PSAC EAST

[WarriorVoice]

ESU outlasts Mercyhurst 65-64, as Nasir Griffin hits 2 FTs with .9 seconds left in the game. It was a back and forth game the whole way, with ESU leading 27-26 at the half. Mercyhurst is 3-5, but will still be a tough foe every night. Reichert and Doucet fouled out of the game, which certainly was a factor in the end. An instant classic to start PSAC play!! Tomorrow, Gannon comes rolling into the Poconos after laying 128 at Bloomsburg today. Put on your track shoes, the scoreboard operator may need finger therapy!!

[IUPHawks24]

ESU outlasts Mercyhurst 65-64, as Nasir Griffin hits 2 FTs with .9 seconds left in the game. It was a back and forth game the whole way, with ESU leading 27-26 at the half. Mercyhurst is 3-5, but will still be a tough foe every night. Reichert and Doucet fouled out of the game, which certainly was a factor in the end. An instant classic to start PSAC play!! Tomorrow, Gannon comes rolling into the Poconos after laying 128 at Bloomsburg today. Put on your track shoes, the scoreboard operator may need finger therapy!!

Are you going to address the one referee handing the game to ESU?

Talk about a home job- I’m not sure I’ve seen a referee make two worse calls in the final 2 minutes than what happened in that game. Surprised Manchel didn’t go after the referee after the buzzer.

East not super impressive from what I watched. Think the West is stronger again.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Are you going to address the one referee handing the game to ESU?

Talk about a home job- I’m not sure I’ve seen a referee make two worse calls in the final 2 minutes than what happened in that game. Surprised Manchel didn’t go after the referee after the buzzer.

East not super impressive from what I watched. Think the West is stronger again.

Which crew was it?

I'm sure old Manchal was pleasant lol

[IUPHawks24]

Which crew was it?

I'm sure old Manchal was pleasant lol

Two older guys, neither of them in good enough shape to still be reffing. And then a younger guy. One guy made both of the awful calls.

I don’t know if it’s because of the remote locations of the PSAC schools, but it seems to be a lot of the same referees. Some of them simply shouldn’t be reffing anymore.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Two older guys, neither of them in good enough shape to still be reffing. And then a younger guy. One guy made both of the awful calls.

I don’t know if it’s because of the remote locations of the PSAC schools, but it seems to be a lot of the same referees. Some of them simply shouldn’t be reffing anymore.

I'll toss it in the On Demand tonight and check it out.

[jrshooter]

You don't see many momentum swings like a five-minute span of the second half today at Heiges Field House.

Seton Hill had opened an 11-point lead and appeared to be poised to put Ship away before Markus Frank went off. He dominated a 22-3 run that put the Raiders up by 8, and they went on to hold off the Griffins 71-64. Frank had 23 of his 27 after halftime, and kept Seton Hill from totally dominating the boards by pulling 16 rebounds..

Ship scored 49 in the second half against a pretty damn good zone defense. It's become clear that they have three guys who can score big in the PSAC on any given night -- Frank, Michael Dunn, and Ty Crespo.

The problem is, only one of them will score every time out -- and Frank appears like he's going to be a franchise player for Chris Fite as long as he sticks around.

Dunn and Crespo are both very, very streaky. The past two weeks have really been the first time Dunn has shown the perimeter skills that made him an all-stater in HS. And at the same time, the bottom has fallen out for Crespo, who has looked lost the last two times out and didn't score today. Clay Conner's little brother, Timmy, played a nice second half today, hit two huge 3-pointers. But we hadn't really seen that before.

Andrew Recchia, another prolific high school scorer out west, has settled into a playmaker role and doesn't look for his shot as much as he probably should. Denzel FIgueroa is a ferocious (and undersized) defender and rebounder with minimal offensive skills. And Kyle Whippen looks a lot like '23 grad Luke Nedrow ... he'll give them a little presence in the paint, but he isn't really a scorer, either.

The final analysis, if current form holds, probably spells a borderline PSAC tournament qualifier. Not much more.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

You don't see many momentum swings like a five-minute span of the second half today at Heiges Field House.

Seton Hill had opened an 11-point lead and appeared to be poised to put Ship away before Markus Frank went off. He dominated a 22-3 run that put the Raiders up by 8, and they went on to hold off the Griffins 71-64. Frank had 23 of his 27 after halftime, and kept Seton Hill from totally dominating the boards by pulling 16 rebounds..

Ship scored 49 in the second half against a pretty damn good zone defense. It's become clear that they have three guys who can score big in the PSAC on any given night -- Frank, Michael Dunn, and Ty Crespo.

The problem is, only one of them will score every time out -- and Frank appears like he's going to be a franchise player for Chris Fite as long as he sticks around.

Dunn and Crespo are both very, very streaky. The past two weeks have really been the first time Dunn has shown the perimeter skills that made him an all-stater in HS. And at the same time, the bottom has fallen out for Crespo, who has looked lost the last two times out and didn't score today. Clay Conner's little brother, Timmy, played a nice second half today, hit two huge 3-pointers. But we hadn't really seen that before.

Andrew Recchia, another prolific high school scorer out west, has settled into a playmaker role and doesn't look for his shot as much as he probably should. Denzel FIgueroa is a ferocious (and undersized) defender and rebounder with minimal offensive skills. And Kyle Whippen looks a lot like '23 grad Luke Nedrow ... he'll give them a little presence in the paint, but he isn't really a scorer, either.

The final analysis, if current form holds, probably spells a borderline PSAC tournament qualifier. Not much more.

Said it for years ... biggest challenge for Ship is going to be keeping Fite when Lombardi retires (which may be this year).

I know many of the IUP brass who pretty much have Fite annoited as Joe's successor.

[jrshooter]

Said it for years ... biggest challenge for Ship is going to be keeping Fite when Lombardi retires (which may be this year).

I know many of the IUP brass who pretty much have Fite annoited as Joe's successor.

Given the school's apparent aversion to athletic aid, I would think that there aren't that many Chris Fites around who would take the Ship job.

And Markus Frank may not stay here, either. He might have some upward mobility.

[WarriorVoice]

I pity anyone who has to face Gannon this year. They run the full court press better than anyone, and are the best team I've seen since the Elite 8 in 2018.

[Ship69]

Given the school's apparent aversion to athletic aid, I would think that there aren't that many Chris Fites around who would take the Ship job.

And Markus Frank may not stay here, either. He might have some upward mobility.

Good Lord. You might be right, but let's not move Frank out of town after six games in Shippensburg.

[jrshooter]

Good Lord. You might be right, but let's not move Frank out of town after six games in Shippensburg.

It's a new landscape, my friend. It has to always be in a coach's mind now. In 2023, I have zero confidence that a freshman star in the PSAC will end his career in the PSAC.

[Ship69]

It's a new landscape, my friend. It has to always be in a coach's mind now. In 2023, I have zero confidence that a freshman star in the PSAC will end his career in the PSAC.

I'm not saying it's not possible, but why not see how it plays out? I'm well aware it's a new landscape after watching Khalid Dorsey scoring touchdowns for Slippery Rock this year and checking out several of Mac's players recently entering the transfer portal. Chris Fite has a pretty good track record of retaining his players. I'm pretty sure Carlos Carter or Rashon Johnson could have gotten some looks if they'd chosen to go elsewhere in their last year.

[Bart]

Bloom at Temple tomorrow. Temple's take on Bloom. Hopefully nobody gets hurt.

"With five players averaging 10 or more points a game, it should come as no surprise that the Huskies are among the top offensive teams in the nation, scoring 83.3 points an outing, second in the PSAC to only national leader Gannon. Part of that is getting out on the run, scoring 15.7 points a game on the fastbreak. That transition offense has led to some open layups, helping Bloomsburg to connect on 48.5 percent of its attempts from the floor.

While the offensive numbers sound gaudy, defense has been hard to come by for BU. The Huskies are in the bottom five in NCAA Division II, surrendering 94.5 points per game. In six games, the opposition has scored 85 or more points five times has connected on 46.9 percent of its shots. That problem is compounded by the Huskies committing 17.2 turnovers per game, helping teams to take 10 more field goal attempts a contest against Bloomsburg.

All-Time Series
The Owls and Huskies are playing the third matchup in program history. Temple holds a 2-0 series advantage.

Long Time Coming
It has been more than 70 years since TU and BU have exchanged pleasantries as the last game between the two squads was on December 14, 1949, a 65-42 Temple win at Bloomsburg."

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's a new landscape, my friend. It has to always be in a coach's mind now. In 2023, I have zero confidence that a freshman star in the PSAC will end his career in the PSAC.

That train has unfortunately left the station. Hopefully for you guys you'll get at least two seasons out of him.

IUP isn't the IUP we're used to seeing, but they are still pretty strong defensively. Scoring 40 on Joe is quite impressive. I'm sure we weren't the only ones to notice.

[Ship69]

Bloom at Temple tomorrow. Temple's take on Bloom. Hopefully nobody gets hurt.

"With five players averaging 10 or more points a game, it should come as no surprise that the Huskies are among the top offensive teams in the nation, scoring 83.3 points an outing, second in the PSAC to only national leader Gannon. Part of that is getting out on the run, scoring 15.7 points a game on the fastbreak. That transition offense has led to some open layups, helping Bloomsburg to connect on 48.5 percent of its attempts from the floor.

While the offensive numbers sound gaudy, defense has been hard to come by for BU. The Huskies are in the bottom five in NCAA Division II, surrendering 94.5 points per game. In six games, the opposition has scored 85 or more points five times has connected on 46.9 percent of its shots. That problem is compounded by the Huskies committing 17.2 turnovers per game, helping teams to take 10 more field goal attempts a contest against Bloomsburg.

All-Time Series
The Owls and Huskies are playing the third matchup in program history. Temple holds a 2-0 series advantage.

Long Time Coming
It has been more than 70 years since TU and BU have exchanged pleasantries as the last game between the two squads was on December 14, 1949, a 65-42 Temple win at Bloomsburg."

I hope Bloom is getting a good payday for this.