The Coaching Legacy of Milton Mackay (College Hoops 2K8)

[Deuce2223]

Wow 2-10. Going to be quite the rebuilding project there. Granted you don't get fired.

[CalBears]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deuce2223

Wow 2-10. Going to be quite the rebuilding project there. Granted you don't get fired.

It's been a struggle, although it's primarily because I made my OOC waaaaay too hard and paid the price. I have 7 scholarships to give so it could be a quick turnaround. They'll give me at least a year or two more after this one!

[CalBears]

Mackey gets first conference win
Texas State is now 1-1 in conference play, and everyone can breathe a sigh of relief after taking down Central Arkansas by the score of 47-41. Central Arkansas, the current favorite in the conference after a solid showing outside of conference and a win over UT Arlington in the conference opener, falls to 1-1 in league with the loss.

Defense defined the first half, with Texas State holding Central Arkansas to just 13 first half points. Of course, they only scored 19 of their own, but holding a 6 point lead going into the locker room gave the team a fair amount of confidence.

The second half, however, featured an early hard charge from the Bears, who would take a lead. The second half featured plenty more scoring, enabling the comeback, but the steady play of the senior laden Bobcat squad kept the team together. 6 turnovers from Bear point guard Dewan Clayborn gave Texas State plenty of opportunities, and they took just enough of them to reclaim the lead. They would ultimately hold onto the lead for a 47-41 victory in a hostile environment.

“The boys deserved this win,” said Mackey. “We’ve fought hard and lost a lot of close games, including our last one in overtime. It’s about time we had some breaks go our way.”

The Bobcats improve to 3-11 (1-1) and seem to have righted the ship, at least somewhat. Southeastern Louisiana, coming off a shocking upset of Stephen F. Austin, will head to San Marcos for the next Southland showdown.

Texas State 47-Central Arkansas 41
Key Bobcats
Rios 9 points
White 8 points
Sloan 6 rebounds
Key Bears
Pouncy 11 points
Johnson/Clayborn 8 points
Edwards 9 rebounds

[CalBears]

Bench mob carries day as Texas State wins second in a row
Tony Bishop and JB Conley provided scoring at an efficient rate, especially in the second half, and that was the only thing saving the Bobcats from a loss at home to Southeastern Louisiana.

The starters for Texas State put together perhaps their worst game of the season, scoring a combined 17 points on just 7-24 shooting. Ryan White, the Bobcat leading scorer, did not enter the scoring tally, going 0 for 6 for the night, 5 of those being from the 3 point line.

In their stead came Bishop and Conley, who both scored 8 points but missed just 1 shot combined on the night. Bishop hit 2 three pointers in the second half, and Conley shot 4 for 5 on the night. Perhaps most shockingly was the effort of Nic Hinton, the rarely used freshman. He hadn’t played in the last 4 games, but on this night he stepped up, scoring a career high 6 points without a missed shot. His 9 minutes was also a career high, and he made the most of them.

Despite the efforts of the bench, the game seemed to be in jeopardy as the Bobcats trailed 26-21 at the intermission. A sterling defensive effort in the second half carried them, holding the Lions to just 12 minutes in the second half. That was enough for the home team to pull away in the second half and secure a 41-38 victory.

The Bobcats have won 2 in a row and now sit at 4-11, 2-1 in conference play. Nicholls State is 0-3 in conference and is up next, having lost consecutive games by more than 20 points. Texas State has a golden chance to go to 3-1 in the league.

Texas State 41-SE Louisiana 38
Key Bobcats
Bishop/Conley 8 points
Rios 7 points
Key Lions
Ndoumba 8 points
Fortenberry 8 points
Pervais 8 points

[CalBears]

Winning streak to 3, Nicholls State felled by Texas State
The Texas State Bobcats went inside early and often, and rode that success on the inside to a double digit victory over Nicholls State.

The Colonel’s tallest starter is a mere 6-6, and Texas State decided to exploit that through interior play. Matt Staff and John Sloan were the center of Coach Mackey’s gameplan, fed constantly. Those two, along with JB Conley, brought home the interior domination. Sloan scored 10 on the basis of 6 free throws, and Staff and Conley both contributed 8 points and 6 rebounds. The Bobcats got to the free throw line 17 times, while Nicholls State got there just 9 times.

Texas State carried a 12 point lead into the intermission and rode that all the way home to a 45-35 victory over the visitors. Nicholls State was playing without the conference’s best player, Anatoly Bose, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. His sidekick, Fred Hunter, was held to just 2 points on 1-5 shooting. Hunter averages in double figures, but without Bose to draw the defense he struggled. One cannot quantify the impact he has on the team when healthy.

Texas State moves to 5-11 and is growing in confidence. Next up is Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. They have yet to win a conference showdown at 0-3, all the losses by single digits.

Texas State 45-Nicholls State 35
Key Bobcats
Sloan 10 points, 6 rebounds
Staff/Conley 8 points, 6 rebounds
Key Colonels
Carter 9 points, 3-15 FG, 0-6 3
Moore 8 points
Franklin Jr. 8 points

[CalBears]

3 point shooting carries Texas State to blowout victory
Texas State hit 9 of their 15 3 point attempts and shot over 50% for the game as they took down Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. The Islanders trademark zone defense gave up open look after open look and the Bobcats couldn’t help but to take advantage.

Hollis Hill came out strong for the Islanders, hitting 2 3’s in the first 4 minutes of the game, but outside of him their offense struggled. The game was tied at 22 at the half, but Corpus-Christi’s defense absolutely collapsed in the second half. The Bobcats seemed to be playing against a JV team with their freedom of ball movement and wide open jump shots. Texas State scored 33 points in the second half and cruised to a 55-35 victory, their first blowout of the year in Southland play.

Texas State are now 4-1 in the Southland, in a tie for first place. Their next opponent is the tough UT San Antonio Roadrunners, who are tied with the Bobcats at 3-1.

Texas State 55-Texas A&M Corpus-Christi 35
Key Bobcats
Rios 16 points, 4 steaks
Bishop 10 points
Key Islanders
Hill 10 points, 8 turnovers

[CalBears]

Gibson late lay-up saves Roadrunners from home defeat
In a game decided by the final moments, it was the UT San Antonio Roadrunners who made the final play. Senior point guard Darrin Gibson, whose scoring had been held in check all night by Eddie Rios, finally shook his defender with a screen and drove through a wide open lane for a lay-up to take the lead with just 3 seconds left. JB Conley’s last second attempt to tie fell short, and the Roadrunners had escaped.

UTSA had the lead in an ugly first half, 17-13, and opened the second half on a 9-0 run to make the lead 13. In such a low scoring game, that would seem to end the game, but the Bobcat offense would catch fire, as 19-4 run buoyed by 5 3 pointers put them in the lead. Up 2 in the last minute, Stephon Franklin made just his second field goal of the night to tie the game. Cameron Johnson would miss a jumper with 15 seconds in the game, setting up Gibson’s heroics.

The teams proved evenly matched throughout in nearly every area. The one edge UTSA found was in shooting guard Melvin Johnson. Normally a 22% shooter from beyond the arc, Johnson hit all 4 of his attempts from that range, a huge difference maker.

Texas State falls to 4-2 in conference play, with Southland heavyweights Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State awaiting.

UTSA 43-Texas State 41
Key Roadrunners
Johnson 13 points
Wood 11 points
Key Bobcats
Conley 12 points

[CalBears]

Stephen F. Austin shows supremacy, shuts down Texas State
Texas State was in the game with the favorite of the league Stephen F. Austin for much of the night, but in the end they didn’t make any plays down the stretch. The Bobcats went the final 7 minutes of the game without a field goal, and the Lumberjacks were more than willing to take advantage.

A Ryan White 3 at the buzzer of the first half gave Texas State a lead, but Stephen F. Austin came right at the Bobcats to take a 32-31 lead in the second half. Texas State battled back to take the lead 38-37. From there, they collapsed. A 13-1 Lumberjack run put the game away and led to a victory for the favorites and hosts.

Texas State falls to 4-3 in the league and seems to be losing momentum. Their 4 game winning streak, all against league cellardwellers, seems to be a mirage.

Stephen F. Austin 64-Texas State 61 (Game story about the game that was played, then lost; score is for simulated makeup)
Key Lumberjacks
Glynn 16 points, 7 rebounds
Downing 13 points
Cutler 11 points
Key Bobcats
White 13 points
Johnson 13 points, 11 rebounds
Rios 12 points