...Damn we play a lot of conference games!!! With 11 teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, we play each team home and away, which means 20 conference games and a conference schedule that starts in early December, a full month prior to most other conferences. At least we know we're on a level playing field, schedule-wise.

To tell the truth, I think this may be a good thing for us though, at least short term. Assuming we can be competitive within our own conference, then the more games the better. That being said, I did add the home games against Savannah State and Hartford after I arrived on campus. Sure, they're cupcakes, but it's not like we're going to be trying to impress any selection committee members or anything. No doubt we're considered "cupcakes" ourselves.

Up Next: Let's get this party started! Penn State is the first team that gets the honor of smacking us around like red-headed step-children. Stay tuned!

[DataKing]

Tellistto: I have a reader?!?! Woohoo! :cool: Glad you're enjoying it.

Expect to see results from the first few games up in the next day or two.

[DataKing]

2006-07 Pre-Season Rankings

1. Florida
2. Arizona
3. Kansas :D
4. North Carolina
5. Syracuse
6. Wisconsin
7. Villanova
8. Duke
9. LSU
10. Nevada
11. Pitt
12. Boston College
13. Memphis
14. Michigan
15. Kentucky
16. Gonzaga
17. UCLA
18. Alabama
19. Tennessee
20. Ohio State
21. Maryland
22. Illinois
23. Texas A&M
24. UConn
25. Louisville

[Sublime 2]

Tellistto: I have a reader?!?! Woohoo! :cool: Glad you're enjoying it.

Expect to see results from the first few games up in the next day or two.

More than one! GOOD LUCK!

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (0-0)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Penn_State_Logo.gif PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS (0-0)


Rookie Coach King Nearly Pulls Upset in 2 OT Thriller, Eagles Fall 87-85.

November 10th, 2006

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - Morehead State basketball coach Dante King got just about everything he could ask for in his collegiate coaching debut; a back-and-forth ballgame, a ten-point lead early in the second half, a rambunctious crowd, joy, pain, tears, and even last-minute buzzer-beaters (two of those). In fact, there's only one more thing that coach King could have asked for; a victory.

Things started out well enough for coach Dante King and his Morehead State Eagles. Early on was a back-and-forth affair with the heavily-favored Nittany Lions, and the teams found themselves in a 7-7 tie with 15:36 left in the first half. At the 13:18 mark, however, the Eagles faced their first real test when team captain Shaun Williams was tagged with his 2nd personal foul. King took the conservative approach and benched his best player for the remainder of the first half.

Freshman forward Andreas Coleman filled in admirably, putting in yeoman's work on the defensive end of the floor, and helping to defend against Penn State forward Geary Claxton. The Eagles' guard tandem of Brandon Callahan and Quentin Pryor helped to keep things under control, and at the 3:40 mark of the first half Morehead State only trailed by four, 24-28. With an unexpected surge late in the half, highlighted by a nice layup score and one for Pryor, the Eagles marched into the locker room with a 36-32 lead.

An unexpected switch from a 2-3 zone to man-to-man defense at the start of the 2nd half sparked the Eagles to a 48-38 lead, the largest either team would enjoy for the entire evening. Penn State never showed any signs of panic, however, and gradually whittled away at the Eagles' lead behind the play of seniors Claxton and guard David Jackson. Finally, with only 2:54 remaining a runner in the lane by Claxton allowed the Nittany Lions to retake the lead, 61-60. But the Eagles fought back, and with under 30 seconds remaining and the shot clock about to expire, senior guard Quentin Pryor drained a three-pointer that sent the game into overtime.

Penn State jumped out to an quick six point lead, 72-66, early in the first overtime frame, but Coach King's boys battled back for a second time. With 1:30 remaining, point guard Brandon Callahan stole the ball from Ben Luber and layed it in, cutting the Penn State lead to two. Later, with only fifteen seconds remaining on the clock, junior Jamyron Steward stepped up big, knocking down another three-point shot and sending the game into a second overtime tilt.

The Eagles actually took an early lead as the second overtime got underway behind another big three-pointer by Steward, but that would be the last of the highlights for Morehead State on this night. The Eagles finally ran aground as two key layups by David Jackson sealed the game for Penn State.


Scoreboard
Final - Bryce Jordan Center 1H 2H OT Fin
-Morehead State (0-1) 36 28 21 85
-Penn State (1-0) 32 32 23 87

Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Penn State Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Ben Luber SR 6'0"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG David Jackson SR 6'1"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Geary Claxton SR 6'5"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Jamelle Cornley SO 6'5"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Milos Bogetic SO 6'10"

Team Statistics
Morehead State Penn State
85 Points 87
28 Field Goals Made 34
67 Field Goals Attempted 73
0.418 Field Goal % 0.466
4 3 Pointers Made 6
14 3 Pointers Attempted 14
0.286 3 Pointers % 0.429
25 Free Throws Made 13
30 Free Throws Attempted 22
0.833 Free Throw % 0.591
19 Assists 15
13 Turnovers 14
14 Team Fouls 19
32 Total Rebounds 43
9 Offensive Rebounds 14
23 Defensive Rebounds 29
13 Steals 12
6 Blocks 1
38 Points in the Paint 38
18 Bench Points 18
4 Second Chance Points 13
14 Fast Break Points 10

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 24 3 3 3 0 3 1 43
Shaun Williams 16 8 2 1 0 2 4 34
Quentin Pryor 12 0 7 5 0 3 1 42
Brandon Callahan 11 3 6 0 0 3 1 44
Dan Penick 11 4 0 2 3 0 0 21
Clinton Reisz 4 8 0 1 3 0 4 34
Andreas Coleman 4 3 0 0 0 0 2 13
Vincent Crutcher 2 1 0 1 0 2 1 8
Nikola Stojakovic 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 7
Cordaryl Ballard 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 9

[Poli]

I noticed your return a few weeks ago, but didn't see the dynasty thread till now. I'll be reading.

[DataKing]

Sublime 2, ardent anthusiast: Glad to have you both on board. Thanks for reading.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Savannah_State_Logo.gif SAVANNAH STATE TIGERS (1-0)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (0-1)

Coach King Earns 1st Career Victory, Eagles Trounce Tigers 75-44.

November 13th, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - Head coach Dante King might have been concerned going into today's game that his Morehead State Eagles would suffer a let-down after losing their season-opener in heartbreaking fashion to the Penn State Nittany Lions. If Coach King was entertaining such concerns, then he was doing so in error, as his Eagles thumped the visiting Savannah State Tigers, 75-44, and gave King his first victory as a collegiate head coach.

Things started out slowly for both teams, and the Eagles were hampered due to two early personal fouls on starting center Clinton Reisz. The Eagles also showed early difficulty finding good looks against the Tigers' 1-3-1 zone defense, while Savannah State suffered from poor all-around shooting. Just when the Eagles appeared to be finally solving the zone, however, Savannah State got hot and went on a 7-0 run, taking the lead 17-16 at the 9:08 mark.

Things seemed to go from bad to worse for Morehead State. Late in the first half point guard Nikola Stojakovic, subbing in for Brandon Callahan, turned his ankle while driving the lane and did not return. But seeing one of their own go down seemed to be just, and the Eagles ended the half on a 7-0 run, taking the lead 33-25.

Savannah State offered little resistance in the 2nd half, and the Eagles never looked back. At the 11:57 mark their lead had ballooned to 18 points, 51-33. Senior guard Quentin Pryor was particularly dominant, and was responsible for much of the team's 2nd half production. Coach King emptied the bench in the last five minutes of the game, and all twelve players who suited up saw the court.

After the victory, Morehead State AD Hutchinson presented Coach King with the game ball to commemorate his first victory, hoping that this was the "first of many."


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Savannah State (1-1) 25 19 44
-Morehead State (1-1) 33 42 75

Starters

Savannah State Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Joseph Flegler JR 5'9" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Joel Devila JR 6'3" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Patrick Hardy FR 6'3" SF Vincent Crutcher FR 6'4"
Lazarius Coleman JR 6'8" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Bjorn Bohley JR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"

Team Statistics
Savannah State Morehead State
44 Points 75
13 Field Goals Made 27
47 Field Goals Attempted 64
0.277 Field Goal % 0.422
4 3 Pointers Made 0
20 3 Pointers Attempted 6
0.200 3 Pointers % 0.000
14 Free Throws Made 21
24 Free Throws Attempted 30
0.583 Free Throw % 0.700
9 Assists 13
15 Turnovers 9
19 Team Fouls 14
28 Total Rebounds 45
3 Offensive Rebounds 14
25 Defensive Rebounds 31
6 Steals 11
2 Blocks 3
16 Points in the Paint 46
6 Bench Points 32
2 Second Chance Points 14
2 Fast Break Points 10

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 17 2 0 3 0 1 0 26
Andreas Coleman 13 6 0 1 0 0 0 14
Shaun Williams 12 9 1 3 1 0 2 30
Brandon Callahan 8 1 6 1 0 1 3 30
Jamyron Steward 7 3 1 0 0 3 0 22
Dan Penick 5 11 0 0 1 0 2 19
Vincent Crutcher 4 2 1 1 0 1 3 17
Bill Davis 3 3 0 0 0 0 2 5
Clintin Reisz 2 7 1 1 1 0 2 14
Cordaryl Ballard 2 1 1 0 0 2 0 17
Chase Denson 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 8
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 3


Injury Note: Bad news for Nikola Stojakovic. He has a high ankle sprain and is expected to miss about 3 weeks. We hope to have him back before Ohio Valley Conference play begins December 7th.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (1-1)


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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/South_Alabama_Logo.gif SOUTH ALABAMA JAGUARS (2-1)

Morehead State Loses Defensive Slugfest to South Alabama, 49-46.

November 17th, 2006

MOBILE, AL - Tonight's game between the Morehead State Eagles and South Alabama Jaguars was the epitomy of ugly basketball. Neither team could shoot even 35% from the field, and both clubs had nearly has many turnovers as field goals. Some might say that excellent defense was on display, while others probably spent a lot of time with their heads in their hands. But the end result, as is often the case in ugly games like this, was a victory for the home team, by virtue of stinking up the joint just a little bit less than the other guy.

The first nine minutes of the game was a nip-and-tuck affair, featuring two ties and 6 lead changes despite a spectacular lack of offense. The Eagles did manage to hold a narrow lead (never more than three points) until the 5:04 mark, when the Jaguars reclaimed it. Morehead State did lead once more before the end of the half, due to strong post-play by Shaun Williams, but trailed by two at the half, 25-23.

Early in the second half was more of the same as the teams traded buckets and the lead. But Morehead State soon found trouble as point guard Brandon Callahan picked up an early 3rd personal foul and had to ride the pine for a bit. With the recent injury to Nikola Stojakovic, Coach King had to hand the reigns over to freshman walk-on Chase Denson. What little offense the Eagles had been managing to this point completely disappeared with Denson on the court, and South Alabama was able to gradually push their lead out to 36-29 at the 11:17 mark.

From there on out Morehead State was trying to play catchup but never quite could, even with Callahan back in the game. They whittled the Jaguar lead down to 1 point, 38-37 with 6:07 left to play, but couldn't get any closer. Things did remain close, however, until junior guard Daon Merritt drained two clutch free throws with six seconds remaining, extending the Jaguars lead to 49-43. Four seconds later Quentin Pryor was fouled while attempting a three-pointer and made all three free throws, but not enough time remained for any last-second heroics.

Scoreboard
Final - Mitchell Center 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (1-2) 23 23 46
-South Alabama (3-1) 25 24 49
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos South Alabama Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Daon Merritt JR 5'10"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Demetric Bennett JR 6'4"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Leandro Buboltz SR 6'7"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Kenny Hooks JR 6'7"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Ernest Little JR 6'9"
Team Statistics
Morehead State South Alabama
46 Points 49
17 Field Goals Made 16
54 Field Goals Attempted 47
0.315 Field Goal % 0.340
1 3 Pointers Made 2
10 3 Pointers Attempted 16
0.100 3 Pointers % 0.125
11 Free Throws Made 15
15 Free Throws Attempted 17
0.733 Free Throw % 0.882
10 Assists 6
12 Turnovers 13
13 Team Fouls 11
29 Total Rebounds 36
7 Offensive Rebounds 5
22 Defensive Rebounds 31
11 Steals 12
2 Blocks 1
22 Points in the Paint 22
5 Bench Points 18
8 Second Chance Points 6
6 Fast Break Points 8
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 13 2 3 6 0 1 1 30
Shaun Williams 10 5 0 1 0 2 2 30
Clinton Reisz 8 11 0 1 2 3 2 30
Brandon Callahan 6 0 4 1 0 3 3 31
Jamyron Steward 4 6 2 0 0 0 0 26
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 11
Andreas Coleman 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 11
Dan Penick 1 2 0 1 0 1 3 11
Vincent Crutcher 0 2 0 0 0 1 1 15
Chase Denson 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 10

[dj_morton]

Off to a great start..I will also be following along :)

[DataKing]

dj_morton: I don't know that I'd call 1-2 a "great start" :) but thanks for reading all the same.

[Eaglesfan27]

I'm also on board now. :)

[dj_morton]

gotta start somewhere!

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/East_Tennessee_State.gif EAST TENNESSEE STATE BUCCANEERS (2-1)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (1-2)


Visiting Buccaneers Shoot Lights Out at Johnson Arena, Hand Eagles 79-62 Drubbing.

November 21st, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles came into Johnson Arena tonight confident in their ability to get their second win of the season on their home court. After the pounding they gave to Savannah State a week prior, Coach King and the Eagles figured home court would be enough to push them past the East Tennessee State Buccaneers' outside shooters and high-pressure defense. They were sorely mistaken.

41 seconds into the game saw the Eagles with a 4-0 lead after a Quentin Pryor layup and a pair of free throws, but that was as far as good fortune would take the home team this night. At the 18:26 mark, East Tennessee State had taken a 5-4 lead thanks to a pair of field goals by senior Travis Strong. It was a lead that the Buccaneers would never relenquish. Morehead State's difficulties were compounded when senior forward Shaun Williams got himself in early foul trouble, a disturbing trend that has developed of late.

Without Williams' low-post presence and with the visiting team seeming to hit every one of their perimeter shots, the deficit grew in a hurry. At the 11:37 mark the Bucs' lead grew to double-digits, 18-7, on sophomore Courtney Pigram's long two-pointer. A couple of Eagle players, notably junior point guard Brandon Callahan and freshman forward Dan Penick fought bravely, but still the East Tennessee State lead swelled. The margin reached 16 at the 4:42 mark. At halftime, the Bucs led 44-32, despite 13 first-half turnovers, shooting a blistering 57% from the field and 6-of-9 from beyond the arc.

By the 16:20 mark of the first half, the lead had swelled back to 16, 53-37. But the Eagles, backed by a few faithful fans still in their seats, went on an impressive 14-0 run over the next five minutes. The run was led by senior guard Quentin Pryor who drained a pair of three-pointers as well as two free throws during the stretch. But 53-51 was as close as the Eagles would get to victory.

A 9-1 run late in the half extended the East Tennessee State lead back to double-digits, and from there they cruised to an easy victory. A rather ugly moment occurred late in the game when Shaun Williams fouled out of the game with 0:11 seconds remaining. Fuming at his senior leader's lazy post defense and lack of production during the game, coach King gave Williams an earful as he sat on the bench. The details of King's tirade is ill suited for polite company.

"I'm mad as hell at Shaun [Williams]," stated coach King after the game. "A leader doesn't just lead when things are going well. He's out there leading the way even when you're getting your guts stomped out. That's what happened to us tonight, and Shaun was nowhere to be found." It appears safe to say that the honeymoon is over in Morehead.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-East Tennessee State (3-1) 44 35 79
-Morehead State (1-3) 32 30 62
Starters

East Tennessee St Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Dequan Twilley FR 6'0" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Courtney Pigram SO 6'0" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Travis Strong SR 6'2" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Andrew Reed JR 6'8" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Brad Nuckles SR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
*Brad Nuckles...best name evaaah! :cool:

Team Statistics

East Tennessee St Morehead State
79 Points 62
29 Field Goals Made 20
55 Field Goals Attempted 53
0.527 Field Goal % 0.377
10 3 Pointers Made 3
18 3 Pointers Attempted 11
0.556 3 Pointers % 0.273
11 Free Throws Made 19
14 Free Throws Attempted 24
0.786 Free Throw % 0.792
20 Assists 15
18 Turnovers 17
15 Team Fouls 12
27 Total Rebounds 28
4 Offensive Rebounds 8
23 Defensive Rebounds 20
15 Steals 16
4 Blocks 1
28 Points in the Paint 28
29 Bench Points 17
4 Second Chance Points 2
12 Fast Break Points 14

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 18 2 2 2 0 2 0 33
Brandon Callahan 11 2 7 2 0 7 1 36
Dan Penick 10 6 0 3 1 0 1 14
Clinton Reisz 7 10 0 3 0 1 1 30
Jamyron Steward 6 3 2 2 0 4 0 31
Vincent Crutcher 5 1 1 0 0 0 2 18
Shaun Williams 3 3 1 2 0 0 5 25
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 5
Andreas Coleman 0 1 1 2 0 2 2 13

[DataKing]

Eaglesfan27: But will you respect me in the morning (or when I move on to a team not named the Eagles)? :cool:

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Marshall_Logo.gif MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD (0-3)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (1-3)


We...Are...Morehead! Eagles Take Down Thundering Herd, 80-70.

November 29th, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - It had been over a week since the Morehead State Eagles last took the floor, suffering a 79-62 pounding on their home court at the hands of the East Tennessee State Buccaneers. However, the time off seems to have done the team some good. A much more relaxed and focused basketball team took the floor tonight. Behind a career shooting night by junior Jamyron Steward, the Eagles defeated the visiting Thundering Herd of Marshall, 80-70.

Things were close for much of the first half. Though they weren't able to pull away from the Herd, Morehead State held the lead for nearly all of the half. Thanks largely to stellar play by Jamyron "Jam" Steward, who had a whopping 20 points at the half, the Eagles did not relenquish the lead until the 1:53 mark, when Marshall grabbed a brief 35-34 lead. Less than a minute later, Morehead State would regain the lead on a Quentin Pryor layup, and took a 39-37 lead with them into the locker room at halftime.

The Thundering Herd kept hanging around for much of the second half, and while they never managed to regain the lead, refused to let the Eagles out of reach and even tied the game briefly at 47-47 with 13:40 to go. But senior forward Shaun Williams and the rest of the Eagles displayed offensive consistency for the first time all year, and kept the lead in the 3 to 7 point range. The floodgates finally opened for Morehead with 4:48 to play, when the Eagles went on a 8-0 blitz over a 50 second period, due largely to back-to-back steals and layups by junior point guard Brandon Callahan. The resulting 72-59 lead would be too much for Marshall to overcome.

Freshman forward Dan Penick was injured midway through the first half when he banged knees with Herd guard Taurean Marshall and did not return. The injury is minor, and he is only expected to miss Saturday's game against Western Illinois.

Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Marshall (0-4) 37 33 70
-Morehead State (2-3) 39 41 80
Starters

Marshall Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Darryl Merthie SO 6'0" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Travis Aikens SR 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Markel Humphrey SO 6'5" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Tyler Wilkerson FR 6'8" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Jean-Francois Bro-Grebe JR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Marshall Morehead State
70 Points 80
23 Field Goals Made 34
55 Field Goals Attempted 70
0.418 Field Goal % 0.486
7 3 Pointers Made 4
19 3 Pointers Attempted 6
0.368 3 Pointers % 0.667
17 Free Throws Made 8
21 Free Throws Attempted 9
0.810 Free Throw % 0.889
13 Assists 22
17 Turnovers 6
9 Team Fouls 12
31 Total Rebounds 31
10 Offensive Rebounds 8
21 Defensive Rebounds 23
3 Steals 15
5 Blocks 2
22 Points in the Paint 48
18 Bench Points 15
12 Second Chance Points 6
8 Fast Break Points 20
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 27 4 1 1 0 1 1 31
Brandon Callahan 13 1 8 4 0 0 2 32
Shaun Williams 12 8 2 0 0 1 4 30
Vincent Crutcher 9 2 2 4 0 0 1 19
Clinton Reisz 8 11 0 4 1 2 2 29
Quentin Pryor 5 3 6 2 0 1 1 30
Cordaryl Ballard 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 9
Dan Penick 2 2 2 0 1 0 1 4
Andreas Coleman 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 18
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Bill Davis 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 2

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (2-3)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Western_Illinois_Logo.gif WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS (1-2)


Morehead State Defeats Western Illinois in Free Throw Shooting Contest, 83-63.

December 2nd, 2006

MACOMB, IL - A confident Morehead State Eagles basketball team came into John Q. Hammons arena tonight, flush off of their victory over Marshall earlier in the week and looking for their first road win of the year. They found exactly what they were looking for, and routed the Western Illinois Leathernecks by virtue of a good shooting percentage, stingy defense, and a lot of trips to the free throw line.

Things were tight between the two teams for the first eight minutes or so, with a 10-10 tie being the result at the 12:24 mark. However, runs by the Morehead State Eagles of 8-0 and 11-2 gave them an eleven point lead at halftime, 36-25. The referees were calling a tight game throughout, and the Eagles in particular made a number of trips to the line in the 2nd portion of the first half.

The tight calls by the officials continued into the second half, much to the chagrin of the home crowd. These calls certainly worked to the detriment of the home team, as it prevented them from gaining any real sort of momentum to make a run at the Eagles, and also placed starters Sammy Hunter and Louis Johnson in early foul trouble.

But it was Morehead State freshman Vincent Crutcher who was the one to truly bury the Leathernecks, not the officiating. Crutcher accounted for 10 of the Eagles' 16 points during a 16-2 run over a 4 minute period in the middle of the second half. With Crutcher's jumpers finding nothing but net and starting forward William Bishop joining the other Western Illinois starters in foul trouble, the home team's chances of mounting a comeback were minimal. Morehead State cruised to an 83-63 victory.

"The rim just got real big for me, y'know?" stated Crutcher after the game. "I think [Head] Coach [Dante King] was a little worried about me firing away at first, but after the first couple dropped I could hear him yelling from the sidelines to let her rip, so I did."

Morehead State opens its Ohio Valley Conference schedule this Thursday, December 7th, when they host the Governors of Austin Peay.

Scoreboard
Final - John Q. Hammons Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (3-3) 36 47 83
-Western Illinois (1-3) 25 38 63
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Western Illinois Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Sammy Hunter SR 6'3"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Xavier Price JR 6'3"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF David Jackson JR 6'4"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF William Bishop FR 6'5"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Louis Johnson JR 6'8"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Western Illinois
83 Points 63
27 Field Goals Made 20
54 Field Goals Attempted 64
0.500 Field Goal % 0.313
5 3 Pointers Made 6
10 3 Pointers Attempted 19
0.500 3 Pointers % 0.316
24 Free Throws Made 17
33 Free Throws Attempted 21
0.727 Free Throw % 0.810
19 Assists 11
9 Turnovers 7
14 Team Fouls 21
38 Total Rebounds 32
7 Offensive Rebounds 7
31 Defensive Rebounds 25
7 Steals 9
8 Blocks 1
36 Points in the Paint 20
23 Bench Points 18
6 Second Chance Points 9
14 Fast Break Points 8
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Vincent Crutcher 17 2 2 1 0 0 0 21
Shaun Williams 16 9 0 1 3 1 2 29
Quentin Pryor 15 2 5 0 0 0 2 27
Jamyron Steward 13 4 1 1 0 2 2 24
Brandon Callahan 9 2 10 1 0 4 3 36
Clinton Reisz 7 12 0 2 4 0 4 28
Cordaryl Ballard 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 12
Andreas Coleman 2 5 1 0 1 0 0 19
Bill Davis 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
Dan Penick 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 3
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3

[DataKing]

A quick note to state that I've tweaked the recruiting rules. A number of teams in my own tiny conference have already landed a few 3-star recruits, and a few mid-major schools have landed 4-stars. So I've tweaked the recruiting rules to allow 3-stars at the Small Conference level and 4-stars at the Mid-Major level. It's too late to switch gears this season (I'm already working on some 2-star guys), but I'll have more leeway starting in season two.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Austin_Peay_Logo.gif AUSTIN PEAY GOVERNORS (1-3, 1-0)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (3-3, 0-0)


Governors Spoil Coach King's Ohio Valley Conference Debut, Defeat Eagles 69-61.

December 7th, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles came into tonight's conference play opener on an upnote. After dropping three of their first four games under Coach King, things were looking up for the Eagles who had won two in a row, including an impressive road victory over the Western Illinois Leathernecks. But the Eagles' brief winning streak was about to be snapped, as Austin Peay took advantage of poor defense and poor shot selection to claim a 69-61 victory.

Things started out well for Morehead State, who jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the first 7 minutes of the game thanks to strong post play from senior forward Shaun Williams and sophomore center Clinton Reisz. But the Austin Peay defense clamped down after that, and remained a quandry to which the Eagles could not find a solution for the remainder of the half. In perhaps the teams' most embarrassing stretch of the young season, Morehead State was outscored 29-11 and found themselves in an 11-point deficit as they headed towards the locker room amidst boos and jeers from the crowd.

To their credit, the Eagles did not give up, and fought back early in the second half. Coach King had apparently found a solution to the Governors' defense, and a comeback was sparked by a 9-0 Morehead State run early in the half. By the 9:24 mark Morehead State, by virtue of a Jamyron Steward put-back, had cut the deficit to two, 49-47. But it seemed as though the team used up all of their legs just getting things that close, and were unable to close the deal. Austin Peay soon pushed their lead back out to six, and the Eagles appeared powerless to respond.

"We've come close in situations like this on more than one occasion," stated an obviously peeved Coach King after the game. "Now this team needs to learn how to finish a run. I can show them the way, but I can't very well shoot the baskets for them, now can I?"

Conference play continues for the Eagles on Saturday when they host the Racers of Murray State University.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Austin Peay (2-3, 2-0) 36 33 69
-Morehead State (3-4, 0-1) 25 36 61
Starters

Austin Peay Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Derek Wright JR 5'9" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Todd Babington JR 6'5" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Kyle Duncan SO 6'5" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Drake Reed SO 6'5" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
J.P. Felder SO 6'7" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Austin Peay Morehead State
69 Points 61
23 Field Goals Made 20
49 Field Goals Attempted 64
0.469 Field Goal % 0.313
6 3 Pointers Made 3
15 3 Pointers Attempted 13
0.400 3 Pointers % 0.231
17 Free Throws Made 18
22 Free Throws Attempted 22
0.773 Free Throw % 0.818
13 Assists 10
10 Turnovers 6
12 Team Fouls 15
32 Total Rebounds 40
2 Offensive Rebounds 14
30 Defensive Rebounds 26
5 Steals 10
1 Blocks 1
22 Points in the Paint 20
8 Bench Points 26
2 Second Chance Points 12
12 Fast Break Points 0
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Vincent Crutcher 13 3 0 2 0 0 1 22
Brandon Callahan 12 1 3 1 0 2 3 35
Jamyron Steward 11 2 1 1 0 0 2 22
Shaun Williams 10 6 3 2 0 1 4 22
Clinton Reisz 8 12 1 0 1 1 2 32
Quentin Pryor 3 5 2 3 0 2 1 35
Cordaryl Ballard 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 14
Dan Penick 1 5 0 0 0 0 1 9
Andreas Coleman 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 10
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 6

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Murray_State_Logo.gif MURRAY STATE RACERS (1-7, 0-2)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (3-4, 0-1)


Windex Warriors! Eagles Dominant on Glass, Defeat Murray State 76-67.

December 9th, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - The Murray State Racers have been a huge disappointment early in the Ohio Valley Conference season, and this afternoon the Morehead State Eagles showed why. Despite being ranked 2nd or 3rd in most pre-season conference polls, being laden with seniors, and having one of the most talented players in the conference in forward Shawn Witherspoon, the Racers have only one win in nine attempts, and none thus far in league play. Morehead State perceived a weakness in the post play of Murray State and took advantage, dominating the glass on their way to a 76-67 victory.

Murray State appeared early on to be aware of their perceived weakness down low, with starting center Rob Kennedy going so far as to blatantly goaltend on a short-range shot from Eagles' forward Shaun Williams. But the Eagles would not be intimidated, and used steals by Williams and point guard Brandon Callahan to spark an early 18-5 lead. Racers' guard Bruce Carter provided some spark for his own team later on in the half, sparking a small 8-0 run and bringing Murray State within 4, but that is as close as the Racers would get for the entire afternoon. Brandon Callahan was particularly brilliant for the Eagles with 17 first half points, leading the way to a 47-35 halftime lead.

The game proved sloppy at times, especially in the second half as the Racers tried to push the tempo in order to catch up. The teams combined for a staggering 35 turnovers over the course of the game. At times Morehead State appeared willing to run with the Racers, and matched them bucket-for-bucket. And when they were able to slow matters down, Clinton Reisz and Shaun Williams (who had his first double-double of the season) proved truly dominant on the glass. Those two players alone matched the entire Murray State squad in rebounds.

Murray State point guard Kevin Thomas got the deficit as low as 61-53 with 11:19 remaining, but a 7-0 run by the Eagles shortly thereafter salted things away for the home team. Morehead State cruised to a 76-67 victory without having connected on a single 3-point shot for the entire contest.

"I've seen prettier performances at the local YMCA," stated head coach Dante King after the game, "but I guess I can't complain too much. If it smells like a win, and sounds like a win, then it's good enough for me."


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Murray State (1-8, 0-3) 35 32 67
-Morehead State (4-4, 1-1) 47 29 76
Starters

Murray State Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Kevin Thomas JR 6'1" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Ed Horton SR 6'3" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Shawn Witherspoon SR 6'5" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Dwayne Paul SR 6'5" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Rob Kennedy SR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Murray State Morehead State
67 Points 76
23 Field Goals Made 30
58 Field Goals Attempted 62
0.397 Field Goal % 0.484
7 3 Pointers Made 0
25 3 Pointers Attempted 6
0.280 3 Pointers % 0.000
14 Free Throws Made 16
17 Free Throws Attempted 22
0.824 Free Throw % 0.727
16 Assists 17
18 Turnovers 17
17 Team Fouls 11
27 Total Rebounds 38
5 Offensive Rebounds 9
22 Defensive Rebounds 29
15 Steals 17
4 Blocks 3
20 Points in the Paint 46
15 Bench Points 5
2 Second Chance Points 6
12 Fast Break Points 18
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 23 5 6 4 1 1 1 33
Quentin Pryor 15 2 4 4 0 4 1 32
Shaun Williams 15 10 2 2 0 5 1 28
Jamyron Steward 12 0 2 1 0 2 0 32
Clinton Reisz 6 17 0 5 1 1 1 29
Vincent Crutcher 4 2 1 1 1 1 4 11
Cordaryl Ballard 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 6
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 6
Dan Penick 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 12
Andreas Coleman 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 11
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Bill Davis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

[GoldenEagle]

Wow, long time, no see DK.

[dj_morton]

Team Statistics

Austin Peay Morehead State
69 Points 61
23 Field Goals Made 20
49 Field Goals Attempted 64
0.469 Field Goal % 0.313
6 3 Pointers Made 3
15 3 Pointers Attempted 13
0.400 3 Pointers % 0.231
17 Free Throws Made 18
22 Free Throws Attempted 22
0.773 Free Throw % 0.818
13 Assists 10
10 Turnovers 6
12 Team Fouls 15
32 Total Rebounds 40
2 Offensive Rebounds 14
30 Defensive Rebounds 26
5 Steals 10
1 Blocks 1
22 Points in the Paint 20
8 Bench Points 26
2 Second Chance Points 12
12 Fast Break Points 0


You dominated this game statwise except for FG %! Maybe you should focus your "coaching" more on shooting, offense, or post play. Just a idea!

[DataKing]

GoldenEagle: Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated. :)

dj_morton: The formatting on that quote is killin' me man. ;) Anyhow, shooting and defense are my focus at the moment. We definitely need a higher percentage, especially from 3-point land, but I'm a defensive guy first and foremost. The more I play, the more I'm leaning towards a high-pressure defense and easy transition buckets off of turnovers.

[dj_morton]

Is that better? :) Although it looks like crap lol.

[DataKing]

Monday, December 18th, 2006

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Eastern Kentucky 3 0 1.000 4 4 0.500
2. Tennessee-Martin 2 0 1.000 4 6 0.400
3. Southeast Missouri 3 1 0.750 3 6 0.333
4. Austin Peay 2 1 0.666 2 6 0.250
5. Eastern Illinois 2 2 0.500 4 6 0.400
6. Morehead State 1 1 0.500 4 4 0.500
7. Tennessee Tech 1 2 0.333 4 3 0.571
8. Jacksonville State 1 2 0.333 1 5 0.166
9. Samford 0 1 0.000 2 4 0.333
10. Tennessee State 0 2 0.000 4 4 0.500
11. Murray State 0 3 0.000 1 8 0.111
Games This Week:
Monday: at Tennessee-Martin
Wednesday: at Eastern Illinois
Saturday: vs Hartford (non-conference)

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (4-4, 1-1)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Tennessee-Martin_Logo.gif TENNESSEE-MARTIN SKYHAWKS (4-6, 2-0)


Shaun Williams Ties Career High in Losing Effort, Eagles Fall to Skyhawks 82-70.

December 18th, 2006

MARTIN, TN - Everyone on the Morehead State Eagles basketball team would just prefer to forget that tonight's game every happened save one; Shaun Williams. The senior forward tied a career high, scoring 32 points as the team captain did everything in his power to keep his teammates in the game, but unfortunately no help was forthcoming from anyone else in an Eagles uniform. Even the referees seemed to be aligned against the Eagles this night, much to the consternation of head coach Dante King.

Williams was the only Eagle to manager a point in the first four minutes of the game, and the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks jumped out to an early 10-2 lead. Matters only got worse as Williams continued throughout the half (and the entire game) to be the only Eagles player who could consistently find the basket. Meanwhile, the foul count was rapidly stacking upo against Morehead State, who seemed to be whistled every other time down the court. At one point late in the half, with his team being buried 42-20 and without a single foul having been called on the Skyhawks, Coach King got into the grill of one of the officials, earning a technical foul and very nearly getting himself ejected.

"It was the most lop-sided, home-cooked officiating job I've ever witnessed," exclaimed King after the game. "The league can fine me if they want to, but this was bull(beep)!" While the outburst was uncalled for, Eagles fans are quick to note that, in the first half of the game, not a single foul was called on the Skyhawks.

Desperate to find a way to overcome their 47-26 deficit and get some defensive stops without having their entire team foul out, Morehead State switched to a matchup 2-3 zone at halftime. It appeared to work, at least to a limited degree, as the rain of Skyhawk baskets and foul line trips slowed. An 11-2 run by the Eagles got them within 11, 58-47, with 13:14 to go in the game, but key foul calls on Shawn Williams and center Clinton Reisz killed the Eagles' momentum.

Morehead State resorted to a desperate pressing defense late in the game, but could get no closer than 74-68 after a steal and layup by junior point guard Brandon Callahan. Skyhawks center Cleve Woodfork salted away the Skyhawks victory with close-range buckets on successive possessions, leading to the 82-70 final.

Scoreboard
Final - Skyhawk Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (4-5, 1-2) 26 44 70
-Tennessee-Martin (5-6, 3-0) 47 35 82

Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Tennessee-Martin Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Bubba Tolliver SR 6'1"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Zerek Knight SR 6'1"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF George Pruitt JR 6'4"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Will Lewis SR 6'8"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Cleve Woodfork SR 6'9"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Tennessee-Martin
70 Points 82
28 Field Goals Made 29
54 Field Goals Attempted 59
0.519 Field Goal % 0.492
3 3 Pointers Made 5
12 3 Pointers Attempted 9
0.250 3 Pointers % 0.556
11 Free Throws Made 19
11 Free Throws Attempted 22
1.000 Free Throw % 0.864
12 Assists 15
16 Turnovers 14
15 Team Fouls 7
18 Total Rebounds 31
2 Offensive Rebounds 8
16 Defensive Rebounds 23
12 Steals 15
5 Blocks 1
28 Points in the Paint 28
7 Bench Points 24
2 Second Chance Points 4
10 Fast Break Points 16
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Shaun Williams 32 4 1 4 0 2 3 34
Jamyron Steward 16 0 0 2 1 1 2 31
Brandon Callahan 9 2 5 1 0 3 2 34
Vincent Crutcher 5 1 0 0 0 3 0 16
Quentin Pryor 4 1 2 3 1 4 3 33
Clinton Reisz 2 5 1 0 3 1 4 31
Dan Penick 2 2 0 0 0 1 1 10
Andreas Coleman 0 2 1 1 0 1 0 7
Nikola Stojakovic 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 7
Cordaryl Ballard 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Coaches Notes
It's a shame that such a brilliant performance by Shawn Williams had to go to waste, but we just couldn't get anyone else going on offense, especially early.
Defensively, I think we were really hurt by a lack of experience compared to the Skyhawks. With 4 seniors on the floor, they moved the ball very well against our 2-3 zone.
I'm looking for more offense out of Quentin Pryor, so look for him to come off the bench rather than starting for us for the next couple of games.
Clinton Reisz was in foul trouble all game long, which really hurt our rebounding. Shawn Williams was giving up 2 inches at the power forward position, and isn't much of a leaper to begin with, so he wasn't able to do much on the boards to match his offensive output.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (4-5, 1-2)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Eastern_Illinois_Logo.gif EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (4-6, 2-2)


Strong 2nd Half Leads Morehead State Past Eastern Illinois, 75-62.


December 20th, 2006

CHARLESTON, IL - The Morehead State Eagles continued their up-and-down performances this evening, relying on a strong start to the 2nd half of the game to give them a 75-62 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers and to move their overall and conference records back up to the .500 mark. Junior point guard Brandon Callahan led the team with 18 points, including 10 of 11 from the charity stripe.

The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair, with neither club able to gain a serious advantage. After six ties and seven lead changes, the Panthers did manage to push their way to a small 4-point lead at the halftime break, 28-24. Eagles forward Shaun Williams got himself in early foul trouble and had to sit for the last 13 minutes of the half, but freshman Andreas Coleman did yeoman's work filling in.

Brandon Callahan then took the team on his back at the beginning of the second half, leading the Eagles on a 16-3 run that gave them a healthy 40-31 lead at the 12:52 mark. But when sophomore center Clinton Reisz and freshman forward Vincent Crutcher got themselves in foul trouble, Head Coach Dante King resorted to a more conservative game approach and attempted to kill as much clock as possible on each possession.

Using this approach the Eagles managed to hold their lead around the 10-point mark until there were less than 4 minutes remaining in the game. But then the home team put on an 8-2 run of their own, leaving Morehead State with a slender 66-62 lead and prompting Coach King to call a timeout with 1:30 to play.

Whatever play Coach King drew up in the huddle, it certainly wasn't the shot that Morehead State ended up taking on their next trip down the court. With scarcely any time off the shot clock at all, senior Quentin Pryor jacked up a long-range 3-pointer, and hit nothing but nylon.

"I knew Coach [King] would have my ass if I missed," stated Pryor after the game, "but what can I say? I was feeling it, you know? It's just like the rim got real big all of a sudden."

The ill-advised shot by Pryor proved to be the knife in Eastern Illinois' back, as all of the wind was taken out of their sails after that. Brandon Callahan scored the last 6 points of the game, 4 of them from the free throw line.

Scoreboard
Final - Lantz Gym 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (5-5, 2-2) 24 51 75
-Eastern Illinois (4-7, 2-3) 28 34 62
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Eastern Illinois Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Mike Robinson SO 5'11"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SG Julio Anthony JR 6'4"
Vincent Crutcher FR 6'4" SF Bobby Catchings JR 6'6"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Bobby Jolliff FR 6'8"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Ousmane Cisse FR 6'8"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Eastern Illinois
75 Points 62
26 Field Goals Made 25
47 Field Goals Attempted 57
0.553 Field Goal % 0.439
5 3 Pointers Made 5
15 3 Pointers Attempted 22
0.333 3 Pointers % 0.227
18 Free Throws Made 7
22 Free Throws Attempted 9
0.818 Free Throw % 0.778
17 Assists 16
11 Turnovers 11
14 Team Fouls 16
28 Total Rebounds 21
6 Offensive Rebounds 7
22 Defensive Rebounds 14
9 Steals 9
3 Blocks 0
34 Points in the Paint 34
28 Bench Points 18
6 Second Chance Points 8
10 Fast Break Points 10
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 18 2 5 1 0 2 0 33
Quentin Pryor 15 0 3 1 0 2 0 29
Clinton Reisz 14 9 0 2 2 1 4 24
Andreas Coleman 10 2 0 0 0 1 0 14
Jamyron Steward 7 3 3 0 0 1 2 29
Shaun Williams 5 5 1 1 0 2 2 25
Vincent Crutcher 3 2 2 2 1 1 3 17
Nikola Stojakovic 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 8
Cordaryl Ballard 0 1 2 0 0 0 1 6
Dan Penick 0 4 0 2 0 1 2 19

Coach's Notes
We started Pryor on the bench, moving Steward over to the 2-spot and let Vincent Crutcher start at the 3. It seemed to work out pretty well, so we'll go with that again next game.
The inexperience of Eastern Illinois' frontcourt helped us quite a bit today.
I'm pretty sure that our 51-point explosion in the 2nd half is our highest total for a single half thus far.
Clinton Reisz just missed out on his first career double-double (14 points, 9 rebounds).

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Hartford_Logo.gif HARTFORD HAWKS (5-6)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (5-5)

Stingy Late-Game Defense Key in Morehead State Victory Over Hartford, 56-43.

December 23rd, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles pushed their record above the .500 line for the first time all season with a non-conference victory today over the Hartford Hawks, 56-43. Despite having home-court advantage and more experience than a Hartford team that started four underclassmen, it still took a late-game defensive stand and some clutch shooting from one of the Eagles' own underclassman to seal the victory.

Both teams proved to be quite inept on the offensive end early in the game, with each team only managing a single bucket in the first five minutes of play. Morehead State had difficulty with the unfamiliar 1-1-3 zone defense of Hartford, and the young Hawks team had difficulty solving the Eagles' high-pressure 2-3 zone. Morehead State did manage to gain a slim lead that never exceeded 6 points, but by the 6:15 mark Hartford had tied the game, 15-15. The Eagles went cold until halftime, resulting in a 23-17 lead for the Hawks. Morehead State shot a miserable 20% from the field in the first 20 minutes.

The Eagles' offensive woes continued early in the second half, and the Hawks' lead soon ballooned to 31-20, thanks in particular to a pair of close-range baskets by freshman center Vincent Aldevinge. But Morehead State ratcheted up their defense and crawled their way back into the game as their offense finally woke up. The Eagles took the lead for the first time in the half on an old-fashioned 3-point play by senior guard Quentin Pryor with 5:33 left to play, 38-37.

The teams then exchanged leads for the next 2 minutes of play, and Vincent Aldevinge had an old-fashioned 3-point play of his own with 3:09 to go to tie the game at 42-42, but that would be the last field goal Hartford would manage. The finishing blow came when freshman forward Vincent Crutcher drained a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired, putting the Eagles up 49-42 with only 1:22 to go.

Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Hartford (5-7) 23 20 43
-Morehead State (6-5) 17 39 56
Starters

Murray State Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Jaret von Rosenberg SO 6'2" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Michael Turner SO 6'5" SG Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
David Bookman FR 6'7" SF Vincent Crutcher FR 6'4"
Bo Taylor SR 6'5" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Vincent Aldevinge FR 6'11" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Hartford Morehead State
43 Points 56
15 Field Goals Made 20
41 Field Goals Attempted 56
0.366 Field Goal % 0.357
5 3 Pointers Made 4
15 3 Pointers Attempted 16
0.333 3 Pointers % 0.250
8 Free Throws Made 12
11 Free Throws Attempted 12
0.727 Free Throw % 1.000
9 Assists 9
20 Turnovers 9
14 Team Fouls 12
27 Total Rebounds 26
5 Offensive Rebounds 6
22 Defensive Rebounds 20
8 Steals 17
4 Blocks 0
14 Points in the Paint 26
20 Bench Points 35
2 Second Chance Points 9
7 Fast Break Points 16
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 22 4 1 1 0 0 2 27
Cordaryl Ballard 9 0 0 0 0 2 0 10
Brandon Callahan 8 3 3 4 0 2 1 36
Shaun Williams 6 3 2 0 0 1 3 29
Jamyron Steward 4 3 1 5 0 1 1 26
Dan Penick 4 4 0 2 0 0 2 18
Vincent Crutcher 3 2 1 2 0 2 0 19
Clinton Reisz 0 6 0 2 0 0 3 23
Andreas Coleman 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 12
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 5


Coach's Notes

Hartford's center Aldevinge was giving us fits all day, blocking and changing shots. Clinton Reisz in particular had a bad day because of this kid.
Quentin Pryor performed well off the bench again today. I'm going to try moving him back into the starting lineup.
Games like this are why we put so much stock in defense. Some games your shots just aren't falling, but you can always rely on good defense to keep things close.

[DataKing]

Monday, December 25th, 2006

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Tennessee-Martin 4 0 1.000 6 6 0.500
2. Southeast Missouri 4 1 0.800 4 7 0.363
3. Eastern Kentucky 3 1 0.750 4 5 0.444
4. Austin Peay 2 1 0.666 2 7 0.222
5. Morehead State 2 2 0.500 6 5 0.545
6. Eastern Illinois 2 3 0.400 5 7 0.416
7. Murray State 2 3 0.400 3 8 0.272
8. Tennessee Tech 1 2 0.333 4 4 0.500
9. Jacksonville State 1 3 0.250 1 6 0.142
10. Tennessee State 0 2 0.000 5 5 0.500
11. Samford 0 3 0.000 2 6 0.250
Games This Week
Saturday: vs. Central Michigan (non-conference)

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Central_Michigan_Logo.gif CENTRAL MICHIGAN CHIPPEWAS (1-9)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (6-5)

Eagles Thump Woeful Chippewas on Way to 3rd Straight Win, 66-38.

December 30th, 2006

MOREHEAD, KY - Perhaps the Morehead State Eagles have started to buy into Head Coach Dante King's defensive philosophy. Perhaps the Central Michigan Chippewas are one of the most poorly-executing and poorly-coached teams in all of college basketball. Perhaps it's a little bit of both. Whatever the reasons may be, one thing is beyond question; the Eagles took the Chippewas "behind the woodshed" in this afternoon's game, 66-38.

The Chippewas began the game ice-cold from the floor and experienced obvious problems with the Eagles' high-pressure 2-3 zone defense. Morehead State, on the other hand, proceeded to shred the matchup zone of Central Michigan from the word go, and by the 12:43 mark had jumped out to a 16-2 lead. Later in the half, trailing 22-11, Central Michigan went with an extremely big lineup, with no player on the floor under 6'6" tall. But without a true ball-handler running the offense, the visitors were completely incapable of taking advantage of their superior size. Morehead State buried them with buckets, going on a 17-0 run that bled over into the 2nd half. The halftime score was 34-11!

After shooting 17% from the field in the first half, things couldn't get much worse for Central Michigan in the 2nd half, but things wouldn't get much better either. The Chippewas even went so far as to try a box-and-1 defense, which Morehead State was still able to score upon with some regularity. Senior Sefton Barrett (regarded as one of the best players in teh MAC), was the one visiting player able to generate at least a tiny bit of offense, but not enough. At the 15:52 mark with an overwhelming 49-16 lead, Coach King called off the dogs and sat most of his starters for the remainder of the game.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Central Michigan (1-10) 11 27 38
-Morehead State (7-5) 34 32 66
Starters

Central Michigan Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Giordan Watson JR 5'10" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Eddie Spencer SR 6'6" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Sefton Barrett SR 6'6" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Justin Blevins JR 6'7" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Marco Spica FR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Central Michigan Morehead State
38 Points 66
15 Field Goals Made 28
53 Field Goals Attempted 63
0.283 Field Goal % 0.444
2 3 Pointers Made 2
19 3 Pointers Attempted 13
0.105 3 Pointers % 0.154
6 Free Throws Made 8
7 Free Throws Attempted 11
0.857 Free Throw % 0.727
9 Assists 14
11 Turnovers 4
12 Team Fouls 5
29 Total Rebounds 37
9 Offensive Rebounds 14
20 Defensive Rebounds 23
4 Steals 11
2 Blocks 4
24 Points in the Paint 38
11 Bench Points 31
6 Second Chance Points 12
4 Fast Break Points 6
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 12 2 4 0 0 0 0 22
Dan Penick 11 7 0 1 1 0 1 15
Vincent Crutcher 9 0 2 0 0 0 0 15
Clinton Reisz 7 13 0 3 2 0 0 22
Jamyron Steward 7 5 3 1 0 1 2 26
Quentin Pryor 7 2 1 1 0 0 0 18
Cordaryl Ballard 5 3 1 1 0 1 0 18
Shaun Williams 2 2 2 2 0 0 1 25
Chase Denson 2 1 0 1 0 0 0 8
Andreas Coleman 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 14
Nikola Stojakovic 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 16
Bill Davis 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 7

Coach's Notes
It was incredibly stupid of the Central Michigan coaching staff to attack a zone without a true point guard. I was concerned when I saw their big lineup at first, but my worries didn't last long.
We were very much under control on offense, with only four turnovers for the entire game. I like that.
Clinton Reisz was an absolute monster on the boards today, despite often being under-sized (CMU brought in 6'11" and 7'0" players off the bench).
We're playing well right now against non-conference foes. Can we translate this into a run in conference play?

[DataKing]

Monday, January 1st, 2007Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Tennessee-Martin 4 0 1.000 7 6 0.538
2. Southeast Missouri 4 1 0.800 4 8 0.333
3. Eastern Kentucky 3 1 0.750 4 6 0.400
4. Austin Peay 2 1 0.666 2 7 0.222
5. Morehead State 2 2 0.500 7 5 0.583
6. Eastern Illinois 2 3 0.400 5 8 0.384
7. Murray State 2 3 0.400 3 8 0.272
8. Tennessee Tech 1 2 0.333 4 5 0.444
9. Jacksonville State 1 3 0.250 1 9 0.100
10. Tennessee State 0 2 0.000 5 6 0.454
11. Samford 0 3 0.000 3 8 0.272
Games This Week

Tuesday vs. Tennessee State
Saturday vs. Tennessee Tech

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Tennessee_State_Logo.gif TENNESSEE STATE TIGERS (5-6, 0-2)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (7-5, 2-2)

Eagles Fall Short in Comeback Bid, Lose to Tigers 86-75.

January 2nd, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - Generally regarded as the most talented team in the Ohio Valley Conference, and the pre-season selection by most to win the conference, the Tennessee State Tigers have been a disappointment thus far this season. But the Tigers apparently made a New Year's resolution to stop sucking. Junior guard Bruce Price (2nd in the conference in scoring) and senior forward Clarence Matthews (1st in the conference in rebounding) led the way with 20 and 19 points, respectively, in the Tigers' 86-75 victory over Morehead State. But the undermanned Eagles did not go quietly on their home court, and made things interesting in the closing minutes.

The opening minutes of the game were dominated by Tigers' center Larry Turner, giving Tennessee State an early 9-2 lead and forcing the Eagles to give sophomore Clinton Reisz some defensive help in the paint. Junior guard Jamyron Steward gave the Eagles a lift on subsequent possessions with a pair of 3-pointers, and the Tigers' lead was quickly dashed to 9-8. This set the tone for the entire first half. The Tigers would stretch their lead out to the 6-8 point range, then the Eagles would counterpunch and narrow the gap. Both Larry Turner and Eagles' senior forward Shaun Williams got themselves in early foul trouble, and had to sit for the last 10 minutes of the half. At the break Tennessee State led 44-38.

Disaster struck for the Eagles at the beginning of the second half, however. For over six minutes to start the half Morehead State failed to score a single point, and for the players it felt as though someone had placed a lid over the rim on their end of the floor. Even layups and point-blank opportunities (of which the Eagles had their share) rattled off the rim. This was coupled with a complete defensive breakdown on the other end (the Morehead State defense hadn't been that good in the 1st half either). By the time Dan Penick finally broke the Eagles' field goal drout at the 13:05 mark with a putback score, Tennessee State had gone on a ridiculous 20-3 run and had already begun mass substitutions.

To their credit, Morehead State and their head coach Dante King did not throw in the towel. With solid play and a lot of hustle from junior guard Nikola Stojakovic and the starters the Eagles scratched and clawed their way back into the game, overcoming much of the 20-point deficit and closing the gap to 78-72 with scarcely over a minute to play. But at that point Clarence Matthews made his presence felt with a pair of steals and trips to the free throw line that sealed the game for the Tigers.

"This team has to learn how to finish the deal," stated Eagles' coach Dante King after the game. "We've pretended to make comebacks on more than occasion, but we haven't figured out how to finish it off yet. Someday these kids will figure it out, then we'll be a force to be reckoned with in this league."

Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Tennessee State (6-6, 1-2) 44 42 86
-Morehead State (7-6, 2-3) 38 37 75
Starters

Tennessee State Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Reiley Ervin JR 6'3" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Bruce Price JR 6'3" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Jerrell Houston SO 6'8" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Clarence Matthews SR 6'7" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Larry Turner SR 6'11" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Tennessee State Morehead State
86 Points 75
29 Field Goals Made 24
56 Field Goals Attempted 55
0.518 Field Goal % 0.436
8 3 Pointers Made 7
15 3 Pointers Attempted 14
0.533 3 Pointers % 0.500
20 Free Throws Made 20
24 Free Throws Attempted 28
0.833 Free Throw % 0.714
14 Assists 15
15 Turnovers 17
19 Team Fouls 18
33 Total Rebounds 27
6 Offensive Rebounds 7
27 Defensive Rebounds 20
15 Steals 13
2 Blocks 1
40 Points in the Paint 26
23 Bench Points 17
8 Second Chance Points 7
12 Fast Break Points 8

Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 15 3 3 2 0 2 4 30
Brandon Callahan 12 1 4 0 0 6 3 31
Shaun Williams 12 2 0 3 0 1 4 28
Quentin Pryor 10 4 2 3 0 2 2 32
Clinton Reisz 9 8 1 0 0 2 2 27
Dan Penick 6 8 1 2 1 0 1 16
Nikola Stojakovic 6 1 1 1 0 2 0 10
Vincent Crutcher 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 11
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 1 2 0 2 2 9
Andreas Coleman 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 11

Coach's Notes

I take personal responsibility for the problems at the start of the 2nd half. It was obvious that our motion offense had stalled, but I was too hesitant to try a set play or two to get things moving again.
Matthews and Turner were just way too much size and experience for us to handle in the low post. Those two, alot more than Price, really killed us.
One positive note: In a couple of games now we've gotten solid contributions from Nikola Stojakovic, who was slowed early in the year by injury. It's good to see him coming around, since it gives us someone who can manage the game when Brandon Callahan needs a rest.
Clinton Reisz landed awkwardly after trying to block a shot late in the game and twisted his ankle. The team doctors tell me it's a mild sprain (thankyouthankyouthankyou) and that he should be able to play on it. We'll consider him day-to-day.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Tennessee_Tech_Logo.gif TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (5-6, 2-3)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (7-6, 2-3)

Unlikely Contributors and 30 points from Callahan lead Morehead State past Tennessee Tech, 89-80.

January 6th, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - Head Coach Dante King and his Morehead State Eagles team came into today's game looking for a victory and to get back to .500 in conference play, but knew it would be a difficult task. For the second consecutive game they would face one of the Ohio Valley Conference's best scorers, this time Tennessee Tech senior guard Belton Rivers. But a very strong game from junior guard Brandon Callahan (30 pts, 15-for-15 free throws) and strong contributions from freshman forward Dan Penick (starting in place of Clinton Reisz) and sophomore guard Cordaryl Ballard (with clutch defense late in the game) lifted the Eagles over Tennessee Tech, 89-80.

Overall the first half was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to establish dominance. Dan Penick, starting in place of the injured Clinton Reisz (Reisz saw only limited minutes due to a sprained ankle), scored 7 of Morehead State's first 9 points, and Coach King's Eagles jumped out early 11-5. But strong play from Belton Rivers brought Tech back into it, and an 8-0 run by the Golden Eagles gave Tech a 25-17 lead with 7:57 to go in the half. After that, Callahan began to take over for Morehead State, sparking a 10-0 run to end the half. Morehead State led at the break, 37-34, but Belton Rivers led all scorers with 14 first half points.

The first 11 minutes of the second half was more of the same see-saw affair. Brandon Callahan drained Morehead State's only 3-pointer of the contest on a set-piece play coming out of an early timeout, but Tennessee Tech kept things even. By the 8:50 mark the 2nd half had seen two ties and 11 lead changes, as the teams went back and forth down the court. At that point, the damn finally broke and Morehead State went on a 20-3 run over the next 5 minutes. Key defensive plays during this stretch were attributed to Cordaryl Ballard, usually little more than a role-player for the Eagles, who had a total of five steals in the game. Brandon Callahan then sealed the game for Morehead State with a perfect performance from the charity stripe down the stretch.

Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Tennessee Tech (6-7, 2-4) 34 46 80
-Morehead State (8-6, 3-3) 37 52 89
Starters

Tennessee Tech Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Anthony Fisher JR 6'2" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Belton Rivers SR 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Rashaud Nixon JR 6'4" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Amadi McKenzie JR 6'7" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Daniel Northern SO 6'9" C Dan Penick FR 6'8"
Team Statistics

Tennessee Tech Morehead State
80 Points 89
24 Field Goals Made 32
50 Field Goals Attempted 66
0.480 Field Goal % 0.485
8 3 Pointers Made 1
19 3 Pointers Attempted 4
0.421 3 Pointers % 0.250
24 Free Throws Made 24
31 Free Throws Attempted 29
0.774 Free Throw % 0.828
18 Assists 14
16 Turnovers 7
21 Team Fouls 17
30 Total Rebounds 27
7 Offensive Rebounds 9
23 Defensive Rebounds 18
7 Steals 15
2 Blocks 2
20 Points in the Paint 48
16 Bench Points 19
4 Second Chance Points 10
12 Fast Break Points 14
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 30 1 2 0 0 1 1 34
Shaun Williams 13 3 1 4 0 2 2 31
Dan Penick 11 11 0 2 2 1 1 29
Jamyron Steward 10 4 3 1 0 1 4 21
Cordaryl Ballard 9 2 1 5 0 0 1 16
Quentin Pryor 6 1 4 1 0 0 3 25
Andreas Coleman 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 10
Vincent Crutcher 2 2 1 0 0 0 3 19
Clinton Reisz 2 2 1 1 0 0 2 12
Nikola Stojakovic 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 7
Bill Davis 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
Coach's Notes
We made a more concerted effort to use set-piece plays when the offense began to show signs of stagnating.
Dan Penick far exceeded expectations with a double-double in place of the dinged up Clinton Reisz.
Cordaryl Ballard could potentially turn into a defensive specialist for us, and we'll consider using him in that sort of role more as the season goes on.

[DataKing]

Monday, January 8th, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Southeast Missouri 7 1 0.875 7 8 0.466
2. Austin Peay 5 1 0.833 5 7 0.416
3. Tennessee-Martin 5 2 0.714 8 8 0.500
4. Tennessee State 3 2 0.600 8 6 0.571
5. Morehead State 3 3 0.500 8 6 0.571
6. Eastern Kentucky 3 3 0.500 4 8 0.333
7. Murray State 3 5 0.375 4 10 0.285
8. Tennessee Tech 2 4 0.333 5 7 0.416
9. Samford 2 4 0.333 5 9 0.357
10. Eastern Illinois 2 6 0.250 5 11 0.312
11. Jacksonville State 1 5 0.166 1 11 0.083
Games This Week

Thursday (1/11/07) at Eastern Kentucky
Saturday (1/13/07) vs Tennessee-Martin

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (8-6, 3-3)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Eastern_Kentucky_Logo.gif EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS (4-8, 3-3)

Late-Game Surge Allows Eagles to Soar Past Colonels, 57-48.

January 11th, 2007

RICHMOND, KY - The Morehead State Eagles came into Richmond tonight looking to take advantage of a reeling Eastern Kentucky Colonels squad, losers of their last three conference games and four overall. Despite falling behind early by as much as ten points, the Eagles did what they had yet to prove that they were capable of; coming back from behind on the road. Taking advantage of the charity stripe to offset poor shooting and a timely run late in the game, Morehead extended the Colonels' streak of misery, 57-48.

Both teams started out relatively slowly, intent upon feeling one another out first. Morehead State suffered an early loss, as freshman forward Vincent Crutcher was fouled hard across the arm while driving the lane (he would return for limited minutes later in the game, but was never a factor). Senior forward Shaun Williams accounted for the Eagles first 5 points of the game, but it was the Colonels' freshman point-guard Adam Leonard who was the hero of the 1st half. Despite his inexperience, Leonard led all scorers with 10 first-half points, and his 3-pointer with 2:03 remaining in the half gave Eastern Kentucky their largest lead of the game (10 points). At the break, the Colonels led 27-20.

The Eagles rallied back early in the 2nd half, thanks in large part to strong inside play that repeatedly got them to the foul line. An old-fashioned 3-point play by "Jam" Steward gave Morehead State a 32-29 lead with 15:26 remaining. The next 8 minutes saw the two teams battle back and forth, with neither able to gain much of an advantage. Finally, the war of attrition down low began to take it's toll on the Colonels, as starting forwards Jamall Douglas and Darnell Dialls both found themselves in foul trouble. The Eagles saw their opportunity and struck hard with a 14-0 run over the next 5 and a half minutes that sealed Eastern Kentucky's fate.


Scoreboard
Final - Alumni Coliseum Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (9-6, 4-3) 20 37 57
-Eastern Kentucky (4-9, 3-4) 27 21 48
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Eastern Kentucky Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Adam Leonard FR 6'0"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Mike Rose SO 6'3"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Julian Mascoll SR 6'4"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Jamaal Douglas JR 6'7"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Darnell Dialls JR 6'8"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Eastern Kentucky
57 Points 48
19 Field Goals Made 19
51 Field Goals Attempted 46
0.373 Field Goal % 0.413
4 3 Pointers Made 4
15 3 Pointers Attempted 12
0.267 3 Pointers % 0.333
15 Free Throws Made 6
22 Free Throws Attempted 7
0.682 Free Throw % 0.857
11 Assists 13
5 Turnovers 13
9 Team Fouls 15
26 Total Rebounds 26
6 Offensive Rebounds 4
20 Defensive Rebounds 22
12 Steals 5
2 Blocks 3
26 Points in the Paint 26
10 Bench Points 7
2 Second Chance Points 4
10 Fast Break Points 4
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 13 4 1 2 1 1 1 28
Quentin Pryor 12 1 1 2 1 1 1 28
Brandon Callahan 10 3 8 1 0 1 1 33
Shaun Williams 9 6 0 1 0 0 2 29
Cordaryl Ballard 5 3 0 3 0 1 0 20
Dan Penick 4 2 0 1 0 0 1 23
Clinton Reisz 3 5 0 1 0 1 2 20
Nikola Stojakovic 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 8
Andreas Coleman 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 10
Vincent Crutcher 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7

Coach's Notes
Brandon Callahan continues to play exceptional basketball. Though 10 points is his lowest point total since before Christmas, I have to point out the 8 assists (his best assist total since December 2nd).
The more I see him on defense, the more I'm convinced that Cordaryl Ballard can be a go-to defender when we need one (3 steals today).
Clinton Reisz is still working himself back into game-shape after recovering from his tweaked ankle.
The injury to Vincent Crutcher is a strained quadricep muscle. He'll be considered day-to-day for about the next two weeks, but should be able to play limited minutes.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Tennessee-Martin_Logo.gif TENNESSEE-MARTIN SKYHAWKS (9-8, 6-2)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (9-6, 4-3)

Bloody Vengeance! Eagles Avenge Earlier Loss to Skyhawks, 76-64.

January 13th, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - Head Coach Dante King had his players' collective sights set on vengeance this afternoon, as the Morehead State Eagles looked to avenge their 82-70 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks on December 18th. From early on, the Eagles were all business, dominating play from one end of the court to the other. The final score of 76-64 does not do justice to the Eagles' dominant performance, and the game was never that close.

Both teams started the game absolutely ice-cold from the field, and neither team could buy a field goal. The Eagles seemed to just be unlucky as a number of early shots rattled in-and-out, but the Skyhawks couldn't even get decent shots off. They appeared taken completely by surprise by the Eagles' extensive use of man-to-man defense (the Eagles rely heavily on a 2-3 zone), and early foul trouble for George Pruitt, the team's best outside shooter, made matters even worse. Brandon Callahan finally broke through with the Eagles' first field goal at the 11:34 mark, and this opened the floodgates. Over the next six minutes Morehead State couldn't miss, going on an 18-2 run and burying Tennessee-Martin with a 25-10 lead. By halftime, the Skyhawks had only whittled the lead down by one, 34-20.

The Eagles kept the lead around the 15-point mark early in the second half, but then a secondary 8-0 run keyed by senior guard Quentin Pryor vaulted their lead to 54-33, effectively sealing the deal. Heavy use of substitutions by Coach King (presumably to protect his starters from the risk of injury) permitted Tennessee-Martin to get as close as 12 points, but the end result was no longer in doubt.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Tennessee-Martin (9-9, 6-3) 20 44 64
-Morehead State (10-6, 5-3) 34 42 76
Starters

Tennessee-Martin Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Bubba Tolliver SR 6'1" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
George Pruitt JR 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Daron Hood FR 6'7" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Will Lewis SR 6'8" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Cleve Woodfork SR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Tennessee-Martin Morehead State
64 Points 76
24 Field Goals Made 29
58 Field Goals Attempted 54
0.414 Field Goal % 0.537
3 3 Pointers Made 5
9 3 Pointers Attempted 11
0.333 3 Pointers % 0.455
13 Free Throws Made 13
14 Free Throws Attempted 15
0.929 Free Throw % 0.867
10 Assists 14
13 Turnovers 15
9 Team Fouls 12
25 Total Rebounds 26
4 Offensive Rebounds 4
21 Defensive Rebounds 22
10 Steals 12
0 Blocks 5
28 Points in the Paint 36
23 Bench Points 20
4 Second Chance Points 6
12 Fast Break Points 16
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 15 2 2 1 0 2 1 25
Brandon Callahan 14 3 5 0 0 4 2 29
Shaun Williams 12 7 1 3 0 1 1 27
Quentin Pryor 11 1 0 3 0 2 2 27
Nikola Stojakovic 7 0 1 0 0 1 1 12
Dan Penick 6 4 0 1 1 0 1 13
Clinton Reisz 4 7 0 3 4 3 1 28
Cordaryl Ballard 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 11
Andreas Coleman 2 0 1 0 0 0 1 17
Vincent Crutcher 1 1 2 0 0 1 1 13
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3

Coach's Notes

I'd say that Clinton Reisz' ankle is fully recovered (4 blocks)! :D
Brandon Callahan was a bit sloppy with the ball today (4 turnovers) but he was perfect from the field (4-4, 1-1 from 3-point range, 5-5 from the free throw line).
It will be at least two more games before Vincent Crutcher is back to 100%.
I decided to go almost exclusively man-to-man against the Skyhawks' flex offense, because they picked our 2-3 zone apart last time around.

[Evil Afro]

How exactly are you habndling in-game coaching? I play coach mode too, and if I don't call plays each posession it seems like my team just gets bogged down. If you're not calling plays, how do you get your team to do anything?

Are you doing manual subs?

Basically, what are all the tings you control during the game, and what do you let the CPU handle?

[Evil Afro]

I'm new to this game, and love it so far. The in-game part of it is really starting to drain the enjoyment, though. I'd appreciate any advice you have.

:)

[DataKing]

My Eagles get bogged down sometimes as well, so I'll call a set play if I feel like they aren't executing as well as I'd like. Sometimes even if the set play doesn't result in a basket that time down the floor, it wakes your guys up and they perform better on future possessions. Also, the motion offense is one that by it's nature doesn't rely on set plays as much as, say, a high post offense.

I do use manual substitutions. I also play a switching 2-3 zone/man-to-man defense that seems to help keep the other team guessing, and any good team (IMHO) gets a good portion of it's offense off of it's defense.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[Evil Afro]

Let me see if I understand. You basically set all your team style stuff in that one screen where you can change the tendancy sliders for your coaches. Then, you just try and let your team play to those tendancies.

Is that about right?

Also, I rarely see any penetration. Do you ever have geys get to the rack if it's not a breakaway or a post-up?

[DataKing]

I set up my team's style and tendencies and then let them play, correct. I also set up coverage and double-teams on defense as well. Double-teams down low on dominant post players, tight coverage on straight-up jump shooters, and loose coverage on guys with an inconsistent jump shot but good speed.

As far as dribble penetration goes, you won't get a lot of it if you're facing a lot of zone defense (which you will see at the lower levels). Even against man-to-man defense, your guy will need a high speed rating in order to beat the defender to the whole. Brandon Callahan is the only guy I have who can get the occasional dribble-drive, and he has a speed of 85.

You can have more success with dribble-penetration and back-door cuts against a matchup zone defense. That sort of switching defense sometimes leaves players open off of the switch.

Hope this helps.

[Evil Afro]

What sliders are you using? I found some pretty good ones on Operation Sports for coach mode.

I'm going to give it a try again with your strategy and see if it's better.

Thanks

[DataKing]

Monday, January 15th, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Southeast Missouri 8 1 0.888 8 8 0.500
2. Tennessee State 5 2 0.714 10 6 0.625
3. Austin Peay 5 2 0.714 5 8 0.384
4. Tennessee-Martin 6 3 0.666 9 9 0.500
5. Morehead State 5 3 0.625 10 6 0.625
6. Tennessee Tech 3 5 0.375 6 8 0.428
7. Samford 3 5 0.375 6 10 0.375
8. Eastern Kentucky 3 5 0.375 4 10 0.285
9. Murray State 3 5 0.375 4 10 0.285
10. Eastern Illinois 3 7 0.300 6 12 0.333
11. Jacksonville State 1 7 0.125 1 13 0.071
Games This Week

Thursday (1/18/07) at Samford
Saturday (1/20/07) at Jacksonville State

[DataKing]

Evil Afro: Thanks for reminding me. I had intended to post my slider settings and forgot. I've updated the 1st post in this dynasty to include my slider settings.

I'm not 100% sold on these settings, and may still need to tweak a few things (rebounding numbers seem a bit low), but I want to finish out the 2007 season first.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (10-6, 5-3)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Samford_Logo.gif SAMFORD BULLDOGS (6-10, 3-5)

Slow and Steady. Experienced Bulldog Backcourt Crushes Poor-Shooting Eagles, 64-44.

January 18th, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, AL - Senior leadership and a controlled, slow-tempo offense were the keys to victory as the Samford Bulldogs were poor hosts to Morehead State, crushing the Eagles 64-44. Senior guards Randall Gulina (16 pts, 4-of-4 3PT) and Jerry Smith (13 pts, 6-of-8 FG) kept the pace of the game slow, picking their spots extremely well and refusing to push the ball, which frustrated Morehead State's high-pressure defense all night long. Without their usual turnovers and transition baskets to ease the defensive pressure, the Eagles were unable to solve the Bulldogs' 3-2 zone defense.

Things started off poorly for Morehead State when sophomore center Clinton Reisz was tagged with his 2nd personal foul only 3:38 into the game and had to sit for the remainder of the half. Despite this deficiency, and in spite of a lot of shots rattling in-and-out, the Eagles crawled their way back into the defense-dominated game, briefly taking an 11-9 lead at the 6:55 mark thanks to a field goal by Quentin Pryor (the Eagles' first transition bucket of the game). But an 8-0 run late in the half placed Morehead in a serious 27-14 hole with only 2:51 to play in the half. Foul trouble plagued the team as well, with 3 starters (Reisz, Jamyron Steward, and Quentin Pryor) and a key reserve (Cordaryl Ballard) all accumulating two personal fouls before halftime. Samford took a 31-22 lead into the break.

Things looked up briefly for the Eagles as Bulldogs' starting center Travis Peterson got his 3rd personal foul only 14 seconds into the 2nd half, but the visitors' continued troubles with the Samford 3-2 zone prevented them from taking advantage. A 5-point deficit, 32-27 at the 18:35 mark, was as close as Morehead State could come. Samford dashed any real hopes of an Eagles comeback a few minutes later when Eagles' point guard Brandon Callahan came down awkwardly after a foul while driving the lane and had to leave the game. Callahan would return later in the game, but was obviously hobbled and could not seriously contribute. Samford cruised to an easy 64-44 victory.


Scoreboard
Final - F. Page Seibert Hall 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (10-7, 5-4) 22 22 44
-Samford (7-10, 4-5) 31 33 64
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Samford Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Jerry Smith SR 6'2"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Randall Gulina SR 6'1"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Joe Ross Merritt JR 6'4"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Savoy Fraine FR 6'8"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Travis Peterson JR 6'10"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Samford
44 Points 64
14 Field Goals Made 25
42 Field Goals Attempted 47
0.333 Field Goal % 0.532
2 3 Pointers Made 7
10 3 Pointers Attempted 13
0.200 3 Pointers % 0.538
14 Free Throws Made 7
16 Free Throws Attempted 10
0.875 Free Throw % 0.700
4 Assists 16
8 Turnovers 5
13 Team Fouls 11
27 Total Rebounds 22
5 Offensive Rebounds 0
22 Defensive Rebounds 22
4 Steals 8
1 Blocks 0
14 Points in the Paint 18
14 Bench Points 8
4 Second Chance Points 0
6 Fast Break Points 8
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Shaun Williams 13 4 0 1 0 1 3 28
Brandon Callahan 7 2 1 1 0 0 0 25
Cordaryl Ballard 6 1 1 0 0 1 2 19
Jamyron Steward 5 5 0 0 0 1 3 25
Quentin Pryor 5 2 1 0 0 3 2 29
Nikola Stojakovic 4 2 1 2 0 0 1 16
Dan Penick 2 6 0 0 0 1 0 20
Andreas Coleman 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 14
Vincent Crutcher 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 9
Clinton Reisz 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 19

Coach's Notes

The injury to Brandon Callahan dashed any real hopes we had at coming back in this game (he has definitely become our go-to guy). The good news is that the injury is just an ankle sprain. He should be 100% in about a week or so, hopefully in time for our game against OVC-leading Southeast Missouri on the 25th.
Clinton Reisz had a miserable game, providing us with very little help either offensively or defensively. I'm hoping this was just an anomoly.
Vincent Crutcher continues to struggle with his strained quad muscle. Another week and he should be 100% along with Callahan.
It seemed like Samford was coming up with all the loose balls. A number of times it appeared as though we should get a steal or a loose ball, only to have a Bulldog jump on it first. I'm going to chalk this one up to just a poor performance on the road, and move on.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (10-7, 5-4)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Jacksonville_State_Logo.gif JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (1-14, 1-8)

Imminent Collapse. Eagles Blow 9-Point Lead, Fall to Lowly Gamecocks, 65-56.

January 20th, 2007

JACKSONVILLE, AL - The state of Alabama has been unkind to the Morehead State Eagles over the last few days. On Thursday Coach King's Eagles were trounced by the Samford Bulldogs, 64-44. Today may have even been worse for the visiting team, as they blew a 9-point lead against the lowly Jacksonville State Gamecocks, winners of only one game all season before today. Junior guard Erik Adams led the way for the Gamecocks with 19 points (7-11 FG), and standout senior forward Courtney Bradley had a double-double (11 pts, 11 reb). The Eagles' high scorer was junior guard Jamyron Steward (15 pts, 6-17 FG) and sophomore center Clinton Reisz led all players with 16 rebounds.

Morehead State jumped out to an early 11-3 lead, thanks in part to a pair of layups by junior guard Nikola Stojakovic, who was starting in place of the injured Brandon Callahan. But Jacksonville State, led by the play of senior forward Harold Crow (10 1st-half points) fought their way back, and had worked the deficit down to 20-19 at the 6:31 mark (junior guard Will Ginn missed a free throw that would have tied the game). The remainder of the half was a back-and-forth affair, with a slight edge going to Morehead State. The Eagles went to the locker room with a 33-26 halftime lead.

Shaun Williams started the 2nd half on a high note for the Eagles as he benefitted from a great dish from Stojakovic down low, stretching the Morehead State lead to 35-26. But it was all downhill from there for the visitors. Erik Adams led the Gamecocks on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes, with Courtney Bradley draining a 3-pointer at the 17:05 mark to tie the game at 38-38. Things slowed down a bit after that, and Morehead State went ice-cold from the field, continuing the poor shooting that has plagued the team recently.

By the 11:00 mark, Jacksonville State had stretched their lead to 47-41. The Eagles scratched and clawed their way back to within 2 points, 49-47 with 6:21 to play, but that was all that Coach King's team could muster. Adams and the Gamecocks won the game going away, 65-56. To add insult to injury, freshman forward Dan Penick came up lame for the Eagles late in the game and did not return.


Scoreboard
Final - Pete Mathews Coliseum 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (10-8, 5-5) 33 23 56
-Jacksonville State (2-14, 2-8) 26 39 65
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Jacksonville State Yr Ht
Nikola Stojakovic JR 6'2" PG Will Ginn JR 6'0"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Erik Adams JR 6'5"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Harold Crow SR 6'7"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Courtney Bradley SR 6'5"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Dorien Brown JR 6'7"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Jacksonville State
56 Points 65
21 Field Goals Made 21
66 Field Goals Attempted 55
0.318 Field Goal % 0.382
3 3 Pointers Made 6
24 3 Pointers Attempted 21
0.125 3 Pointers % 0.286
11 Free Throws Made 17
16 Free Throws Attempted 21
0.688 Free Throw % 0.810
14 Assists 13
9 Turnovers 11
17 Team Fouls 11
36 Total Rebounds 38
6 Offensive Rebounds 6
30 Defensive Rebounds 32
9 Steals 7
0 Blocks 4
30 Points in the Paint 22
8 Bench Points 8
6 Second Chance Points 4
18 Fast Break Points 4
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Jamyron Steward 15 1 2 0 0 2 1 31
Quentin Pryor 14 0 4 4 0 1 3 33
Shaun Williams 9 9 0 2 0 1 1 31
Clinton Reisz 6 16 0 2 0 2 2 28
Nikola Stojakovic 4 0 4 0 0 1 2 21
Cordaryl Ballard 4 2 1 0 0 1 2 16
Brandon Callahan 3 0 3 0 0 1 2 20
Dan Penick 1 8 0 1 0 0 2 22
Vincent Crutcher 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2
Andreas Coleman 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1

Coach's Notes
Clinton Reisz was an absolute beast today on the defensive glass (15 of his 16 rebounds were defensive). It's nice to see him rounding back into form.
If you want to know how badly the turned ankle has hindered Brandon Callahan, just look at the line. Nikola Stojakovic out-performed him today. Trust me when I say that Stojakovic is nowhere near the player that Callahan is. Thank goodness Brandon will be full strength soon.
That being said, it was my decision to start Nikola instead of Brandon, so I have to take at least some of the blame.
The injury bug continues to bite us. Dan Penick pulled a hamstring late in the game and is going to be slowed down for about 3 weeks.
The lack of offensive production lately, in particular on the road, has me worried. I'm hoping that a fully healthy Brandon Callahan and Vincent Crutcher will help to alleviate the problem, but more drastic measures may be in order if things stay the way they are.

[DataKing]

Monday, January 22nd, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Southeast Missouri 9 2 0.818 9 9 0.500
2. Austin Peay 6 3 0.666 6 9 0.400
3. Tennessee-Martin 7 4 0.636 10 10 0.500
4. Tennessee State 5 4 0.555 10 8 0.555
5. Morehead State 5 5 0.500 10 8 0.555
6. Tennessee Tech 5 5 0.500 8 8 0.500
7. Samford 5 5 0.500 8 10 0.444
8. Eastern Kentucky 4 6 0.400 5 11 0.312
8. Murray State 4 6 0.400 5 11 0.312
10. Eastern Illinois 4 8 0.333 7 13 0.350
11. Jacksonville State 2 8 0.200 2 14 0.125
Games This Week

Thursday (1/25/07) vs. Southeast Missouri
Saturday (1/27/07) vs. Eastern Illinois

Injury Update

Player Injury Severity Duration
Brandon Callahan Sprained Ankle Day-to-day 2 days
Vincent Crutcher Pulled Quadriceps Day-to-day 2 days
Dan Penick Pulled Hamstring Day-to-day 17 days

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Southeast_Missouri_State_Logo.gif SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE REDHAWKS (9-9, 9-2)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (10-8, 5-5)

Pryor Sets Career High, Eagles Defeat Conference-Leading Redhawks 86-73.

January 25th, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - No Morehead State Eagle was happier to return home after last week's road trip than senior guard Quentin Pryor. Pryor's play had been miserable on the Alabama trip, including a horrendous 1-for-8 shooting night against Samford. But the home iron was kind to Pryor and the Eagles. In a game of alternating runs between the Eagles and the visiting Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, the Eupora, Mississippi native had a career-high 35 points in Morehead State's 86-73 victory.

The Eagles jumped out to an early 7-0 lead on the conference-leading Redhawks thanks to successful steals on two inbounds passes. Southeast Missouri got some offense going after that, and the deficit remained in the 6-9 point range until junior center Michael Rembert was tagged with his second personal foul at the 14:16 mark and had to sit for the remainder of the half. Quentin Pryor scored 7 on Morehead State's ensuing 12-2 run, and the lead bulged to 32-13. But the Redhawks answered with a 12-0 run of their own, trimming the lead back into the single digits at 32-25. Pryor didn't appear to be capable of missing for the rest of the half, but the Redhawks' offense held their own. Pryor had scored 22 by halftime, and the Eagles went to the break nursing a 47-38 lead.

The home team jumped out early again in the second half with an 11-2 run (including another 5 points from Pryor), and led 58-40 at the 17:39 mark. The game's frenetic pace began to take it's toll on the bigs from both teams. The Redhawks' Michael Rembert and freshman forward Herbert Terry each had three personal fouls before 4 minutes had expired in the half. At the 13:47 mark (by which time the Redhawks had mounted another retaliatory run, this one of the 10-0 variety) Eagles' sophomore center Clinton Reisz had serious trouble of his own with four fouls and had to sit. Despite missing their preferred big-man, Morehead State mounted yet another run and their lead bulged to 80-60 with only 7:12 to play. Southeast Missouri State got the lead down to single-digits, 80-71 with 2:48 to go, but could get no closer.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Southeast Missouri St (9-10, 9-3) 38 35 73
-Morehead State (11-8, 6-5) 47 39 86
Starters

Southeast Missouri St Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Paul Paradoski JR 6'0" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Terrick Willoughby SR 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Brandon Foust JR 6'6" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Herbert Terry FR 6'7" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Michael Rembert JR 6'9" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"

Team Statistics

Southeast Missouri St Morehead State
73 Points 86
26 Field Goals Made 29
54 Field Goals Attempted 54
0.481 Field Goal % 0.537
2 3 Pointers Made 7
14 3 Pointers Attempted 19
0.143 3 Pointers % 0.368
19 Free Throws Made 21
21 Free Throws Attempted 26
0.905 Free Throw % 0.808
12 Assists 21
15 Turnovers 12
16 Team Fouls 12
24 Total Rebounds 25
4 Offensive Rebounds 3
20 Defensive Rebounds 22
11 Steals 14
2 Blocks 2
32 Points in the Paint 28
24 Bench Points 17
4 Second Chance Points 0
16 Fast Break Points 14
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 35 1 3 1 0 1 1 33
Shaun Williams 16 3 2 1 0 2 1 33
Brandon Callahan 14 2 13 4 0 2 1 33
Cordaryl Ballard 9 1 0 0 0 0 1 13
Dan Penick 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 10
Clinton Reisz 4 9 0 1 2 1 4 22
Vincent Crutcher 2 1 1 2 0 0 0 15
Andreas Coleman 1 5 0 0 0 2 1 16
Jamyron Steward 0 2 2 2 0 2 3 20
Bill Davis 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 8
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2

Coach's Notes
Obviously Quentin Pryor was in "unstoppable" mode tonight, shooting a crazy 12-of-14 from the field (including 6-of-7 from 3-point range). It's nice to see one of our seniors step up.
After a number of inconsistent and foul-riddled performances, Shaun Williams has been giving us nice, steady point production (usually in the 9-13 range) lately and has been keeping his nose clean.
Brandon Callahan deserves a lot of credit for tonight's performance, with his first double-double of the season (an unconventional one to boot - 14 points and a whopping 13 assists).
It's uncanny how many back-and-forth runs both teams had in this game. Just when I figured we'd nailed the coffin shut, the Redhawks would come roaring back and make it a close enough game to keep me nervous.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Eastern_Illinois_Logo.gif EASTERN ILLINOIS PANTHERS (7-13, 4-8)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (11-8, 6-5)

Will the Real Morehead State Please Stand Up?!?! Eagles Blow Lead at Home, Fall to Panthers 69-66.

January 27th, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles basketball team has been displaying more than it's fair share of inconsistency as of late, and that has to be a concern for fans as well as for head coach Dante King. Two nights after a convincing victory over the conference-leading Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, The Eagles seemed to have the upper hand over a far inferior opponent, Eastern Illinois. But the inexperienced Panthers squad came back and handed the Eagles their 4th home loss of the season, 69-66.

Morehead State jumped out to an early 9-2 lead over the Panthers, thanks largely to the continued hot shooting of senior guard Quentin Pryor. But strong inside play from the freshman tandem of Justin Brock and Ousmane Cisse got the Panthers back into the game and kept things close. The teams were tied at 14-14 with 13:01 to play and again at 28-28 with just 4:24 to go, as neither team could hold a lead for very long. Morehead State tallied the last 6 points of the half and led 38-34 at the break.

Early in the 2nd half the Eagles went on a 7-0 run sparked by senior forward Shaun Williams, and Morehead State had the advantage, 49-38, their largest lead of the game. But freshman Ousmane Cisse would not be denied (19 pts, 5 reb, 7-8 ft). Taking advantage of Eagles' sophomore center Clinton Reisz and a loose whistle by the referees, Cisse single-handedly brought his team back into the game with successful and-1 situations on three consecutive trips down the court. By the 7:55 mark, the Panthers had shaved the lead down to 57-54. Morehead State still managed to hold the lead until only 2:54 remained, when junior guard Julio Anthony knocked down a pair of free throws to give Eastern Illinois the edge, 64-63. Shaun Williams had a chance to force overtime, as he was fouled with only 5 seconds to play and down 67-65, but his second free throw clanged off the front of the rim and the Eagles' slim hopes of victory were dashed.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Eastern Illinois (8-13, 5-8) 34 35 69
-Morehead State (11-9, 6-6) 38 28 66
Starters

Eastern Illinois Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Mike Robinson SO 5'11" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Julio Anthony JR 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Bobby Catchings JR 6'6" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Justin Brock FR 6'8" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Ousmane Cisse FR 6'8" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Eastern Illinois Morehead State
73 Points 66
23 Field Goals Made 26
46 Field Goals Attempted 61
0.500 Field Goal % 0.426
8 3 Pointers Made 8
15 3 Pointers Attempted 25
0.533 3 Pointers % 0.320
15 Free Throws Made 6
20 Free Throws Attempted 7
0.750 Free Throw % 0.857
12 Assists 17
16 Turnovers 6
8 Team Fouls 15
30 Total Rebounds 22
4 Offensive Rebounds 7
26 Defensive Rebounds 15
3 Steals 14
2 Blocks 5
20 Points in the Paint 30
14 Bench Points 5
4 Second Chance Points 10
4 Fast Break Points 16
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 20 0 2 5 0 1 1 31
Brandon Callahan 19 2 5 0 0 0 2 35
Shaun Williams 13 7 4 3 0 0 4 34
Jamyron Steward 5 2 1 0 0 3 2 26
Clinton Reisz 4 5 1 4 3 1 1 30
Cordaryl Ballard 3 0 1 1 1 1 0 12
Nikola Stojakovic 2 0 2 0 0 0 1 6
Andreas Coleman 0 4 0 0 0 0 1 7
Dan Penick 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 11
Vincent Crutcher 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 13

Coach's Notes
This team is really starting to baffle me. One day they look fantastic, and the next they look like they couldn't beat their own grandmothers. We currently have the same record against the top 5 teams in the conference (3-3) as we do against the bottom 5 (also 3-3).
Jamyron Steward has been slumping as of late, with only 25 points, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 8 turnovers in his last four games. I'm thinking about starting Vincent Crutcher in his place next game, just to shake things up a bit.
Quentin Pryor continues to poor it on. That's 55 points in the last 2 games from our shooting guard.
Clinton Reisz disappeared in the 2nd half, allowing himself to be dominated by a smaller and younger Ousmane Cisse.

[DataKing]

Monday, January 29th, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Tennessee-Martin 10 4 0.714 13 10 0.565
2. Southeast Missouri 10 4 0.714 10 11 0.476
3. Austin Peay 8 4 0.666 8 10 0.444
4. Tennessee State 7 5 0.583 12 9 0.571
5. Tennessee Tech 7 5 0.583 10 8 0.555
6. Morehead State 6 6 0.500 11 9 0.550
7. Samford 6 7 0.461 9 12 0.428
8. Eastern Illinois 5 8 0.384 8 13 0.380
9. Eastern Kentucky 4 8 0.333 5 13 0.277
10. Murray State 4 9 0.307 5 14 0.263
11. Jacksonville State 3 10 0.230 3 16 0.157
Games This Week

Monday (1/29/07) at Tennessee Tech
Thursday (2/1/07) vs. Eastern Kentucky

Injury Update

Player Injury Severity Duration
Dan Penick Pulled Hamstring Day-to-day 10 days

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (11-9, 6-6)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Tennessee_Tech_Logo.gif TENNESSEE TECH GOLDEN EAGLES (10-8, 7-5)

Second Half Woes Continue for Eagles. Another Lead Blown as Tennessee Tech Knocks Off Morehead State, 77-75.

January 29th, 2007

COOKEVILLE, TN - Blowing halftime leads is becoming a very bad habit for the Morehead State Eagles. For the third time in four games, head coach Dante King's club enjoyed a lead at the break, only to surrender the lead in the second half. This time it was the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles who lit up Morehead State, to the tune of 48 second-half points, on their way to a narrow 77-75 home victory. The skid has dropped Morehead State to 11-10 on the season with a 6-7 conference record and completely out of the hunt for a regular season conference crown.

"None of us are happy right now, especially coach [King]," stated senior forward Shaun Williams after the game, who had a chance to tie things up in the closing seconds. "It's not like we're getting complacent out there or anything...it's just...well...I don't know what it is."

Morehead State started out like a house a-fire with an 8-0 run to open the game. By the 15:26 mark, Tennessee Tech was already getting into foul trouble as both junior point guard Anthony Fisher and sophomore center Daniel Northern were on the bench with two personal fouls. A 10-0 Morehead State run, highlighted by strong post play by Shaun Williams, launched the Eagles to a 22-6 lead. Junior forward Amadi McKenzie played well and sparked a small Tennessee Tech 7-0 run, but Morehead State took advantage of the Golden Eagles' reserves and maintained a double-digit lead throughout the half. By halftime, Morehead State center Clinton Reisz and Tennessee Tech guard Belton Rivers had accumulated their second personal fouls as well, and Morehead State led, 42-29.

The referees continued to call a tight game down low, and with 16:24 to go both teams' starting centers were riding the pine with three fouls each. A goaltending call by Morehead State's Dan Penick sparked a 14-2 run by Tennessee Tech that all but wiped out the Eagles' lead in less than four minutes. The last twelve minutes of the game were a nail-biting affair that any basketball fan would have to appreciate. Shortly after Morehead State's Jamyron Steward left the game with his fourth foul, Tennessee Tech took their first lead of the game. The next seven minutes saw six ties and five lead changes, as neither team could gain any distance from the other.

When Daniel Northern was hit with his fourth foul, the Eagles went on a small 6-0 run to take a 73-69 lead and it felt like the visitors had all the momentum, but by 1:49 to go Northern had returned to the game and an emphatic dunk tied the game at 73-73 and sparked the crowd. With 52 seconds remaining, Belton Rivers nailed a dagger of a 3-pointer, putting the Golden Eagles in the lead, 76-75. Shaun Williams missed a layup on the other end, and with time running out Morehead State was forced to foul. But the usually sure-handed Anthony Fisher missed one of the two free throws, leaving the lead at 77-75. Coming out of the ensuing time-out, coach King called Shaun Williams' number, and the senior had a good look at a short six-foot jumper, but rattled the shot off the front of the iron as time expired.


Scoreboard
Final - Hooper Eblen Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (11-10, 6-7) 42 33 75
-Tennessee Tech (11-8, 8-5) 29 48 77
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Tennessee Tech Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Anthony Fisher JR 6'2"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Belton Rivers SR 6'4"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Rashaud Nixon JR 6'4"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Amadi McKenzie JR 6'7"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Daniel Northern SO 6'9"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Tennessee Tech
75 Points 77
27 Field Goals Made 27
59 Field Goals Attempted 69
0.458 Field Goal % 0.391
2 3 Pointers Made 6
8 3 Pointers Attempted 18
0.250 3 Pointers % 0.333
19 Free Throws Made 17
26 Free Throws Attempted 20
0.731 Free Throw % 0.850
13 Assists 13
11 Turnovers 12
14 Team Fouls 19
30 Total Rebounds 40
7 Offensive Rebounds 15
23 Defensive Rebounds 25
12 Steals 10
3 Blocks 1
34 Points in the Paint 34
5 Bench Points 14
6 Second Chance Points 10
12 Fast Break Points 2
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 28 1 0 2 0 2 0 31
Shaun Williams 25 9 2 3 1 2 2 31
Jamyron Steward 10 1 1 0 0 1 5 18
Clinton Reisz 5 7 1 0 1 0 3 24
Brandon Callahan 2 1 7 5 0 5 3 33
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 1 1 0 0 1 14
Vincent Crutcher 1 4 1 0 0 1 0 19
Andreas Coleman 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 7
Dan Penick 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 20
Nikola Stojakovic 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 8


Coach's Notes

Even with Belton Rivers graduating, Tech is going to be a very difficult team to deal with again next season. At first glance, they'll be the odds-on favorite to win the conference in 2007-08.
We got absolutely murdered on the glass in the second half, which was a large part of the reason our defense fell apart. All 10 of Tech's second chance points came in the second half.
Quentin Pryor led the team in scoring for the third game in a row. He's certainly doing his part, but isn't getting enough help from the other members of the team.
For the second game in a row, members of the press are calling Shaun Williams the goat, for missing opportunities to send these games to overtime. Truth is, we never should have been in those situations in the first place.
Jamyron Steward has struggled mightily as of late, and we've been getting virtually no help off the bench from Vincent Crutcher in his place. Crutcher may get the start on Thursday, just to shake things up a bit if for no other reason.
It was an off-day for Brandon Callahan (his lowest point total of the season, 0-for-9 from the field) and that probably hurt us more than anything else.
I have to say, as much as I hated the outcome and as much as I want this horrible skid we're on to end, this was a really fun game to coach.

[Evil Afro]

What is your recruiting looking like? Maybe the top 5 Sr, and top 3 underclassmen?

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Rivals_com.gif

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo_Large.gif

MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES FEBRUARY RECRUITING REPORT

TARGETS

Name Pos Stars Ht Wt Year Hometown
Arturo Dean SF ** 6'5" 214 JC FR Decatur, IL
Andrew Volpenhein C ** 6'7" 210 HS SR Mazeikiai, Lithuania
Skip Sikes SF ** 6'5" 199 JC FR Springfield, OH
West McCully SF ** 6'6" 216 HS SR Detroit, MI
Darshan Abram C * 6'7" 222 HS SR Elkhart, IN

Rivals.com Recruiting Overview - Morehead State Eagles

If head coach Dante King was looking to make a splash in his first year as a Division I head-man, he's failed miserably. While there aren't many All-Americans working their way onto Ohio Valley Conference campuses, there's enough quality talent in the area of the actual Ohio Valley to expect better results than what the Eagles are looking at. Coach King and especially chief scout Manuel Cobb have made a number of blunders in their recruiting efforts, and the result is a lackluster and (somewhat) undersized list of possibilities, especially at the all-important center position. Let's hope that the fans and athletic director Brian Hutchinson are willing to forgive King's rookie mistakes.


The Latest

Arturo Dean: A somewhat talented freshman at Richland Community College in Decatur IL, the 6'5" small forward has shown good defensive quickness and slashing ability. The scuttlebutt is that one of the biggest mistakes made by King's staff has something to do with their efforts to recruit Dean, who is now leaning towards Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee-Martin.

Andrew Volpenhein: Little is known about this undersized European center, except that he is small for the position but compensates with good leaping ability and a nice shooting touch. From what we've been able to tell, Volpenhein has not garnered any interest from other Division I schools, but it remains to be seen whether or not Coach King can convince the young man to come play basketball several thousand miles from home.

Skip Sikes: Another junior college freshman, this one currently plays for Clark State Community College in Springfield, OH. While Sikes lacks Arturo Dean's explosiveness, he is rugged and has a decent amount of defensive quickness of his own. Scouts also judge him to have a better up-side than Dean, though with only three years of eligibility remaining a coaching staff will be hard-pressed to see just how good he can become. Rumor has it that Sikes, who has yet to receive any scholarship offers, is leaning towards Morehead State.

West McCully: A senior at Detroit's Renaissance High School, West McCully has been looked at by a number of bottom-feeder programs, but has yet to garner any scholarship offers. A rugged player with decent rebounding ability, scouts and coaches have been a bit disappointed with his lack of prowess on the offensive side of the ball. He will probably be there for the taking for Coach King and Morehead State if they act early enough, but Sikes or Dean (though unlikely) would certainly be better options for the Eagles.

Darshan Abram: Another undersized center, Darshan hails from Elkhart Central High School in Indiana. A number of smaller schools, including Morehead State, appear to be looking at the 6'7" Abram as a backup plan. Abram's one redeeming factor that a number of scouts have mentioned is his hustle on the court, which can be something of a premium among big men. But to call Abram "big" is perhaps being a bit generous. Still, if Volpenhein decides he'd rather not experience the wonders of the United States, Abram may well be the only feasible option left to Coach King come spring.


Author's Notes

This is my first time running a dynasty with College Hoops 2K7, and I've made more than my fair share of mistakes, hence the week recruiting class. I also restricted myself a little too much earlier on with who I could go after (as a house rule), and by the time I changed my mind on that it was too late to seriously pursue higher-level players.
We started the season with a paltry 3,000 recruiting points, so I have yet to put any effort into underclassmen. I'm hoping to spend some time looking at high school juniors once I get my current class locked down.
The good news (if you can consider it good) is that we only have two available scholarships this year, so the damage I've done to the program by my recruiting mistakes has hopefully been minimized. Next year we should have three scholarships available.
If it seems like the roster is rather small, remember that we've got three players (including two freshman) red-shirting this year.

[Evil Afro]

Man, I'm going to have to get this for 360. I just have it for xbox, and that's no fun once you have a 360.

[Evil Afro]

I just rna a quick game on the xbox version, and I noticed that when I don't call the offensive plays every posession, they simply run the last play I called every time down.

i called the first play of the game, and they ran that same play every posession until I called a new play.

How do you stop that?

[DataKing]

I haven't run into that problem. Maybe a glitch with the xbox version? (I have a 360).

[Evil Afro]

So you're positive they call different plays?

If that's so, I might be heading to the store soon.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Eastern_Kentucky_Logo.gif EASTERN KENTUCKY COLONELS (5-13, 4-8)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (11-10, 6-7)

Just What the Doctor Ordered. Morehead State Dominates Weak Eastern Kentucky Team, 61-47.

February 1st, 2007

MOREHEAD, KY - The Morehead State Eagles came into Thursday night's game desperate for a win after having lost four of their last five games. Fortunately for them, a weak Eastern Kentucky team came calling. The Colonels were made even weaker due to missing their starting point guard, Adam Leonard, thanks to a high ankle sprain. Coach King ran a surprisingly slow-paced game and chose to start freshman Vincent Crutcher instead of struggling junior Jamyron Steward, but the buttons King pushed seemed to be the right ones. While not very flashy, Morehead State won the game in convincing manner, and were especially dominant early in the second half. Senior forward Shaun Williams led all scorers with 17 points.

"Time's getting short for me and Q," stated Williams after the game, "we don't have much time left on the court, in front of the fans. Coach [King] reminded us of that right before the game. It definitely helped us get some perspective." Williams and Pryor are the only two seniors on the relatively young Eagles squad. Only six games remain in Morehead State's regular season, and only two of those games will be at Johnson Arena.

The first 11 minutes of the game were a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to pull away from the other. Williams was strong early for the Eagles, and sophomore guard Mike Rose hit a pair of early 3-pointers for the Colonels, as neither team could stretch a lead to more than 4 points. Morehead State suffered a blow at the 9:02 mark when junior point guard Brandon Callahan left the game due to foul trouble. But despite the loss, the Eagles went on a 15-2 run that gave them a 29-19 lead with 2:59 to go until halftime. Junior Ryan Wiersma and Eastern Kentucky responded, scoring the last six points of the half, shaving the lead down to 29-25.

Morehead State games have been characterized lately by second half collapses, but that was not the case this time. Quite the opposite, the Eagles came out on fire, opening the half with suffocating half-court defense that led to a 17-3 run lasting for the first 8 minutes of the half. Shaun Williams in particular was dominatant during this portion of the game, scoring 9 of his 17 points during this period. Eastern Kentucky countered as best they could, going on a 9-2 run of their own, but a 49-37 deficit with 9:46 to play was as close as the Colonels would get. The Eagles' defense clamped down for the remainder of the game, earning the victory and pushing their conference record back up to the .500 mark.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Eastern Kentucky (5-14, 4-9) 25 22 47
-Morehead State (12-10, 7-7) 29 32 61
Starters

Eastern Kentucky Yr Ht [U]Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Ryan Dillman FR 6'0" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Mike Rose SO 6'4" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Julian Mascoll SR 6'4" SF Vincent Crutcher FR 6'4"
Jamaal Douglas JR 6'7" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Ryan Wiersma JR 6'6" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"

Team Statistics

Eastern Kentucky Morehead State
47 Points 61
18 Field Goals Made 21
49 Field Goals Attempted 54
0.367 Field Goal % 0.389
3 3 Pointers Made 2
17 3 Pointers Attempted 16
0.176 3 Pointers % 0.125
8 Free Throws Made 17
12 Free Throws Attempted 20
0.667 Free Throw % 0.850
7 Assists 7
9 Turnovers 10
12 Team Fouls 11
23 Total Rebounds 40
6 Offensive Rebounds 14
17 Defensive Rebounds 26
8 Steals 7
2 Blocks 1
22 Points in the Paint 26
2 Bench Points 14
4 Second Chance Points 14
6 Fast Break Points 10
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Shaun Williams 17 7 0 1 1 1 3 31
Brandon Callahan 11 1 3 0 0 0 3 28
Quentin Pryor 10 1 3 3 0 1 1 31
Vincent Crutcher 8 3 0 0 0 2 2 20
Andreas Coleman 4 6 0 1 0 1 0 10
Jamyron Steward 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 21
Dan Penick 2 2 0 0 0 1 0 14
Nikola Stojakovic 2 0 1 0 0 2 0 13
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 10
Clinton Reisz 1 19 0 2 0 0 2 27


Coach's Notes

Clinton Reisz earns the "most lopsided line of the year" award with his performance today. Apparently he wasn't in a shooting mood (0-for-2 from the field) but went absolutely berserk on the glass, using his height advantage to nab a career-best 19 rebounds!
Giving Crutch a start seems to be just what he needed. His 8 points and 3 boards was his best individual performance since December. I'm still looking for consistent production at the 3-spot between him and Jam Steward.
He doesn't get much press, but Andreas Coleman deserves some credit today. He gave us 10 very solid minutes out there, and tied his season-best rebound total of six.
The last thing I want is for this team to be is predicable, so we switched things up and hardly used any press at all. We never trapped and didn't press once during the second half. I'm not sure how much of a difference it made, but I want to be as difficult as possible to game-plan for, especially with the conference tourney just a few weeks away.

[DataKing]

Monday, February 5th, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Southeast Missouri 11 4 0.733 11 11 0.500
2. Tennessee-Martin 10 6 0.625 13 12 0.520
3. Tennessee Tech 9 6 0.600 12 9 0.571
4. Tennessee State 8 6 0.571 13 10 0.565
5. Austin Peay 8 6 0.571 8 12 0.400
6. Samford 8 7 0.533 11 12 0.478
7. Morehead State 7 7 0.500 12 10 0.545
8. Eastern Kentucky 5 9 0.357 6 14 0.300
9. Eastern Illinois 5 10 0.333 8 15 0.347
10. Murray State 5 10 0.333 6 15 0.285
11. Jacksonville State 5 10 0.333 5 16 0.238
Games This Week

Thursday (2/8/07) at Southeast Missouri State
Saturday (2/10/07) at Murray State

Injury Update

Player Injury Severity Duration
Dan Penick Pulled Hamstring Day-to-day 3 days

[WVUFAN]

Great dynasty!

[Evil Afro]

Can you look and make sure that your guys aren't calling the same play over and over again after you call a play?

I'm getting excited for the game, but that could be a deal killer.

[DataKing]

WVUFAN: Thanks for sounding off. I'm glad you're enjoying it. :)

Evil Afro: My guys are not running the same play over and over again after I call it. Some of the offensive sets look the same (the motion offense often has high-post feeds into the center, who then passes off to a moving PF), but then there are others that look very distinctive that are easy to distinguish (corner curls, baseline drives).

[Evil Afro]

sweet.

thanks

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (12-10, 7-7)

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http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Southeast_Missouri_State_Logo.gif SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE REDHAWKS (11-11, 11-4)

Heartbreak Hotel Yet Again. Eagles Miss Another Buzzer-Beater, Fall to Redhawks 67-65.

February 8th, 2007

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO - For the third time in their last four games, the Morehead State Eagles had their fans on the edge of their seats, with a last-second chance to win a game or at least force an overtime period. Unfortunately for Coach King's team the end result was the same. This time around it was senior guard Quentin Pryor who had a chance at last-second heroics. But Pryor's jumper missed wide of the mark, and the Eagles failed in their bid to sweep the conference-leading Redhawks, 67-65.

King's team has proven to be very strong out of the gate all season long, and Thursday night was no exception. Behind strong play from Pryor, Morehead State jumped out to an early 8-1 lead on the road. Easy whistles from the referees played into the Redhawks' hands, however, and with 13:47 to play in the half senior forward Shaun Williams was forced to sit with two personal fouls. But despite having their team captain riding the bench, the Eagles surged, and an 8-0 run later in the half pushed their lead to double-digits, 29-18. The Redhawks stormed back on a 10-0 run of their own, however, with junior forward Brandon Foust hitting four straight jumpers, trimming the Eagles' lead to one. At the break, Morehead State nursed a narrow 38-35 lead. Quentin Pryor led all scorers with 16 first-half points, but center Clinton Reisz was getting practically no help from his teammates on the glass, and the Eagles were out-rebounded in the half, 18-8.

The Redhawks continued their dominance on the boards into the second half, and senior guard Terrick Willoughby caught on fire for the home team. Still, it took until the 13:21 mark for Southeast Missouri State to grab their first lead of the game, 48-47. The lead switched hands five times over the next two minutes before Morehead State once again grabbed the lead and held it, thanks largely to the efforts of Shaun Williams. But a jump-hook by freshman forward Herbert Terry with 4:19 to play gave the Redhawks a 63-61 lead that they would not relenquish. With 1:26 to play and trailing by two, 67-65, Quentin Pryor missed a layup (granted, a difficult one) that would have tied the game. Offensive rebounding by the Redhawks at the other end meant that Morehead State had only time for one chance at a last-second win or tie, but Pryor's jump-shot was slightly off to the left of center and the Eagles lost another heart-breaker.

Scoreboard
Final - Show Me Center 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (12-11, 7-8) 38 27 65
-SE Missouri State (12-11, 12-4) 35 32 67
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos SE Missouri State Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Paul Paradoski JR 6'0"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Terrick Willoughby SR 6'4"
Vincent Crutcher FR 6'4" SF Brandon Foust JR 6'6"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Herbert Terry FR 6'7"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Michael Rembert JR 6'9"
Team Statistics
Morehead State SE Missouri State
65 Points 67
22 Field Goals Made 25
46 Field Goals Attempted 50
0.478 Field Goal % 0.500
3 3 Pointers Made 5
11 3 Pointers Attempted 11
0.273 3 Pointers % 0.455
18 Free Throws Made 12
21 Free Throws Attempted 14
0.857 Free Throw % 0.857
10 Assists 14
12 Turnovers 18
9 Team Fouls 11
16 Total Rebounds 29
3 Offensive Rebounds 9
13 Defensive Rebounds 20
13 Steals 10
3 Blocks 0
28 Points in the Paint 24
11 Bench Points 8
6 Second Chance Points 3
18 Fast Break Points 12
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Quentin Pryor 18 3 2 1 0 1 1 31
Brandon Callahan 13 0 2 1 0 1 1 32
Shaun Williams 10 1 0 0 1 0 3 18
Clinton Reisz 9 7 0 3 1 1 1 29
Vincent Crutcher 4 3 4 1 0 3 0 28
Dan Penick 4 1 0 1 1 0 1 16
Andreas Coleman 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 19
Nikola Stojakovic 2 0 0 3 0 2 0 9
Cordaryl Ballard 2 0 1 0 0 3 1 10
Jamyron Steward 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 13

Coach's Notes
The "Big 3" for us continue to produce (Pryor, Williams, and Callahan), and Reisz keeps working on the defensive end, but the 3-spot remains a problem. Crutch and Jam have both pretty much disappeared as of late. A pep-talk may be in order for one of these guys.
Despite having 13 points, I'm not happy with Callahan's play right now. Two assists is not going to cut it for our starting point-guard.
Calling Quentin's number for the last shot of the game was my mistake. He'd only managed two points in the second half. Callahan would have been the better option.
We remain in 7th place in the conference standings. With three of our last five conference games on the road, I'll be happy with an even conference record and an invitation to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament (only the top eight teams participate).

[Evil Afro]

I should be getting the game this weekend. Maybe I'll make a competing dynasty and show you what real incompetence is!

[DataKing]

Evil Afro: http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/laugh.gif Looking forward to it.

[Evil Afro]

I'm rooting for the Jacksonville St Cocks now.

GO COCKS!

...oh wait. :(

[Evil Afro]

I got it!

I'm going to set up my dynasty now with some coach mode sliders I found on Operation Sports.

Any suggestions for teams? I want a really crappy-ass squad.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (12-11, 7-8)

at
http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Murray_State_Logo.gif MURRAY STATE RACERS (6-10, 7-15)

One of Those Days. Eagles Get the Beat-Down from Racers, Suffer Worst Loss of Season, 94-64.

February 10th, 2007

MURRAY, KY - Saturday was a day that Head Coach Dante King and his Morehead State Eagles would just as soon forget. The rough stretch that they find themselves on as of late continued, and the Eagles have now dropped six of their last eight games, including the last five on the road. Today Murphy's Law seemed to become Murray's Law. No matter what Morehead State tried, no matter what they did or did not do, everything seemed to go the Racers' way.

"We've been on the other side of these things before," stated an irritated Coach King after the game, "when it seems like all of your shots are falling no matter what the opposition does. We tried everything, and I mean everything, that we could think of. We slowed things down and sped things up. We laid back and we tried pressing. We played man, zone, and even a little matchup. And none of it seemed to make a difference in the outcome."

Things started out well enough for the visiting Eagles, as solid post play from sophomore center Clinton Reisz staked Morehead State to an early 10-7 lead at the 16:08 mark. But the fun stopped early for Coach King's squad. Senior forward and conference player-of-the-year candidate Shawn Witherspoon sparked his Racers on a 16-1 run over the next 4:30. To make matters worse for the visitors, both Jamyron Steward and Shaun Williams found themselves in early foul trouble and had to sit for long stretches of time. After a 9-1 run later in the half, Murray State's lead had ballooned out to 39-21 as the Racers out-played the Eagles on both ends of the floor. Starting point guard Kevin Thomas finished strong for Murray State, and the home team enjoyed a 51-30 cushion at the break.

Morehead State had the look of a desperate team to start the second half, trying to raise the tempo and up the pressure on their hosts. But the senior-laden Racers were not rattled in the least, and opened the half with a 14-2 run. A livid Coach King, now facing a 33-point deficit, sat his entire starting five for the next five minutes. With the Eagles' reserves facing the Racers' reserves, things turned into an even contest, and the visitors started to match the home team bucket-for-bucket. But despite numerous substitutions, defensive set switches and other tricks, Morehead State was powerless to even pretend to make a comeback.

Things threatened to get ugly at the very end of the game when, with only :13 seconds remaining and with the shot clock turned off, Racers' junior guard Tyler Holloway launched a 3-point shot that rattled home. Eagles' guard Brandon Callahan took exception, but the referees intervened and pre-empted a possible altercation. Coach King sat Callahan on the bench, but stared daggers at Holloway. Once the buzzer sounded, King refused to shake Racers' coach Billy Kennedy's hand, instead pointing a finger in Kennedy's face and shouting at him briefly before storming off to the locker room.

When asked about his exchange with King after the game, Coack Kennedy commented, "Somebody needs to teach that young man [Coach King] about being a good sport. These are college kids. So Tyler [Holloway] wanted to boost his stats a little bit. So what?!"

During his post-game press conference, King said that he regretted his exchange with Kennedy, but that he felt that it was Holloway and the Racers who were showing poor sportsmanship. "Where I come from, you don't run up the score when all you have to do is hold onto the ball," stated King. "Next time around, we'll see how the Racers like it."


Scoreboard
Final - Regional Events Center 1H 2H Fin
-Morehead State (12-12, 7-9) 30 34 64
-Murray State (7-10, 8-15) 51 43 94
Starters

Morehead State Yr Ht Pos Murray State Yr Ht
Brandon Callahan JR 6'0" PG Kevin Thomas JR 6'1"
Quentin Pryor SR 6'4" SG Ed Horton SR 6'3"
Jamyron Steward JR 6'3" SF Shawn Witherspoon SR 6'5"
Shaun Williams SR 6'6" PF Dwayne Paul SR 6'5"
Clinton Reisz SO 6'10" C Rob Kennedy SR 6'9"
Team Statistics
Morehead State Murray State
64 Points 94
21 Field Goals Made 30
46 Field Goals Attempted 57
0.457 Field Goal % 0.526
1 3 Pointers Made 6
3 3 Pointers Attempted 16
0.333 3 Pointers % 0.375
21 Free Throws Made 28
25 Free Throws Attempted 32
0.840 Free Throw % 0.875
14 Assists 16
8 Turnovers 2
20 Team Fouls 14
20 Total Rebounds 22
7 Offensive Rebounds 6
13 Defensive Rebounds 16
1 Steals 8
6 Blocks 3
30 Points in the Paint 38
10 Bench Points 47
2 Second Chance Points 9
0 Fast Break Points 14
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 16 0 5 0 0 3 4 35
Clinton Reisz 12 5 1 0 2 0 4 24
Jamyron Steward 10 2 0 0 0 0 4 18
Shaun Williams 9 1 1 0 1 0 3 28
Quentin Pryor 7 0 3 0 0 1 1 30
Andreas Coleman 5 2 1 0 0 0 2 10
Dan Penick 3 6 0 0 3 2 2 21
Vincent Crutcher 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 19
Cordaryl Ballard 0 1 2 1 0 1 0 15
Nikola Stojakovic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6

Coach's Notes

The last 55 minutes of this game were a complete and total beat-down. There's no silver lining here. We got pummelled. http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Smileys/hammer.gif
The next time we've got the upper-hand on Murray State, you can bet your ass we're going to put the pedal down and bury the bastards by 40! http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Smileys/angry4.gif
The pep-talk I had with Jamyron Steward has hopefully got him turned around and headed back in the right direction. If we're going to finish the season strong, we need production from the 3-spot.
Murray State, despite how upset we may be with them right now, just played nearly flawless basketball. They shot over 50% from the field and had 16 assists to only two turnovers! They could have beaten anyone in the conference, and a lot of mid-major teams, today.
Only four regular-season games remain, and we're scrambling. If we can finish the regular season with an overall record over .500 and a spot in the Conference tournament, I'll be elated.

[DataKing]

Monday, February 12th, 2007

Ohio Valley Conference Standings
Rnk Team ConfW ConfL Conf% Win Loss Win%
1. Southeast Missouri 13 4 0.764 13 11 0.541
2. Tennessee State 10 7 0.588 15 11 0.576
3. Tennessee Tech 10 7 0.588 13 10 0.565
4. Samford 9 7 0.562 12 12 0.500
5. Tennessee-Martin 10 8 0.555 13 14 0.481
6. Austin Peay 8 9 0.470 8 15 0.347
7. Morehead State 7 9 0.437 12 12 0.500
8. Eastern Illinois 7 10 0.411 10 15 0.400
9. Murray State 7 10 0.411 8 15 0.347
10. Jacksonville State 6 10 0.375 6 16 0.272
11. Eastern Kentucky 5 11 0.312 6 16 0.272
Games This Week

Tuesday (2/13) vs. Jacksonville State
Thursday (2/15) vs. Samford (Senior Night)

Injury Update
For the first time in what seems like forever, we're 100% healthy.

[DataKing]

http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Jacksonville_State_Logo.gif JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (6-16, 6-10)

at
http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Dante/Morehead_State_Logo.gif MOREHEAD STATE EAGLES (12-12, 7-9)

Winning Ugly. Aggressive 2nd-Half Play Leads Eagles to Victory, 61-46.

February 13th, 2007.

MOREHEAD, KY - It wouldn't win any beauty pagents. In fact, tonight's game between the Morehead State Eagles and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks wouldn't even win the $10 in Monopoly money for taking 2nd prize. But what it lacked in beauty, it made up for in substance and meaning for a struggling Morehead State Eagles squad. Coach King's team had lost six of its last eight coming into tonight, and was desperately clinging to the 7th spot in the conference standings (only the top 8 teams receive invitations to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament). With tonight's win, a winning record for the season is still within reach as well.

Ugly doesn't even begin to describe the way the game started, however. After trading buckets in the first minute of play, the next 10 minutes were an exercise in utter futility for both teams on the offensive end. Shots were clanging off the iron with such regularity that the crowd let out a particularly loud cheer when an Andreas Coleman jump-hook tied the game at 6-6 with 8:56 to go in the half! Coach King was desperate to find some sort of offense, and so had a number of substitutes in the game. And one of these subs, an unlikely source, was the one to provide the Eagles with the spark they were desperately looking for. Freshman forward Dan Penick, known for his physical play, threw down an offensive rebound in thunderous fashion, igniting the crowd and his teammates. The dunk tied the game at 11-11, but marked a significant turning point with 5:38 to play in the half. Twenty seconds later, point guard Brandon Callahan picked off an errant Gamecock pass and scored on a layup, giving Morehead State a lead that they would never surrender. Both teams' offenses woke up after this, and Jacksonville State trailed by only 3 at the break, 27-24, thanks to an Erik Adams 3-pointer at the buzzer.

But the tone had been set, and the second half started very much in the home team's favor. Strong inside play from Shaun Williams and a much more aggressive offense overall sent the Eagles on an 11-3 run to start the half. Jacksonville State began to accumulate fouls at an alarming rate, thanks largely to Brandon Callahan's determination to drive the lane, and the Gamecocks also lost their floor leader when Will Ginn was fouled hard by Clinton Reisz as he drove the lane at the other end. Ginn did not return, and the Eagles ramped up the defensive pressure in response. Jacksonville State went small in an effort to shoot their way out of the hole that had been dug for them, but their efforts proved futile. Shots continued to rattle out for the Gamecocks, and the Eagles' size advantage began to take its toll, especially on the glass. Morehead State's lead never dropped into single-digits, and Coach King had the luxury of emptying his bench at the end of the game, to the delight of the crowd.


Scoreboard
Final - Johnson Arena 1H 2H Fin
-Jacksonville St (6-17, 6-11) 24 22 46
-Morehead State (13-12, 8-9) 27 34 61
Starters

Jacksonville St Yr Ht Pos Morehead State Yr Ht
Will Ginn JR 6'0" PG Brandon Callahan JR 6'0"
Erik Adams JR 6'5" SG Quentin Pryor SR 6'4"
Harold Crow SR 6'7" SF Jamyron Steward JR 6'3"
Courtney Bradley SR 6'5" PF Shaun Williams SR 6'6"
Dorien Brown JR 6'7" C Clinton Reisz SO 6'10"
Team Statistics

Jacksonville St Morehead State
46 Points 61
17 Field Goals Made 21
52 Field Goals Attempted 58
0.327 Field Goal % 0.362
7 3 Pointers Made 1
24 3 Pointers Attempted 16
0.292 3 Pointers % 0.063
5 Free Throws Made 18
8 Free Throws Attempted 21
0.625 Free Throw % 0.857
15 Assists 8
18 Turnovers 11
14 Team Fouls 8
31 Total Rebounds 41
6 Offensive Rebounds 10
25 Defensive Rebounds 31
9 Steals 17
1 Blocks 1
16 Points in the Paint 32
18 Bench Points 18
4 Second Chance Points 8
2 Fast Break Points 16
Morehead State Player Statistics

Name Pts Reb Ast Stl Blk TO PF Min
Brandon Callahan 12 3 3 3 0 1 0 31
Shaun Williams 9 10 0 1 0 1 0 25
Clinton Reisz 9 8 0 3 0 1 3 25
Quentin Pryor 7 3 1 4 0 1 1 30
Jamyron Steward 6 2 4 3 0 2 1 26
Cordaryl Ballard 6 2 0 0 0 2 0 9
Dan Penick 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 14
Andreas Coleman 3 7 0 0 1 1 0 16
Nikola Stojakovic 2 2 0 2 0 0 1 10
Bill Davis 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Vincent Crutcher 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 15
Chase Denson 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 3

Coach's Notes
Mad props go out to Dan Penick. He may have only scored five points, but two of those five came at exactly the right time, and his dunk really sparked our sputtering offense. http://home.comcast.net/%7Ej.hoag/Smileys/clap.gif
Shaun Williams was a little perturbed that I pulled him out of the game when I did. I think he wanted a double-double, but I am not going to risk injury to him in garbage time. I'll try to make it up to him on Thursday (Senior Night).
"Crutch" was horrible tonight, going 0-for-7 from the field. Jam Steward wasn't much better scoring-wise, but at least he was busy elsewhere on the floor (2 boards, 4 assists, 3 steals).
In a nice little bit of irony, Bill Davis (who had complained over the weekend about never seeing the court because, well, he sucks) got fouled in the act with 47 seconds to play and drained both free-throws.
I couldn't help but smile when I heard the crowd start chanting 'GO HOME' with about five minutes left to play. These rural Kentucky folk crack me up sometimes. :D

[sterlingice]

bump?

SI

[DataKing]

I was starting to get a little irritated with the way this game performs sometimes (in Coach mode, at least), and so took a break from it. I wasn't even sure if I still had any readers or not. That's why I didn't put out a post indicating that this dynasty report was on hold.

LOTRO and EVE have got my full attention at the moment, so there isn't much time for hoops, but knowing me I'll probably come back to this at some point. Especially once the college hoops season starts up again (and since I recently learned that NCAA Football 2008 for the 360 still isn't coach-mode playable). :mad: