Box Score
Hope started Gardner, Seiler, Eidson, Snuggerud, VanArendonk. Ben Gardner becomes the 11th different Dutchmen to start a game this year. Neil and Benson played the most off the bench, Byers and Denhem in for short spells. Neither team used much bench as both teams stuck with their primary starting 5 and 2 others.
Game Recap:
I gave myself a night off from chasing basketballs around the state, a dodgy weather forecast and just a feeling I kind of needed to rest kept me home. As a result, these obviously aren't eye-witness thoughts.
Adrian scored the first basket of the game and would only lead one other time on the night. Hope was never able to get to much of a first half lead as both teams struggled to score and the ugly betty ballgame I predicted seemed to be coming to fruition. Adrian was looking to make it a 2 point game just before the half when Ben Gardner stole the ball and converted the layup to give Hope a 6 point halftime lead.
Adrian did cut it down to 2 early in the second half before Hope scored the next 7 to grab their biggest lead of 9. Alex Eidson knocked down back-to-back triples one to put them up 9 the other 10, psychologically that had to hurt Adrian. They just don't spend much time being down double-digits. The Bulldogs scored the next 5 to get it back to 5 only to see Hope score the next 8 as both teams stole the momentum from each other.
The lead was 15 before Adrian made one last run to cut it to 8 all scored by Eric Lewis, in fact he scored 13 straight. Asked to execute its offense in the final 5 minutes to preserve the victory after a stretch of turnovers Hope answered with 10 points in 6 possessions with 8 from Snuggerud, 2 from Seiler. Hope's second half execution proved to be the difference as Hope gets this much needed win.
Hope really needed to play well and win this one if nothing more than to prove to themselves they could still be a good team without Colton Overway. I still consider Adrian a pretty good team and to beat them by 13 at home in a game they themselves really needed is an outstanding effort. Beyond just the win though this game might really lift some spirits.
With 5 league games to play Hope now has a 3 game lead over the 4th and 5th place spots, while nothing is clinched tonight's win at least moves them closer to having a spot in the tournament. It also at least keeps them within striking distance of Calvin should the Knights do something goofy and lose one they shouldn't in the next couple weeks.
Scoring and Interesting Stats:
Turnovers: 8 for the game, Hope had 1 team turnover with 10 minutes to play. That is outstanding. Unfortunately as soon as I pointed this out to someone they turned it over 7 times in the next 7 minutes. Between the two Fr. PG's it was 4 turnovers and 5 assists on the night. Overall though they probably did alright, given the game pace and Adrian's TO rate I would have expected about 13 turnovers, so they finished ahead of that.
Blocks: Hope threw a block party last night with 12 in the game (apparently a DeVos record), gradually over the last 2 or 3 games Hope's interior has been starting to assert itself both offensively and defensively. Half of their blocks in league play have come in the last 3 games. That is a lot of potential points being erased from the scoreboard.
FG shooting: Hope made 13 of 19 shots in the second half. Obviously an excellent shooting percentage and efficiency. In both games against Adrian the Bulldogs have limited Hope to 17 and 19 fg attempts in the second halves. Points in the paint was 36-22 to Hope, that 14 points difference is pretty much the margin in the game.
Nate Snuggerud: 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists........this is a couple good games in a row now.
Alex Eidson: 17 points, 5 rebounds, 4-8 from three...... coming into this one Alex had made just 3 of his last 13 3-point attempts.
Nate VanArendonk: 7 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks.....I put this here to point out the similar stat line to last years Adrian game in Holland 10 points, 6 rbs, 9 blocks.
Efficiency:
Estimated number of possessions: Hope 63 Adrian 64
That is 10 less for each team vs the first meeting. Also predictable.
Offensive Efficieny: 106.39
This is pretty much Hope's season average. The first half was the ugly slugfest I figured it would be with an eff of 88. Hope's impressive second half was around 125, probably the best half anyone's played against Adrian this year. For the season Hope has 2 of the best 3 efficiency performances allowed by Adrian, that's saying something against that defensive team.
Defensive Efficiency: 83.07
This is out-defending the defenders, the first-half was a 70 which is outstanding even against an offensive team that struggles sometimes. Things returned to a more normal rate of 97 in the second half.
At least from an efficiency point of view both teams defended each other a little better this time, Hope actually quite a bit better.
Rebounding Efficiency:
Hope: 30.0% of available offensive rebounds
Adrian: 22.3% of available offensive rebounds
This is below both teams season average so both did a pretty good job keeping the other off the offensive glass, not much for either team. The rates for both halves were the same. Second chance points was 10-7 to Hope.
Moments or Keys to the Game:
This was an 8 point game with 5 to play and Adrian had just scored 7 in a row, when they were really asked to preserve the lead Hope went inside 6 straight times, scoring 5 times with the one miss being a dunk. It sealed the deal.
My Game Ball Goes To:
Alex Eidson's contributions in this one can't go unnoticed, all of his 3's seemed timely and important and provided a cushion Hope could use defensively. Hope really needed Nate Snuggerud to step up tonight with a big game and he delivered with a 24 point effort. Consider for a minute the first game in Adrian he played just 6 minutes and barely registered in the stat book. Much needed indeed so Nate gets my game ball.
Standings
Snuggerud - 5
Overway - 4
Eidson - 2
Seiler - 2
Gardner - 2
Byers - 1
DeMaagd - 1
VanArendonk - 1
Benson - 1
Going Forward:
I suppose with Colton's injury this was the game that brought the most anxiety to the Hope faithful. You can never be sure how a team will respond to a big injury to a teams point guard, let alone having to replace him with a couple Freshmen even if they are good ones. It was good to have them respond in a positive way and hopefully this game builds some confidence for these next couple weeks. A spot in the MIAA Tournament now seems a lot more secure and they can continue to try and chase down Calvin. If you don't mind me being a cheerleader, this isn't over.
Saturday the Britons come to Holland fresh off a 20-point loss at Calvin. At this point I really am not quite sure what we'll see from Albion. The game down there was the typical tight affair these games usually have been. If Hope wants their shot at Calvin to mean more than just the rivalry stuff protecting the home court is paramount.
Up Next: Me vs relaxing
Sat. Feb 2, Hope vs Albion at DeVos Fieldhouse
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