Last night we took on the Knights from Carleton is another tough MIAC matchup. This game has "let down game" written all over it. After beating St. Thomas our guys were due for a big let down and probable loss. It happened to us two years ago when we took St. Thomas to the edge and then got blownout by Augsburg the following game. After watching warmups, it didn't seem like we had the same type of focus as we did for the St. Thomas game but you never know what's going to happen once the ball tips.
We dug ourselves a hole early after standing around the perimeter and just passing the ball around. Not sure if it's Carleton's defense that does this to us but every time we play them it happens. We don't look to attack as much as the coaching staff would like. We have to figure out a way to get our guys getting into the lane more against them, especially if we match up with them in the playoffs. We were down 23-11 with about nine minutes to play and then we finally got some ball movement and some penetration to get open looks and it worked. We battled back to get within four at the half, 36-32.
The second half was much more of a back and forth battle as neither team could shake off each other. The biggest lead of the second half was five. Neither team was willing to give in. Every time we went up by a couple they would come down and make a play and vice versa. It basically was who was going to make the first mistake. We had a couple of brain farts and didn't do what we normally do on both ends of the floor and it cost us. WIth that said, the game was still tied at 67 with 1:20 left to play. We had a couple of opportunities to win but couldn't knock down shots. With 5.6 seconds left Jeremy Sutherland (their best player and probably best overall player in the league) hit a dagger 3 from the left wing. We still had time to get a decent look and it didn't fall. Final score, 70-67 in favor of the Knights.
It was a real tough loss and hopefully something we can learn from. In games like that, every possession counts and being the good team that they are, every time we relaxed or made a mistake defensively they took advantage. It certainly didn't help that we were 3-18 from 3 and fell back down to earth after shooting really well the last couple of games. We were also 10-14 from the floor and I believe we miss a front end of a one and one when we were up one. Just some little things that we can look back and think that those were the difference in the game. I'm sure there many more throughout both halves but those ones definitely stand out.
We were led by Carl's 23 points and 17 boards. Mike had 19 and played a really solid second half on offense. Noah and Tyler both had 8. Just a frustrating night for the Pipers.
Next up are the Cobbers from Concordia. We will leave tomorrow for the "long" three and a half hour trip up there. Game is on Saturday at 3pm central time. They just beat St. Olaf up there 88-70 as their starting 4 and 5 combined for 54 points. Should be another good one.
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