Crossover.....

[CALUPA69]

At the half CAL U 35. SHIP 28 mostly due to VULCANS 3pt shooting, 6-11, against the RAIDERS 1-8.

Another close W for CAL U 70-67 over SHIP. ALSTON the VULCANS star once again with 23 pts, 10 rbds and the steal to seal the deal at the end. CARTER, 21, and JOHNSON, 18, led the RAIDERS. 3 ptrs CAL 10-22, SHIP 3-17.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Chris Fite post-game interview was a classic.

[Ship69]

Chris Fite post-game interview was a classic.

Fite's not a guy to make excuses. Still no Biss, 3-17 from three, early foul trouble on Sleva, and we're still in the game? Hate to pick up the loss, but I can't feel too bad about that.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

I don't have any doubt Ship wins that game with Biss.

Sleva getting in that early foul trouble was the killer. He ended up playing just 21 minutes and Ship got next to nothing (scoring) from the bench (4 total points).

Even with all that, Ship was still in the game with 20 seconds left.

I took away a couple things:

* Ship is going to be really good when Biss comes back. But, he better get back quickly. If you go with the historic 7-loss rule for the NCAAs, the Raiders already have two (pre-Thanksgiving). I think Ship will rule the East this year.

* Cal is going to struggle with the size, muscle and depth of IUP, Mercyhurst and UPJ. Cal is built to play MEC teams and style. But, they are in the PSAC West. A short-handed Ship was able to slow them down a good bit (25 points below average) and Ship won the glass by double digits.

* Cal's depth is a concern. If Alston or BP have to miss any time, it will be devastating.

* Carlos Carter has really improved his game. Once he has Biss drawing a lot of attention, he will have some really big games.

* Pegram is really an elite PG

[Ship69]

I don't have any doubt Ship wins that game with Biss.

Sleva getting in that early foul trouble was the killer. He ended up playing just 21 minutes and Ship got next to nothing (scoring) from the bench (4 total points).

Even with all that, Ship was still in the game with 20 seconds left.

I took away a couple things:

* Ship is going to be really good when Biss comes back. But, he better get back quickly. If you go with the historic 7-loss rule for the NCAAs, the Raiders already have two (pre-Thanksgiving). I think Ship will rule the East this year.

* Cal is going to struggle with the size, muscle and depth of IUP, Mercyhurst and UPJ. Cal is built to play MEC teams and style. But, they are in the PSAC West. A short-handed Ship was able to slow them down a good bit (25 points below average) and Ship won the glass by double digits.

* Cal's depth is a concern. If Alston or BP have to miss any time, it will be devastating.

* Carlos Carter has really improved his game. Once he has Biss drawing a lot of attention, he will have some really big games.

* Pegram is really an elite PG

It's maddening not to have Biss, but you gotta play with what you have. Even with him back, Ship is probably the underdog in the Mercyhurst and IUP games, and Pitt-Johnstown will be trouble out there. Gannon is not up there with those three, but is not a pushover. And then we get Virginia State on Jan. 2. It's going to be very rough to qualify for the NCAA tourney this season, especially with Millersville and a couple of other Eastern schools looking strong. There'll be little margin for error.

Biss, once he's back in playing shape, has the potential to combine with Carter and Johnson to create a three-headed offensive monster. And Sleva, Hardy, and Nedrow are also capable of putting up points if you don't check them. The weak spot is Fite wasn't able to develop his recruits last year as he usually does, so there is little experience beyond the first six. There's nobody off the bench with experience like Daylon Carter, who provided some offensive spark and quality minutes in several of Ship's 2019-2020 game. Fite doesn't bring in as many transfers as some of the PSAC coaches, and that probably has worked against him to an extent this season. The pleasure of being a Ship fan in recent years has been watching players such as Dustin Sleva, John Castello, Biss, and Carter develop from freshman part-timers into genuine PSAC stars. I think we'll see more of that in the future, but this year will be a grind.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's maddening not to have Biss, but you gotta play with what you have. Even with him back, Ship is probably the underdog in the Mercyhurst and IUP games, and Pitt-Johnstown will be trouble out there. Gannon is not up there with those three, but is not a pushover. And then we get Virginia State on Jan. 2. It's going to be very rough to qualify for the NCAA tourney this season, especially with Millersville and a couple of other Eastern schools looking strong. There'll be little margin for error.

Biss, once he's back in playing shape, has the potential to combine with Carter and Johnson to create a three-headed offensive monster. And Sleva, Hardy, and Nedrow are also capable of putting up points if you don't check them. The weak spot is Fite wasn't able to develop his recruits last year as he usually does, so there is little experience beyond the first six. There's nobody off the bench with experience like Daylon Carter, who provided some offensive spark and quality minutes in several of Ship's 2019-2020 game. Fite doesn't bring in as many transfers as some of the PSAC coaches, and that probably has worked against him to an extent this season. The pleasure of being a Ship fan in recent years has been watching players such as Dustin Sleva, John Castello, Biss, and Carter develop from freshman part-timers into genuine PSAC stars. I think we'll see more of that in the future, but this year will be a grind.

The team nobody is talking about ... West Chester looks pretty good, too.

[CALUPA69]

The team nobody is talking about ... West Chester looks pretty good, too.

Fortunately for VULCANS fans WCU will be hosting UPJ and IUP before taking an extended Western tour of SHU, CAL and SRU before Christmas break. I'll be surprised if the G'RAMS are able to finish that crossover swing at 3-2... Time will tell.

[Ship69]

The team nobody is talking about ... West Chester looks pretty good, too.

Believe me, nobody at Ship is ever going to overlook West Chester. The Raiders just have to survive December first.