43 in a row now*
Hope 75 Alma 63
Box
Recap
*--the Hope archives are incorrect and this streak continues to be reported wrong to the media.
1998 was the last time Alma beat Hope in basketball. 33 regular season games and 10 MIAA Tournament games. That's a lot of years, players, 4 gyms and a few coaches ago. The first game between these two following that infamous defeat in 1998 was an overtime win by Hope, and its never been that close since. For around the first 25 games of the streak Hope failed to reach 80 points only twice, they scored 79 in one of those games and Terry Smith played stall ball in the other and Hope scored 55, but still won. There have been 50 point plus drubbings and 2 point escapes, but most of the time its been Hope walking out of the gym with a comfortable double-digit win.
Unfortunately my minds ability to remember much of this one checked out on Thursday and Friday, so here's a very short version of what happened.
Hope started quickly scoring points on their first 5 possessions. When Cody Stuive laid in a layup around the 10 minute mark Hope led by 17. The lead was still 17 with 5 minutes left in the first half when Alma rallied hard and if it wasn't for an Alex Eidson half-court shot at the buzzer the Scots would have been within 7.
The early second half was a rough start for Hope with layups, free-throws and 3-point shots all rolling off the rim or going in and out. A little over 5 minutes into the half and Alma had it down to 3. Twice the Scots had the margin within a point or 2 and both times Hope regained control of the game finally putting the Scots away in the games final 7 minutes. It never really felt like a 12 point win.
6pm Start
The only reason I was able to see this game was the 6pm start. I still think there are better ways to avoid these situations and my opinion on them will probably change when Hope heads to Calvin for their 6pm start in the rivalry. I guess it didn't bother me but I sure wouldn't want a bunch of these in one season. It should also be noted, several teams are scheduling non-conference games with 5 or 6pm starts so the visitors can make a longer trip and arrive home at a decent hour.
Efficiency:
Hope 110.66 Alma 94.59
Not a bad effort on offense considering Hope was just 4-18 from 3. Alma couldn't really defend Hope in the post and Hope shot 50% on 2-point attempts. That lack of interior defense also resulted in Hope having a dozen more trips to the FT line which was the ultimate margin.
The defensive eff of 94.59 is pretty good as well, consider Alma was 6-9 from 3. The Scots shot just 40% inside the arc. Alma came into this one playing well offensively in league play. I also think its key to point out Alma played a lot of this game with important offensive players sitting on the bench in foul trouble.
Hope is not a great defensive team but they seem to be better on that end of the floor than most teams they play. The defense needs to be better the next couple weeks against better offensive teams.
Pace:
68-67 About right for these opponents. Hope didn't seems as interested in pushing the pace for this one and Alma's zone meant Hope spent a lot of the shot clock working it in low.
Rebounding:
Hope 43 Alma 30
Hope had 37% of available offensive rebounds
Alma had 17% of available offensive rebounds
Hope really dominated the boards which is probably expected. Second chance points was 16-6 to Hope.
Free-throws:
Its really nice to have a Hope team that can consistently make free-throws. They've made a half dozen wins seem easier by just making those shots. Hope hasn't flirted with 75% since the 2009 to 2011 seasons. The team record of 76% set in 1988 is within reach.
35 in a row now*
Hope 83 Kalamazoo 65
Box
Recap -- From Kzoo
* --Hope archives also incorrect and also continues to be reported wrong to the media.
I think the cliche to use here is workmanlike effort. I don't know that Hope was impressive or dominating but they sure went into Kalamazoo established their game early and held off any rally that might have happened. Hope walked out of Anderson Athletic Center for the 23rd consecutive year with a win.
It was a little hard to tell on video whether Hope was being dominant or Kzoo being awful. Hope certainly established early paint presence and drew 2 early fouls on Tyler Peters who played 1 minute of the first half. Later on Josh Miller joined him on the bench with two. The most common phrase used by the Kzoo video play-by-play guy was 'that was way too easy', usually in reference to another Brock Benson layup. Brock finished the first half with 16 points, most of them easy.
Kalamazoo didn't help itself by shooting just 34% in the first half, but it was the 12 turnovers that really put them in a hole. Eleven of them in the first 15 minutes. Topping off the first half disaster was a bench technical foul. At the half Hope led by 17.
The Hornets scored the first 3 points of the second half and then Hope hit three 3-point shots in a row and within moments the lead was 23. From that point on it was pretty much a stalemate as neither team was able to really shake the other. A couple angry Hornet rallies fell flat and were swatted away, some Hope offense induced, but another Kzoo self inflicted wound with a second bench technical. Hope ended up cruising to an 18 point win on the road.
Efficiency:
Hope 114.72 Kalamazoo 92.46
Looks like a pretty solid all-around effort. Hope's splits were 109-119, nothing wrong with that and again I point out a sub-par 3-point shooting effort, yet still highly efficient day. Hope was 23-38 inside the arc for 60%. Kzoo never really showed they could stop Hope consistently on this day.
Kzoo played an ugly first half of 67.13, as always part defense, part being really bad with turnovers being Kzoo's biggest early issue. Hope seemed really disinterested in playing defense in the 2nd half and Kzoo recorded an eff of 118. A little concerning going into what is probably the 4 biggest games of the season the next two weeks. Kzoo played harder and really attacked the basket much better but Hope made it pretty easy.
Pace:
72-70
Pretty high for Kalamazoo and probably out of their comfort zone.
Rebounding:
Hope 29 Kalamazoo 37
Hope had 13% of available offensive rebounds
Alma had 30.5% of available offensive rebounds
The dark cloud in this one has to be rebounding. Hope was thoroughly dominated for the game. A heavy dose of this came in the second half, but Hope didn't compete on the boards well at all. Second chance points was only 12-9 to Kalamazoo.
Turnovers:
Hope did a nice job in this game committing just 9 while getting 17 from the Hornets. Add in the 10 vs Alma and Hope had a very nice week hanging on to the ball. Both games below their season turnover rate. For the Kzoo game points off turnovers was 24-6 to Hope and really the whole margin in the game.
Up Next:
Wed. Hope at Adrian 7:30pm
Sat. Trine at Hope 3pm
The beginnings of a 4 game stretch that will really dictate the rest of its season. The MIAA has thinned itself out to Trine, Calvin, Hope and Adrian in the top half. Hope plays all 3 of those other teams in its next 3 games.
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