The Observer, December 7, 2007
Volume XL, Issue 13
Three-point barrage blows out Big Red
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The men's basketball team has continued to play inspired basketball since we last caught up with them. In the past week, they've lost a close game to a great Baldwin-Wallace team, 95-82, and doled out a beatdown to a well-prepared Denison team, winning by a final score of 102-56.
Before entering last week's games, the team stood at 5-1, with their only loss to Earlham in the championship game of the Case Alumni Association Tip-Off tournament. Case played well in the first half and the beginning of the second half against BW, but some "atypical errors" put them in a hole they couldn't climb out of, according to coach Sean McDonnell.
The biggest problems came with the Spartans' two big playmakers, Steve Young and Brad Sutton, having an off day. Combined, they shot only 7 of 26. In addition, the team had their hands full defending the Yellow Jackets, especially junior guard Dennis Santiago, who had 27 points on the day. The team also committed 20 turnovers, eight coming from senior center Mason Conrad, leading to 26 Yellow Jacket points.
In contrast, the team committed only 11 turnovers against Denison last Saturday, leading only to three Big Red points. The biggest story of the day was junior forward Sutton's sharp shooting from behind the arc. Sutton went six of seven from three-point range and scored a game-high 20 points. Conrad was also back to true form, only committing two turnovers, going 8 of 11 from the floor, and finishing with 17 points. Another big boost was from the Spartan bench, which saw 10 players go to the floor, accounting for 44 points. That kind of stat is what McDonnell loves to see. "One of our team goals for every game is to have 60 percent of our baskets come off of assists," said McDonnell. "Against Denison, 72 percent of our baskets came off assists. It was one of those games where everything just clicked."
The Spartans hit the court again this past Wednesday against Kenyon. Case visited the Lords, who came into the matchup with a 1-4 record. Case looked to carry over their play from the Denison game and grab a win before a long winter break. Coach McDonnell says that the Lords had the best inside play the team had faced so far and would be "a different kind of challenge for the team."
After Kenyon, the team has three weeks off due to the final exam schedule and winter break. Their first formal practice will be held the day after Christmas in Cleveland before heading down south to Tampa, Fla., for the Tampa Bay Shootout. Once in Tampa, the team will have two practices before playing a very skilled DePauw team. The game has special meaning for Conrad since he grew up near Tampa in Tarpon Springs, Fla and attended Berkeley Prep, which is located in Tampa. "We thought it'd be nice to give Mason a chance to play in front of his family and friends, get him a little fired up," said McDonnell. "Hopefully he'll take it out on DePauw."
