PSAC WEST

[Ship69]

Two good ones tonight.

In the East, Shippensburg at West Chester should be highly entertaining - on many levels.

In the West, Slippery Rock at Seton Hill should be quite the battle (providing the Griffins are full strength).

For personal reasons, Coach Fite won't be at the Ship-West Chester game tonight.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

For personal reasons, Coach Fite won't be at the Ship-West Chester game tonight.

Hope all is OK.

Basketball-wise, Ship having numerous upperclassmen starters should help in his absence.

This is an interesting match-up. WCU has an edge at guard but Ship should control the glass.

[Ship69]

Hope all is OK.

Basketball-wise, Ship having numerous upperclassmen starters should help in his absence.

This is an interesting match-up. WCU has an edge at guard but Ship should control the glass.

He's fine —family matter that required him to be out of town. Results at West Chester are always difficult to predict. If the Raiders are to hang in at all in the East, they'll have to win some games such as this. For now, East Stroud has firmly established itself as the class of the division.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Final Scores / Men's


Mercyhurst 70 Shepherd 45

UPJ 66 Clarioin 53

Kutztown 89 Millersville 88

Cal 78 Edinboro 63

Seton Hill 84 Slippery Rock 77

Shippensburg 76 West Chester 61

Mansfield 76 Lock Haven 64

IUP 79 Gannon 67

ESU/Bloom not posted yet

[Ship69]

Final Scores / Men's


Mercyhurst 70 Shepherd 45

UPJ 66 Clarioin 53

Kutztown 89 Millersville 88

Cal 78 Edinboro 63

Seton Hill 84 Slippery Rock 77

Shippensburg 76 West Chester 61

Mansfield 76 Lock Haven 64

IUP 79 Gannon 67

ESU/Bloom not posted yet

Wow. Guess Ship better not sleep on Mansfield Saturday.

[WarriorVoice]

ESU 91, Bloom 73. Bloomsburg radio announcer Jim Doyle told me after the game it was the best game the Huskies have played all year. Even though the Warriors increased the lead in the 2nd half, the Huskies never gave up. With the win, ESU HC Jeff Wilson now has 371 career victories, 5th best in PSAC history.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I'll say this about Gannon -- the Knights aren't going to be winless much longer.

That's a whole different animal with the debut of Zach Kent (formerly of Tennessee and Delaware State). He's only been back a couple games now after missing the first two months. He's a house at 6'10" and 250 lbs -- and can really shoot the ball. I could see how they struggled so much without him.

They still have some others out. But, they may be better off without a couple of them. Demetrius Mims and Thomas Whitley are very good players.

They are winless but that's not a typical winless/lifeless team. If they can get Chris Clancy back (their sharpshooter) to go along with Kent's emergence, Gannon could wins some games down the stretch. They've played a tough schedule and lost a lot of close games -- even with a revolving door.

I think they are certainly favored against Clarion and Edinboro, and should have a good shot against Cal this Saturday. That first win is coming.

[IUPalum]

I'll say this about Gannon -- the Knights aren't going to be winless much longer.

That's a whole different animal with the debut of Zach Kent (formerly of Tennessee and Delaware State). He's only been back a couple games now after missing the first two months. He's a house at 6'10" and 250 lbs -- and can really shoot the ball. I could see how they struggled so much without him.

They still have some others out. But, they may be better off without a couple of them. Demetrius Mims and Thomas Whitley are very good players.

They are winless but that's not a typical winless/lifeless team. If they can get Chris Clancy back (their sharpshooter) to go along with Kent's emergence, Gannon could wins some games down the stretch. They've played a tough schedule and lost a lot of close games -- even with a revolving door.

I think they are certainly favored against Clarion and Edinboro, and should have a good shot against Cal this Saturday. That first win is coming.

There are little things about coaching that separate the elite from the average. Yesterday, prime examples: during the tech free throw and the 2 foul outs Joe huddled his team giving directions. Jefferson was to busy arguing with the refs and his players just stood around getting no instruction. I don't think Jefferson is the right guy for the job.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Unlike Wednesday's rather dull lineup, Saturday has several intriguing PSAC games on tap. Note: These point spreads are not gambling advice. Gambling problem call 1-800-Gambler.


Shepherd at Bloomsburg - This is becoming the typical season in Shepherdstown. The Rams have had stretches of playing well mixed in with stretches of looking pretty rough -- most recently being walloped by Mercyhurst, 70-45. Bloomsburg remains winless but appears to be slowly making progress. The Huskies' margin of defeat is slowly -- for the most part -- shrinking as each month goes by. Prediction: Shepherd is the better team, but where are the Rams at mentally at this point? Despite the losses, Bloomsburg has played pretty well the past three weeks. Rams -5.5


West Chester at Clarion - By most reports, West Chester took Wednesday night off so it should be pretty rested. Clarion hasn't won a game since November - and remains winless against D2 competition. Prediction: On certain nights, Clarion has hung around with some teams. On other nights, the Golden Eagles have been blown out of the building. They typically play a little better in Tippin -- and, it's a long bus ride for the sporadic Rams. West Chester is too deep, but Clarion may get a backdoor cover. WCU -12.5


Seton Hill at Edinboro - The Griffins, winners of two straight, head up 79 fresh off an 84-77 home win against Slippery Rock. Since being hammered at Mercyhurst, Edinboro lost but played respectably against Shippensburg and California. Prediction: The Fighting Scots typically play better in McComb, but Seton Hill's overall team speed and guard play -- not to mention its zone -- will cause all sorts of problems for the hosts. Griffins -12.5


Lock Haven at Kutztown - The Bald Eagles' three-game winning streak came crashing down 48 hours ago -- at Mansfield (of all places). Lock Haven lost, 76-64, and that final spread was way closer than how the actual game played. That was a run-away at one point in the second half. After an awful 0-5 start, Kutztown has gone 5-3. There's no science to playing the Golden Bears as of late. If you slow them down, they struggle. If you get in to a shootout, they typically win. Prediction: Perhaps the toughest game on the board. KU -3.5

East Stroudsburg at Millersville - The Marauders are typical of any young team in a major rebuild. They look good some nights (such as when they put up 84 points and defeated Mercyhurst). They also look awful some nights (such as when they lost at home to IUP by 31 and scored just 45 points). Prediction: ESU has won (5) straight since losing in Greensburg -- all in blowout fashion. This will make No. 6. Warriors -17.5

Slippery Rock at Mercyhurst - The Rock has been a major pest to the Lakers in recent years. The past 10 meetings are an even split. SRU didn't look too hot in Greensburg two days ago. That's a tough place to play. Tomorrow's trip doesn't get any easier. Slippery Rock has the big bodies and athletes to keep up with Mercyhurst. SRU's shooting, however, has been inconsistent at times. They seem to really light it up or go ice cold. The MAC is a tough place to play with the odd sight lines, etc., -- not to mention the matchup zone. Prediction: In most seasons, just when you think SRU is about to tank, well, they don't. But, this is a tall task. Lakers -7.5

Mansfield at Shippensburg - For those paying attention, Mansfield's upset of Lock Haven the other night shouldn't have been a total shock. The Mounties are a lot better than their 3-9 record would lead one to believe. Mansfield easily could have won 4 of the games it lost this year. They've had some bad luck in close games. Nonetheless, playing at Shippensburg is never an easy mission. The Raiders are coming off a throttling of West Chester. Prediction: Mansfield has played pretty well against mid-tier teams. They've been blasted, however, by IUP, ESU and Mercyhurst. Raiders can look really good or somewhat so-so, but they should have too much in this one. Ship -9.5

IUP at Pitt-Johnstown - UPJ has won 6 straight -- the last (5) all by double digits. IUP is 14-0 but coming off its worst performance of the season. Most are calling said performance the classic trap game -- as the trip to winless Gannon fell in between Mercyhurst and UPJ. Regardless, this is one of the better rivalries in the league -- and almost nobody talks about it. IUP is 17-2 in the last 19 meetings, but there have been lots of single digit games in there. There are no tricks in this one. These two know one another better than any other opponent. These two coaches also say all the right things about each other, but there's no love lost between these programs. UPJ has played, all on the road, (3) high-level teams (WL, Nova Southeastern and East Stroudsburg) -- and got blown out in all three. Those are all 40-minute pressing teams. IUP doesn't press and will play right in to UPJ's strength (the half court game). UPJ is undefeated in half-court games this season and typically shoots the lights out at home. Prediction: This will be a chippy one. UPJ draws about 150 a game all season but will have a packed, hostile house tomorrow. The weather, oddly, is clear in Johnstown, so IUP should travel well. The Rukavina Dance hasn't been forgotten in Indiana. IUP escapes, but it won't be easy. IUP -3.5

California at Gannon - The Golden Knights are 0-12 -- and just put a scare in to the No. 1 ranked team in the country. Gannon, of course, is a whole different team with the long-awaited debut of Zach Kent, who is not only the biggest player in the PSAC (6'10", 250 lbs), but he can also shoot from all over and is a physical monster. Had he been around all season Gannon wouldn't be winless. The Vulcans are still fighting despite continuing to play short-handed. The lack of depth has really shown as the season wears along as better teams have been putting up big numbers against Cal. Prediction: UPSET alert. Gannon should be flowing with confidence right now. Highmark is still a tough venue and the Knights are far from lifeless. Gannon -3.5

[IUPalum]

Not a shock, the UPJ broadcast isn’t working. Dump of a school!

[IUPalum]

9 min and 16 sec in and it finally starts working... losers!!!

[Fightingscot82]

For those not watching from home, the PSAC must have sold ad time to Robert Morris. Every friggin commercial is an RMU ad.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

9 min and 16 sec in and it finally starts working... losers!!!

You didn't miss anything in that span. Trust me.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Sure didn't see SRU getting spanked that bad ...

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I was way off on Gannon. Cal smacked them pretty good.