The Coaching Career of Andrew O'Hearn (CH 2K8)

[NoDakHusker]

December 10 - 29 Preview

Looking at what's left in 2007 for the Terriers

St. Francis split their first two conference games in the NEC's early match-ups. The Terriers have 4 more games to play before they hit the heart of the NEC schedule, which begins in January of 2008.
Each of their 4 games outside of conference play are very win-able. It's crucial that St. Francis picks up these wins as they don't want to fall into a bigger hole going into conference play.

December 10 - At Columbia(3-6)

The Terriers and Lions match-up fairly even. Columbia averages 65 PPG, compared to St. Francis' 56 PPG. They'll need leading scorers Mockford(13.0 PPG) and Douglas(7.7 PPG) to continue to lead the way, both were hot from 3 point range at Wagner.
Projected result: Win

December 15 - At Albany(5-3)

Albany sits at an RPI of 88 at the time of writing this, as good as any team from the America East conference. What they have going for them is the scoring tandem of Guard Gerardo Suero(16.0 PPG) and Guard Logan Aronhalt(12.4 PPG), something the St. Francis defense will need to be prepared for.
Projected result: Toss up. +/- 3 points to either team.

December 22 - At South Florida(3-7)

St. Francis' second Big East opponent, but a game that can be won if the Terriers play their cards right. The Bulls are apt to turnovers(18.4/g) and post one of the lower free throw percentages in the country at 55.3 as a team. St. Francis will do well to force the turnovers and push the fast break.
Projected result: Loss

December 29 - Vs Navy(1-9)

If you're going solely on the wins and losses, Navy looks to be the easiest game, as well as being the Terriers first home game since December 2nd vs Ohio. Navy is a young team, listing 5 Freshman and 6 Sophomores, just 3 Seniors round out the rest of the roster. The home floor may be key to winning this game in trying to rattle the youngsters. Navy does have a size advantage and will need to win the boards to take the game from the Terriers.
This will be a key home game for the Terriers returning from 5 games on the road in a row.
Projected result: Win

*Let's hope for wins in all these games

[JLPJordan22]

This is a really nice coaching dynasty.

[NoDakHusker]

Quote: Originally Posted by JLPJordan22

This is a really nice coaching dynasty.

Why thank you, good sir! It's been really enjoyable to play through so far.

[NoDakHusker]

Mockford Puts Up 29 in Road Win at Columbia
December 10, 2007

Manhattan, NY - St. Francis and Columbia were set to play in another match-up featuring two schools from NYC. Both teams currently sit at a 3-6 record and looked to turn their fortunes around with a win to inch closer to a .500 mark.

First Half

The game ripped off to a fast start when both teams were draining shots and moving quickly up and down the floor. The first half may have been the cleanest half either team has played all year, a total of 4 fouls were called and there were minimal stoppages in play allowing both teams to gain momentum offensively.
St. Francis would go on a 9-2 run to end the half and take a 29-24 lead, as their defense forced several turnovers which resulted in free points on the other end.

Second Half

The Terriers pushed the ball even faster coming out of the half. They had 3 consecutive baskets that were a result of fast breaks. PG James Newton accounted for 4 points and assisted on the other basket. Newton finished the night with 6 points, 3 assists and 5 steals.
Columbia would inch closer with back to back 3 pointers by leading scorer B. Barbour(15 points, 1 assist on the night) bringing Columbia within 6 points, with 8 minutes to go.

The game changer at this point in the game stepped up. Ben Mockford came back into the game after a couple minutes of rest and began lighting it up. He scored on 4 consecutive possessions and drained 4 3-pointers in just 3 minutes of play.
Mockford put the nail in the coffin as St. Francis went on to win 67-50. He would earn Player of the Game honors, scoring a season high 29 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. He shot 50% from 3-point range.

Coach's Thoughts

"He's a special kid, to see a Sophomore step it up like this is impressive. He was a leader today, not just on the scoreboard but he kicked our team in the butt to win this game. You hope he can keep this quality of play up. When Ben gets hot, he's unstoppable.
This was a nice win for us. We have a chance to get back to .500 before hitting conference play. It'll be a challenge, but I know we'll be prepared."

St. Francis improves to 4-6 and will travel upstate to the 5-3 Albany Danes.
Columbia falls to 3-7 and have a tough game in Philadelphia as they take on 5-3 Villanova.

St. Francis (NY) Terriers at Columbia Lions
Dec 10, 2007	1ST	2ND	SCORE
St. Francis (NY) (3-6)	29	38	67
Columbia (3-6)	24	26	50

St. Francis Leaders
Points: B. Mockford - 29
Rebounds: S. Perunicic - 7
Assists: D. Calloway - 4

Columbia Leaders
Points: B. Barbour - 15
Rebounds: M. Cisco - 9
Assists: M. Johnson - 5

[doncoryell]

Looks like there was a major shake up in your top 25. I find it interesting and refreshing that the top 25 is different among the coaching journals here which started with the 2007-08 season.

Good luck in conference play and BEAT NAVY!

[VandyRedskins21]

Quote: Originally Posted by doncoryell

Good luck in conference play and BEAT NAVY!

I'm sorry but I'm gonna have to root for Navy on this one.. I mean I lived in Annapolis for 10 years so I'm kind of biased

[NoDakHusker]

I'll do my best to beat Navy, doncoryell
Just knocked out the game against Albany and it was an exciting one. Also I'll be changing my write-ups a little bit, you'll see how it is once I get my recap up here in a bit.

[NoDakHusker]

Nail-Biter in Albany!

December 15, 2007

Albany, NY - It was Saturday night and the fans in Albany gathered to see their Danes take on the Terriers of St. Francis in what turned out to be one of the more exciting finishes this season.

Right from the start, both teams appeared evenly matched, nearly mimicking each other on many of the early possessions. Albany would inch ahead, only to have St. Francis answer right back. It seemed neither team could gain an inch.
Albany came out firing late in the first half, most of their shots came from mid-range or 3 point range.

"They like to stay on the perimeter. They've got the talent to shoot from there all day. I made sure our defense could handle this offense, if we could force them to play in the paint, we would have the upper hand," Coach O'Hearn said prior to the game. The Terriers were tight on defense, contesting most of the shots by Albany and forcing numerous bricks and misses.
St. Francis C Akeem Johnson cleaned up the misses with a season high 12 rebounds, in addition to scoring 8 points on the night.

The Terriers went in to half time with a 32-28 lead. The second half saw much of the same action, as both teams couldn't pull more than a 5 point lead at any point in the game.
With under a minute to go, Albany tied the game at 59 on a Logan Aronhalt layup that caught the Terrier defense, sneaking in behind them as they anticipated a three.

St. Francis would hold the ball with 38 seconds left, hoping to leave little time on the clock if they took a lead late. With 15 seconds to go, PG James Newton found SG Ben Mockford in the corner, who squared up and nailed the go ahead 3. Albany attempted to answer but failed on 2 3-point attempts. The Terriers would edge out the win by a score of 62-59.

Spoiler

Ben Mockford takes what would turn out to be the game-winning 3 pointer

"We haven't played a team this evenly all season. We've had close games, but I think the level of talent and styles of play were as even as we could get. To win a closely matched game on the road is big. We're that much closer to where we need to be going into conference play," Coach said following the win.

St. Francis gets one step closer to .500 with a 5-6 record on the year. They will head to 3-7 South Florida on December 22nd.
Albany drops to 5-4 and will play at 7-2 Duke, who is ranked 5th in the nation.

St. Francis (NY) Terriers at Albany Great Danes
Jan 1,	1ST	2ND	SCORE
St. Francis (NY) (4-6)	32	30	62
Albany (5-4)	28	31	59

St. Francis Leaders
Points: K. Douglas - 15
Rebounds: A. Johnson - 12
Assists: J. Newton - 6

Albany Leaders
Points: G. Suero - 17
Rebounds: J. Puk - 13
Assists: L. Aronhalt & M. Black - 4