Last night we took on the Cobbers in a rematch of our game against each other on Saturday. The one nice thing about playing them again was that we knew how they were going to defend us and we knew for the most part what they were going to do offensively. Another advantage that we have is that they had to travel from Moorhead to here, which is about three and a half hours. A normal travel day for them but still advantageous for us.
We got off to a blazing hot start from three. Tyler Pannell knocked down three 3's and Noah Aguirre hit two more within the first four minutes of the game. Quite a turn of events from our last couple of games. The biggest thing is that we couldn't get complacent and settle for 3's. Next couple of possessions we got to the rim and got off to a 20-7 lead, much like our first game with the Cobbers up in Moorhead. The Cobbers didn't back down and eventually tied it up with a little less than two minutes left in the half. We answered with a little 5-0 run to finish the half and was up, 41-36. We played harder than them for about 15 minutes of the half. We have to play harder than them for the whole game, not just for stretches.
The second half was pretty much controlled by us. Just looking at the stats, it never got closer than six with the exception of the beginning of the half. Everytime they made a play, we always had a response. Again, we played harder than them for the most part. We just can't have the lapses if we expect to win the championship. We ended up winning, 86-75 in a scorching hot Hutton Arena (just the way we like it). Great crowd in numbers last night, with a lot of alums in the house.
We were led by Tyler's 19 including 5-7 from 3. He definitely stepped it up big time in a big game for us. Noah had 14 on only seven shots. That's pretty efficient if you ask me. Mike Campbell finished with 13 and Carl had a double-double with 12 and 12. Our starting group did an excellent job last night. The guys coming off the bench struggled a little bit last night as a unit but we do get another opportunity tomorrow against St. Thomas.
The MIAC Semifinals are all set for tomorrow night as we take on St. Thomas at their castle. Gustavus knocked out St. Olaf last night, 90-71, and take on Carleton in Northfield.
On a side note, Hamline has hired John Pate as it's new football coach. Coach Pate spent many years with Georgia Southern and won numerous national championships with them. He will bring the veer offense to Minnesota. For those with vast football knowledge like myself, the veer is what both Georgia Tech and Navy run. Coach Pate worked under current GT head coach and former Navy coach Paul Johnson for a number of years at Georgia Southern.
Two of our former staffers on the football program have gotten jobs elsewhere. Former head coach was hired as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at the University of Redlands LINK. Also, former defensive line coach Guy Ament was hired at Howard Payne University down in Texas in the same capacity. Good luck to both coaches.
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