RPI #327 James Madison (1-8) visits HCC early this afternoon for a match-up against Jim Fox's RPI #215 Apps (3-6). That RPI for the Apps shocked me, also, but it's not a mis-print. We have three losses to power conf. squads--two to the ACC and one to the SEC. JMU lost at home to Texas Southern of the SWAC. Nuff said.

Well, not quite enuff. The two teams have had one common foe--UNCC. The 'Niners took the Duke Dawgs by nine and the Apps by eight--both contests at Halton. The Dukes have the more experienced squad; the Apps the deepest bench.

This is an absolute must win for Jim Fox and the Apps and they should be up to the task. I say "should" because it's against a JMU team playing for a first-year head coach on the Apps' home hardwood. My caution is that HCC, on Camellia Bowl Day with students on break and locals doing their Christmas shopping, might sound more like a big abandoned library.

Anyway, get it done, Apps! Que' sera sera!

28% shooting at home will get you seriously embarrassed! I won't even mention rebounding...

Wow, we're improving!

I just tuned in with a few minutes left but doesn't look great. That said hitting the three pointer to go into overtime is one nice bit of luck. Hopefully we can take this home.

Up five with 2:40 left. Let's close this out...

A 73-61 overtime victory for the good guys. Maybe it wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.

Agreed, win is a win.

AppinVA wrote:A 73-61 overtime victory for the good guys. Maybe it wasn't pretty, but I'll take it.

That put back dunk by Shabazz to finish the game was pretty...oh, and Pat Goods jump shot. That kid is a smart player. Knocks down a high percentage of his shots because he only takes good shots.

Good to win one of these, seems like the other team always does. Now time to head into the stadium!

For anyone who thinks we're not improving, take a look at our assist to turnover ratio in the last 2 games. I don't think I've seen positives in that category in years. Shabazz was the best player on the court yet again, but it was Pat Goods clutch shooting at opportune times and robinsons clutch 3 to send to overtime that got us the victory. Good continually hits big shots at the most needed times. These freshmen are going to be fun to watch over the next few years. Our guys desperately needed to pull out a game like this for confidence going forward. JMU essentially tried WCUs strategy of slowing it way down and playing zone the whole game. Luckily we ended up up pushing tempo when we could and actually knocked down shots today.

Also all the players we are talking about are freshmen and sophomores. Young teams aren't usually very successful at our level because we aren't getting the McDonald's All Americans who can make a difference day one. The talent is there.

Hopefully we can roll into conference play with a win over Hampton. UA-LR, Arkansas State, and UTSA are going to be really challenging games. It's unfortunate that they're so front loaded into the season.