Falcons do 180, shock Hokies in wild finish
You cannot turn a sharper 180 then that. From a lackluster performance over a poor team that resulted in a midnight practice to winning your first game against an ACC team since 1967, in their gym....that's got a lot of Falcon fans feeling pretty good today.
The end was crazy. We had led most of the game, until Va Tech took the lead with 11 seconds left. Still, we had the ball. We came down the court (didn't call time because we only had one and Coach was afraid we would need one to get it inbounds at some point), and didn't really create anything. Floyd made a drive and got it around the rim, and one of their guys tipped it in as the clock ran out. Coach ran the team off the court in about :10 in case someone decided to change their mind...there was no TV of the game anyway.
Its so exciting because our whole challenge is about projection--how good is this team going to be? Thursday and today would yield completely different answers. But to win today, without Steven Wright, and two other freshmen, would tell us that this team has the potential to compete.
All caveats apply--Va Tech is a little banged up and is not a hoops power. But they are in the ACC, and it was on their floor.
What improved. We played tough the whole way. We had a 12-point lead in the first half, and everytime they chopped it to get close, we'd make a play and put the lead back up again. We had numerous opportunities to fold, and we didn't. We were in foul trouble, physicaly overmatched against a rallying team on their home floor--a tough situation. A couple of times, I just thought we wouldn't be able to close it. But, to use Coach's favorite phrase, we were tough.
We had huge foul problems again, though only 29 fouls were committed. Mawel, Marschall and Clements fouled out, and Lefeld and Moon finished with four.
We shot FTs well (82%), and shot the rock pretty well (45.3%). We took care of the ball pretty well (15 TOs), but more than any number, we just hung in there.
Some notes:
John Floyd had 17 points, all in the second half, including two clutch three's when the game had gotten close. Floyd is much maligned among Falcon fans, and I guess the answer really depends on what you think you are getting. He's not all-MAC, and he's not going to lead your team. But he is tough and a competitor and has delivered before under these kind of circumstances.
Martin Samarco lead the team with 21 points, taking 18 of our 53 shots, more than 33%. Still, shooters have to shoot. I think if he can play in a three-guard set with Wright, the two of them have some potential to get some points.
Erik Marschall continues to be a very promising player. He had 8 boards, and 11 points, and some key passes and baskets.
Darryl Clements also played a very solid game, though it really isn't a numbers thing.
Matt Lefeld continues to play like a new man, though he needs to work on his inside touch, he was 1-7 from the field today. But he had 9 boards, and didn't foul out, though he missed some time due to fouls.
I'm sure Va. Tech is peeved at how it turned out, but that's basketball. We were all jumping around when the game ended, it was very exciting. Let's hope we can not do another 180 and beat a bad Radford team, and come home 2-1.
Absolutely great day for the hoops program. Its a one-day at a time kind of thing, but if we can get the following rotation going every night:
G: Wright
G: Robinson/Floyd
G: Samarco
F: Marschall
F: Lefeld
---
Bench:
Soler
Clements
Robinson/Floyd
Guerin
Moten (in December)
We might be able to score enough to compete. I know this--our program hasn't had this big a non-MAC win since the McLeod/Matela era.
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