mgms
newbie
Posts: 9
Reg: 11-22-04
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11-25-04 01:13 AM - Post#275
Columbia is 3-0.
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internetter
Postdoc
Posts: 3400
Loc: Los Angeles
Reg: 11-21-04
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-25-04 01:57 AM - Post#276
In response to mgms
A game they probably would've lost a couple of years ago. Let's hope it's the worst of the year. It sounded pretty bad, with poor shooting and lots of turnovers. Growing pains for a very promising squad.
And, as said in a previous post, it was unclever scheduling it the night before Thanksgivings. Gotta feel for the players and coaches.
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Anonymous
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-25-04 04:07 AM - Post#277
In response to internetter
Shooting was not good, but that's in large part because of good D by LIU, but our crummy free throw shooting was inexcusable. Nonetheless, you're rightt that a couple of years ago we would have lost this game. We won on grit and D. Turnovers were not great but also not that bad; we had one more assist than we had turnovers. Again, LIU was very, very quick and applied a lot of pressure on the ball.
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mgms
newbie
Posts: 9
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-25-04 06:51 AM - Post#278
In response to
totally concur on the felling that columbia would've lost this game a year ago. They finally pulled out a close one behind the leadership of the veterans Preston (who hit free throws down the stretch) and Land (who did the little things such as taking consecutive charges to get the offense flowing).... great start for the Lions.
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mgms
newbie
Posts: 9
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-25-04 06:56 AM - Post#279
In response to mgms
one interesting thing is the play of Dragutin. He seems to be off on his shots and has really struggled in non-conference play. I think the injuries are still happering his game.
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columbia92
goober
Posts: 73
Loc: NYC
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-25-04 04:51 PM - Post#280
In response to mgms
Biggest positive to take out of the evening is Columbia being able to keep pace with a very quick and dynamic backcourt. In the past, our PGs would be eaten up. Loscalzo and Sweet held their own.
I like the selection of NEC teams as opponents as opposed to the traditional bevy of Patriots and MAACs. The NEC is a small conference in height, but based on the two teams I saw, they have very athletic and quick guard play. It can only help the Lions to defend against slashing guards when it comes to the multiple motion offenses in the league.
Team speed has always been a concern on the Heights, but it doesn't seem to be this year.
Baron was in uniform. Armstrong is in uniform.
Baumann is still on crutches. Barrett and A-Mac DNP-CD.
I was impressed with some of the athleticism of the Blackbirds, even in the frontcourt. Some of the forwards had decent range with an ability to handle the ball. Still, I don't think that we've played an opponent as talented as Princeton (or Penn) yet. I do think we have the depth to do some damage in the conference, especially defensively.
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light blue heavy
maximus
Posts: 164
Reg: 11-22-04
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Re: Columbia Defeats LIU 53-49 Preston scores 20.
11-26-04 03:25 AM - Post#281
In response to columbia92
Agree with basically everything above- its great that the lions pulled this out after trailing at half-
Some thoughts after seeing the game.
1. LIU beat Lehigh by 10, and it doesnt sound like the game was particularly close after the half. This team is small but very quick. They, like the Lions, had a very poor shooting night. They like to run- I didnt see the shotclock hit 20 until the second half.
2. LIU basically plays only 6 guys. I dont think williams came off the court for more than two minutes. But they didnt lose because they were worn down- Lions took the lead with a 13-6 burst at the start of the second half.
3. The Lions didnt press. Not once. HUGE change from last year, where Jones loved to press, even running it too long in several situations (eg- Penn game). This is a major change in how the Lions will play this year if they keep this up. Did they press in the first two games?
4. Jones played 11 guys. Only Preston played over 30 minutes, but all played at least 8. The froshies combined for 64 minutes. I dont remember all four (Nwachukwu, Loscalzo, Sweet, Montgomery) on the floor at the same time.
5. Of the Frosh, Loscalzo and Nwachukwu are obviously ahead (hence the starting). All of them shot poorly (hell, the whole team had an off-night) but I thought Loscalzo clearly was better than Sweet defensively (though Sweet got more minutes). Ben is still a work in progress, but he can battle underneath. Land is still getting the plurality of minutes there, mostly because of his aggressiveness and hustle. Montgomery needs to work on standing up straight.
6. Preston, the best FT shooter in the league last year, was not himself. The Box says he was 9-12, but it seems like it was worse than that to me. I hope this is an abberation, and that shooting over 85% will be the norm again. Otherwise, Preston was his same old self in the second half, quietly putting up numbers and really hustling on the boards.
7. 17 Assists on 18 Baskets! Wow! Lions are also taking slightly better care of the ball. There is more work to be done, with a few miscues (Preston's pass to Dalen sailing into the stands sticks out). But not bad.
8. Matt Land Multiple Pump Fake (TM) seems to have been retired- he has added a few more creative moves to his cache. He also is running funny, with many intense arm pumps as he gets going. This is the way people run when their knees hurt, or if they are favoring them slightly. I hope he is ok- it isnt necessarily an injury or anything.
9. The team is taking a lot fewer 3s than they did last year. I dont know why, but this game that was definately the case. Is it the new line? Unfair to draw conclusions from one game I guess (in fact most of these are probably unfair).
10. A new fan group 'Jews for Jones' started up. Nothing particularly interesting to report. Best sign; 'You are now entering the Loscal-Zone'. Hey, it made me chuckle.
Happy thanksgiving. Lions are 3-0!
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