The Observer, January 26, 2007
Volume XXXIX, Issue 14
Boone and Violets just too much for Spartans in Big Apple
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The good news for the Spartan men's basketball team is that they only have to face Jason Boone one more time. The bad news is that they saw him for the penultimate time on Sunday at New York University and were dealt a 69-52 loss at the hands of the Violets. The defeat dropped Case's record to 4-12 (0-5 UAA).
Despite the final outcome, the Spartans remained within striking distance throughout most of the game. At the 11:30 mark in the second half, they cut their deficit to 53-44 after a jumper by junior center Mason Conrad.
"I thought we had a chance at that point," head coach Sean McDonnell said. "But after that, we hit a lull, and suddenly their lead was back up to 16."
The Violets' run to increase their lead was aided by foul trouble for Case. Point guard Brandon Bradford picked up his fourth foul, and with Conrad also having four fouls, Case was limited as to how much intensity they could bring at the defensive end. New York was then able to cruise to the victory.
Early in the game, the Violets jumped out to a quick 10-4 lead as Daniel Falcon made a couple of easy baskets down low. The Spartans then bounced back with an 8-4 run of their own to reduce the gap. However, every time the Spartans seemed to gain the slightest bit of momentum, the Violets seemed to respond with an even larger run. The Violets increased their lead to 28-17 with 6:45 remaining in the first half, though Case was within 10 at 37-28 at halftime.
In the team's previous game against Brandeis, the Spartans struggled at the start of the second half, and they were not able to recover as the Judges defeated them, 85-68. In order to have any chance against New York, the Spartans needed to start the second half in a better fashion. They did that, not allowing themselves to fall further behind, but Case did not have enough offense to get considerably closer.
For the game, Conrad led the Spartans with 20 points and five rebounds. Fellow big man Rob Skuski added 12 points. Boone led the Violets with 16 points. The Spartans held New York's leading scorer, Michael DeCorso, to only eight points on two of 11 shooting, while Falcon was also limited to only eight points.
Part of the Spartans' game plan was to double team New York's frontcourt players down low. The strategy worked but also helped New York's guards, Charlie Parker and Matt Basford, get better looks for three-pointers. Each made three from behind the arc and scored 13 points.
"Our thought process was that it would be hard to guard their big people without double teaming," McDonnell said, "but their point guard [Parker] had a good game."
Even though they lost the game to New York by the same amount as the loss to Brandeis, the Spartans played a much better game against the Violets. They reduced their turnovers from 23 to 12 over the two games while also controlling the tempo of the game much better against New York.
"We did not play well Friday," McDonnell said. "The Brandeis game got too fast, and we didn't handle their pressure well. We also just didn't have enough good offensive performances from our guys."
Overall, McDonnell was pleased with the effort he received from his players after Friday's poor performance.
"It was one of our better played games of the year, but it showed how good NYU is," he said.
The men remain on the road this weekend. They are at the University of Rochester for an 8 p.m. game tonight against the Yellow Jackets. They then travel to Pittsburgh to play Carnegie Mellon on Sunday.
As any other team in the UAA, both opponents present formidable challenges for the Spartans.
"They're both very good yet both very different," McDonnell said. "Rochester will be the best defensive team and most physical team we have faced. CMU likes to play a high-tempo, high-volume game."
McDonnell believes that his team will be able to compete with them.
"I know if we play well, we will be fine," he said.
