Rider's best player over the last few weeks has been their PF and he is the highlighted player. Bennet Nicholas 6'10 245 and skilled. He'll be a tough matchup for Cornette.
Not a good start as their SF hits 2 3's and they start off the game 8-0.
However, we slowly chip away at the lead. Hannan, Everett, and Simon help us close the gap. At the 12 minute mark, we are down 16-15.
Down 29-23 at the 5 minute mark as they had a 9-0 run.
We enter halftime down 35-27. A bad last 7 minutes.
Lawrence, their SF, is the player of the half with 10 points.
Hannan leads our team with 7 points and 2 boards. He needs to be much more active in the 2nd half.
With 11:56 to go, Hannan hits 2 FT's to tie the game at 41. A big run by our team, but now our starters are tiring.
Hannan will get a breather while the rest of the starters try to keep this surge going, we are on a 8-0 run right now.
Our next possession, Cornette with a jump hook in the post to give us the lead!
Our next possession, Everett has it knocked away from him with 4 seconds left.. he recovers with 2 seconds left and heaves a desperation 3 from way outside the arc that rattles in! 46-41!
With 7:22 to go, they score a basket to end our run and on their next possession a 3 ties it at 46.
I get Everett a quick rest and bring Hannan back into the game.
Hannan misses his first layup, but he hits his next two. We are tied at 50 with 3 minutes to go. I get Everett back into the game and bring in Snow for some spot up 3 point shooting..
Hannan with a ball fake and he spins into the lane and hits a little 6 footer. 52-50.
Hannan with good defense on their SF who misses a 3.
Everett with a 3 off a screen. 55-50.
They miss a 3 from their SG.
Hannan down in the post.. he passes to Cornette who passes it to Everett in the corner.. Everett drills the 3! 58-50.
They hit a 3. Everett to Hannan for a 12 footer. 60-53. 1 minute left.
They miss a quick 3. Now, they are intentionally fouling. Everett hits both FT's. They miss a 3. They let the clock run out.
We win 62-53.
Hannan is the player of the game. 21 points, 3 boards, and 1 assist. 9 of 17, 1 of 3, and 2 of 5 shooting.
Everett finished with 18 points, 4 assists, 1 board, and 1 steal. He shot 6 of 13, 4 of 10, and 2 of 2.
Collins had 5 points and 4 boards. He was 1 of 6.
Cornette had 6 points, 11 boards, and 2 assists.
After a slow first half, Simon finished with 6 points, 16 boards, and a block.
Waters, Adams, and Bowers each had 2 points.
After the game, Jerome Adams (who is getting about 12 minutes per game) and Reyshawn Ortiz (5-10 minutes per game) tell me they are unhappy with their lack of PT. Snow is also unhappy
Graves is completely healthy and will immediately return to the starting lineup.
Our next opponent is Siena. They are 6-7, but they are a talented team with an overall rating of 81 now that they have guys back healthy.
I'll play that game tomorrow.