HP vs NF

After a brief respite at home, just long enough to enter the stats for the GL/LS game, it was time to head off to NF. I get to the game a good 45 minutes before the game and find Henry already there. He had thought he could see the B team play, not realizing that we don’t have parallel schedules. By the time the previous game ends the whole team is there. We have time for an abbreviated warm-up. And then the game’s off and running.

Or would be were the first half not painfully slow. We don’t do a good of finding good shots. The shots we did take didn’t go in. Fortunately our defense was excellent and we go into half up 9-7. The game changes pace in the second half, with us scoring 8 points in the second quarter, though 3 of those points came on a last second 3 pointer by Henry that was more luck than anything else. That gives us a 2 point lead going into the fourth. And the 4th is a battle. Unfortunately we just can’t stop their number 10, fouling him repeatedly, and he scores 9 points, 7 on free throws, and we end up losing by 2.

Where I felt bad about the GL victory, I feel very good about the HP loss. At this point, I think it’s somewhat clear that we don’t have the stamina to play 4 quarters. I subbed extensively, giving nearly equal playing time, but even that didn’t help. However, I figured that the one practice a week, and the day before our game at that, would hurt our ability to play 4 quarters. Also not helping was that I didn’t rotate our defends to put our best defenders on 10. This is because they had another player, 40, who was gigantic, and just killed us on the boards. The problems I saw at this game were far less than I had seen last week and certainly less than what I saw with GL. I was real pleased with the game despite the two point loss.

Taking a look at the team:

Adam – Looked slightly less lost out there than normal.

Ben – Did a pretty good job of guarding some taller players.

Danny – Was 0-5 from the floor along with a team high 4 turnovers. He’s a fast kid but he doesn’t play in control of himself, leading to shots which are just a little off and the ball to get away from him.

Gavin – Got banged up inside. He got into first half foul trouble leading him to sit a lot more than he would have otherwise. While he did a good job of guarding their #40, he went 0-3 from the floor, with close shots, and 0-6 from the FT line. But overall a good game

Henry – Scored that lucky 3 pointer. The only one of his 10 shots to be made. However, most of the shots he took were smart shots and his defense was strong. I also think he has the potential to be a good point guard, so I’m going to see if that can’t be nurtured.

Jacob – Once again a virtual non-entity out there, which was a problem because he got so much playing time due to Gavin’s foul troubles.

Jack A – Played pretty well, but not in control. He didn’t get nearly as much playing time this week as last as his dribble penetrating was killing us, as it was unsuccessful and he’d force a shot anyway. It was perhaps a mistake not to have him in there at crunch, but he freelances so much on defense, and is uneven with his shooting, and so despite his athleticism there just wasn’t a spot on the floor for him.

Jack B – Took 4 good shots, but missed them all. He played perhaps the best game defensively, really shutting down his man.

Jon – Was pretty much a non factor during his time on the court, though part of that was due to the good deny defense he played.

Josh – The kid is a gamer. He scored 4 clutch 4th quarter points for us. While his skills aren’t pretty, he does, I feel, deserve more credit for his ability to get things done. However, he was also constantly walking up the court on offense and a little on defense. Seems like a player who I will, perhaps, have to play in short stretches.

Zach – Their star shut him down completely in the second half. His inability to score a basket during the last 90 seconds of the game, was why we lost the close game. Still a good effort for him. Just reaffirms my thought that he doesn’t quite have the skills to take over a game.

Overall it was a good team effort. I am upbeat about our chances going forward, especially when we start to get two practices a week in January.