1/19/13 Wright State at Valpo game thread

[valporun]

What looked to hurt us was the time between games WSU had compared us with their subbing in fresh legs often, but our collective fight overtook their fresh legs! Great wins this week!

[bbtds]

we had 16 assists to only 7 turnovers. that's how you win a game right there.

Truer words were never spoken. I almost fell over when I saw we only had 4 turnovers in the first half. I was wondering if h*ll had actually frozen over. Then to better that and have only 3 turnovers in the 2nd half---wow!!!!

[bbtds]

Rowdy shows why he is POY

Why didn't Cappo play very many minutes???

don't know for sure, but when he was in, his defense was not that great. there were a couple stretches where we went small as well, as rowdy was the tallest guy on the floor.

Bryce must have seen that this game was not to Cappo's style or advantage....I thought it would be as the game was basically half court.  Only 2 fast break points. 
Doesn't matter, we are in 1st place.  Back to back come from behind games.  I thought we would be 4-1 in conference play but did not think it would be a home lost to Loyola. 

Valpo is now 5-1 in conference.

[bballraider]

Congrats on a nice comeback. Good luck til we meet again in the Nutter Center.

[agibson]

there were a couple stretches where we went small as well, as rowdy was the tallest guy on the floor.

Some of those small line-ups were strange.  Coleman, Dority, Kenney, Buggs, Capo.  That sort of thing.  Didn't make me very comfortable.   

[vu72]

I think it was a critical game from a fan support level.  For whatever reason the ARC was as full as I've seen (on TV) as I've seen other than a Purdue or Butler game.  To lose this game would have sent a terrible message to the fans.  This win could lead to bigger crowds!  Let's hope so!

[agibson]

Pretty odd bench statistics tonight.  One field goal.  One free throw.  Eight fouls.  That's it.  (OK, five missed field goal attempts and two missed free throws.)  30 or more minutes from all five starters.

[truth219]

Closer than I had liked but great win. Capo was slow on both ends of the court...he was getting burned bad on offense. Dority once again was a none factor. He had nothing to offer tonight. Boggs was even blah. Our starting 5 are our best 5 for sure. Buggs was blazing fast out of the gate and kvw was so solid in the first half and was a presence in the second. Rowdy took over in the second half. Kenney and bogan were so clutch. When those two get rolling so does the rest of the team. Hate to say it but the less mins bobby and dority get the better chance we have ay winning

[historyman]

Did anyone else notice that the refs pretty much swallowed their whistles in the first half (on one play Buggs gets knocked down and slides out of bounds and the 2 refs closest to the baseline don't make any call at all and finally the ref trailing the play must have thought "what the heck, you guys gotta call something" and blows his whistle way after Buggs finally stopped way out of bounds).

Then in the 2nd half the game completely changed because the refs suddenly decided they needed to call some fouls. Some fouls, I say, not all of the fouls.

[wh]

I think it was a critical game from a fan support level.  For whatever reason the ARC was as full as I've seen (on TV) as I've seen other than a Purdue or Butler game.  To lose this game would have sent a terrible message to the fans.  This win could lead to bigger crowds!  Let's hope so!

Who says you have to have Butler to have big crowds and a great atmosphere.  It was a big crowd and everyone was into the game big time.  The student section was packed to the rafters and wearing the shirts shown in the video that you posted earlier.  They were into it from beginning to end.  The noise was deafening after every crucial 3 and other clutch plays down the stretch.  It was an awesome 2 hours of rocking entertainment.

[KL31NY]

Headline from ValpoAthletics.com for the game web story, pretty much sums up the week if not the season

Another Day, Another Comeback for First-Place Crusaders

As SID Aaron Leavitt likes to say after a win, "Ho Hum"

[wh]

A lot of credit has to go to the WSU coaching staff and players.  They worked their butts off on defense to take away our strengths and force people not named Rowdy or KVW to step up.  They really had Ryan bottled up all night before he went off in the last 4 or 5 minutes, which is what great players can do.  They ran some great sets on offense and milked the clock to get the best shot they could.  They definitely are the real deal.   

[valpopal]

As others have mentioned, the atmosphere at the ARC tonight was fantastic. The student section was packed and very loud the entire game. The upper levels were just about full, and down on the court the noise from all sides was incredible. The team kept their composure even when down just as we'd hoped to see from experienced seniors at this time of the season.

Bogan and Kenney hit some key three-pointers, Kevin was steady throughout the game, and down the stretch Ryan showed why he is the best player in the conference. Although not a big team, Wright State played tough defense, and the action in the paint was very rough. Therefore, I was pleased but surprised there weren't more turnovers. Kevin and Ryan were mauled on almost every play, especially in the second half, but the refs swallowed their whistles most of the time. On one drive, Ryan nearly had his face rearranged, yet no foul was called.

Still, the house was rocking all night, and when the final buzzer sounded, players and fans celebrated. In fact, I think Kevin set a career high for a vertical leap in the following photo I took as the team left the court in victory. Coach Powell even seems surprised:

[bbtds]

Congrats on a nice comeback. Good luck til we meet again in the Nutter Center.

Good luck on the rest of your year. At least until Valpo plays your team at the Nutter Center. Since I live in Indy I've been to 3 games at the Nutter Center. The first one was a Valpo win in our first Horizon League game ever.

How did you feel about tonight's game?

[wh]

Our 69 points is the 2nd highest point total WSU has given up in 18 games this year.

[HC]

Looks like Capo set a new pb for the jump too

[valpopal]

Kevin and Ryan were mauled on almost every play, especially in the second half, but the refs swallowed their whistles most of the time. On one drive, Ryan nearly had his face rearranged, yet no foul was called.

Here is my photo of Ryan holding his face during that play when he was slammed during a drive, and he had to make the shot without seeing clearly the basket; yet, no foul was called.

[talksalot]

Love the crowd !!  For those who were not there... yes, that's a legit photo!... the folks who had those 10 empty seats in "CC" must have been at the concession stand.

[bbtds]

I wish I would have caught this before the game.

It's an ESPN.com story on how Wright State's Reggie Arceneaux and his family left New Orleans during the flooding of Hurricane Katrina and made it out safely and how that experience shaped the way Reggie leads this Wright State team.

It is dated January 17th.

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/73006/arceneaux-leads-revitalized-wright-state

[wh]

Kevin and Ryan were mauled on almost every play, especially in the second half, but the refs swallowed their whistles most of the time. On one drive, Ryan nearly had his face rearranged, yet no foul was called.

Here is my photo of Ryan holding his face during that play when he was slammed during a drive, and he had to make the shot without seeing clearly the basket; yet, no foul was called.

You would think a program as historic as Valpo wouldn't play in a high school gym either, but they do.

You know, comments like this one from a WSU poster are getting so old.  The HL and the MAC (I'm sure many more) have a pot full of programs where untold millions of mostly taxpayer dollars (directly or indirectly) have been wasted building and maintaining oversized, cold, cavernous venues.  The typical game atmosphere at these places is pathetic - 2 out of every 3 seats empty (on a good night), people sitting sporadically wherever they want because of all the extra room, and a pitiful display of support by the 50 students in attendance.  These venues are proof positive that the saying "build it and they will come" only works in a fictional movie called Field of Dreams. 

Give me the ARC any day over these empty barns.  The best place to watch a basketball game is all about atmosphere.  4500 people in a 5000 seat venue with a student section so crowded they are practically sitting on top of each other, people standing everywhere around the track, building heat rising, fans sweating, noise so loud you can't hear yourself think.  That's what a great basketball experience is all about.  Despite that, you have people like this moron I quoted who actually think they have something to crow about. Amazing!   

[valpopal]

"The student section was sensational tonight, the crowd was loud all night long, and I think our guys really fed off the enthusiasm in the building, especially in those last five minutes." —Bryce Drew

[vu72]

Kevin and Ryan were mauled on almost every play, especially in the second half, but the refs swallowed their whistles most of the time. On one drive, Ryan nearly had his face rearranged, yet no foul was called.

Here is my photo of Ryan holding his face during that play when he was slammed during a drive, and he had to make the shot without seeing clearly the basket; yet, no foul was called.

You would think a program as historic as Valpo wouldn't play in a high school gym either, but they do.

You know, comments like this one from a WSU poster are getting so old.  The HL and the MAC (I'm sure many more) have a pot full of programs where untold millions of mostly taxpayer dollars (directly or indirectly) have been wasted building and maintaining oversized, cold, cavernous venues.  The typical game atmosphere at these places is pathetic - 2 out of every 3 seats empty (on a good night), people sitting sporadically wherever they want because of all the extra room, and a pitiful display of support by the 50 students in attendance.  These venues are proof positive that the saying "build it and they will come" only works in a fictional movie called Field of Dreams. 

Give me the ARC any day over these empty barns.  The best place to watch a basketball game is all about atmosphere.  4500 people in a 5000 seat venue with a student section so crowded they are practically sitting on top of each other, people standing everywhere around the track, building heat rising, fans sweating, noise so loud you can't hear yourself think.  That's what a great basketball experience is all about.  Despite that, you have people like this moron I quoted who actually think they have something to crow about. Amazing!   

[KL31NY]

Highlights from the game in case you haven't seen 'em yet:

Valpo Crusaders (MBB) vs. Wright State Raiders (1/19/2013)

My highlight is at 2:47 - "Broekhoff backs in, tough shot IS IN!!! HOW DID HE GET THAT TO GO?!?!?!? HOW DID HE GET THE BALL TO GO IN?!?!?!?" vintage excited chef

[bballraider]

Congrats on a nice comeback. Good luck til we meet again in the Nutter Center.

Good luck on the rest of your year. At least until Valpo plays your team at the Nutter Center. Since I live in Indy I've been to 3 games at the Nutter Center. The first one was a Valpo win in our first Horizon League game ever.

How did you feel about tonight's game?

I thought the game was well played on both sides. I would have preferred a different outcome though lol.

It looked liked the ARC was jumping last night, even over the HL network.

Broekhoff showed why he'd be my POY currently. Big players step up at crucial times. And Broekhoff wouldn't have gotten to that point if the rest of your team hadn't played well enough to keep the game close so He could do his magic.

Refs didn't influence this game much, they blew calls both ways. I just wish they would be consistent from half to half so the players know how to play. It was a very physical game. I was impressed that Valpo didn't turn the ball over as much as they have in the past. I think that was the key to your win.

Again good luck the rest of the year, and I hope your fans noticed we are not the same team as last year. As a Raider fan, i get tired of hearing how teams will beat us because we havent played anybody, hopefully this silence some of our teams critics. I would like to see WSU and Valpo with the top two seeds in the tourney. Detroit has a ton of talent when they show up, and I would prefer to see them have to play an extra game in the tourney, as they are inconsistent and it gives them one more game to screw up somehow.

[hailcrusaders]

Congrats on a nice comeback. Good luck til we meet again in the Nutter Center.

Again good luck the rest of the year, and I hope your fans noticed we are not the same team as last year. As a Raider fan, i get tired of hearing how teams will beat us because we havent played anybody, hopefully this silence some of our teams critics. I would like to see WSU and Valpo with the top two seeds in the tourney. Detroit has a ton of talent when they show up, and I would prefer to see them have to play an extra game in the tourney, as they are inconsistent and it gives them one more game to screw up somehow.

We were hoping for that last year and it kind of backfired on us, as it gave Detroit two extra wins of momentum. Nevertheless, sentiment shared. I think everyone here would be pleased to see a WSU-Valpo HL Final. March is a long way off.