Yesterday in "Happy Hour Hoops at Hamline," we took on the Beavers from Caltech aka California Institute of Technology. I was told after the game by one of their assistants that it isn't Cal Tech but Caltech. I thought they were supposed to be smart over there in Pasadena. Ranks right up there with some of the nicknames we have in our league. Caltech was 4-2 going into the game and was clearly playing with a bunch of confidence after beating Macalester on Monday night.
We got off to a slow start as neither team could find their rhythm. Our legs looked dead and couldn't get our offense going. The Beavers started off in a 2-3 zone to try and take away our penetration, I thought we still got good looks but didn't knock them down. We ran our zone offense but made a few careless turnovers that didn't help our cause. We made a couple of bursts but couldn't put them away. We just had too many turnovers (9) and too many missed opportunities. We still held a 34-24 advantage at the half but it wasn't exactly our best performance.
The second half started out with a bang as Mike Campbell made a layup, Tyler Pannell hit a 3, and then Dior Ford had a monster dunk in transition. This left the Beavers shell shocked. They recovered after a timeout to get it back within 13. Then, we made a run reminiscent of the ol' Brockport days as the guys went on a 25-4 run to put the game out of reach. We were running on all cylinders and the guys were having fun.
Over the course of the last eight minutes of the game we were able to play the guys who haven't played yet this season. It was great for them to get some varsity time. They extended the lead as well. It's always tough for those guys as you are never sure how to approach the way they play. At one point you want them to play at the same tempo as your "regulars" but at another point you don't want to embarrass the other team. I think we were able to use that balance last night. The final score was 88-48.
We were led by Mike Campbell's double-double of 16 points and 10 boards. Dior Ford and Charlie Choiniere both had 13 to help lead the charge. We got everyone off the bench had a total of 16 different guys score. EVERYONE contributed at some point last night. We held them to 30% shooting and 2-22 from 3. We outrebounded them 51-29 as well. It was a good night to be a Piper.
We have practice today and then our guys get some time off for finals and a little break. We play Chapman out in California on the 31st. I'm really looking forward to the trip.
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