D-Lee gets praise from the Prez

St. Louisan David Lee seems to be picking up new fans all the time as he continues his All-Star season with the New York Knicks.
Last Friday night, D-Lee had 31 points and 17 rebounds against the world champion Los Angeles Lakers in Madison Square Garden. He scored 16 of those 31 points in the first half.
As Lee headed to the locker room for halftime, he heard a voice in the crowd yell to him "Hey, you played well in the first half."
Lee turned around to see who gave him the compliment and too his amazement, it was former President Bill Clinton, a NYC resident who was taking in the game.
Said a stunned Lee to a local media outlet, "You should have seen my amazement. I had no idea he was supposed to be here because we weren't told. It was pretty special."
It was D-Lee's 24th double-double of the season, which currently leads the NBA.
I will be shocked if David Lee is not in the NBA All-Star game this year. Also, our sympathies to D-Lee and his family on the passing of his grandfather, Desmond Lee last week. Desi Lee was quite a basketball player at University City High during the 1930's before going to become a very successful businessman and philanthropist.

Way to go Mustafa

Former MICDS standout Mustafa Abdul-Hamid lived out the dream of every young basketball player last night.
A redshirt junior at UCLA, Mustafa hit a game-winning jumper at the buzzer to give the Bruins a 62-61 victory over Washington in historic Pauley Pavilion.
After U-Dub took the lead with its own last second shot, Mustafa took the inbounds pass, dribbled to the head of the key, gave a pump fake (a la Kobe Bryant) and sank the game-winner as time expired.
Mustafa's heroics earned him the No. 1 Play of the Night on ESPN's Sportscenter.
It could not have happened to a nicer young man. Not only is Mustafa a fine basketball player, but he is a tremendous young person as well. I was so happy to see him have that moment, I almost cried. It was wonderful to see. He has worked so hard on and off the court and in the community. It is great to see him get this kind of national attention.
After a stellar career at MICDS, Mustafa had a lot of scholarship offers. He could have even gone on to Harvard. Instead, he decided to walk on at UCLA, where he got to experience a couple of trips to the Final Four.
Although his playing time was limited, coach Ben Howland respected his efforts enough to reward Mustafa with a scholarship last year. However, a wrist injury cut his season short after two games and he took a medical redshirt.
Even when he is one the sidelines, Mustafa always manages to keep himself ready just in case he is called to duty. He hit a game-winning shot at the buzzer in the Bruins' one-point victory over Concordia.
Here's a salute to you, Mustafa. Congratulations of your game-winning shot.
Now, everyone else will be able to see how much of a fine young man you are.
Excellent.

Bills post impressive win

After three close encounters to open A-10 Conference play, it was nice to see the Billikids break out and enjoy a lopsided victory for a change.
The kids came out focused and with a lot of energy against Fordham, resulting in a 75-48 victory.
I think the sting of the OT loss in Charlotte was still on everyone's mind and the kids had to take it out on someone. It turned out to be Fordham.
Once again, it was a solid all-around team effort where everyone got a chance to share in the big victory. Key players were not pressed to play heavy minutes and hard-working, walk-on Darren Young was rewarded with some playing time for the final four minutes of the game.
Usually, in my game recaps, I like to add the picture of a player who really stood out in the game. Well, because so many players stood out on Wednesday night, I just could not single one out. That's why you see the Billiken mascot's photo.
For the first time, Coach Majuerus unveiled his new starting lineup of Willie Reed, Cody Ellis and Jon Smith up front with Kwamain Mitchell and Kyle Cassity in the backcourt.
That lineup really got a lot of things done during our two-game road swing at Duquesne and Charlotte. They really jumped on Fordham from the start as they raced to an 11-2 lead.
Things really clicked with this group. Willie was back to his bouncy, energetic self on both ends of the floor. Jon has continued his stellar play since the calendar turned to 2010. Cody stroked some long 3-pointers and moved down the lane for an emphatic two-handled slam dunk. Kwamain penetrated and scored and Kyle facilitated and defended well.
What pleased me was when Rick went to the bench, the guys kept up the intensity and production without much slippage. Brian Conklin ended up being the top scorer on the night with 15 points. He was active and physical all evening.
Fordham is really struggling right now at 2-15 and winless in the league, but they had been competitive in all of their conference games. However, seized control of the game early and never gave them a chance to build any confidence.
It was a fun evening with a lot of crowd-pleasing plays. As I mentioned, Jon and Willie were dunking all over the place and the crowd loved it.
Cody continues to get better with each game. He looked like Linas Klieza last night with his long-distance shooting range and a big-time move to the bucket which resulted in a dunk off an inbounds play. He is still trying to play himself into game shape, thus he played a team-high 29 minutes.
Jon Smith continues to emerge as a force. He finished with a near double-double with eight points and eight rebounds. The beauty about Jon is that you never have to run a play for him and he will still get those numbers because he is so active.
Jon is a great example of recruiting an extraordinary athlete with a lot of length and a big upside. A raw talent like that in the right hands (such as Rick's) makes for a very dangerous player when developed the right way. We saw it last year with Willie and now history is repeating itself. It's nice to have two athletic jumping jacks on the front line creating all kinds of havoc on the interior. And both are still babies in their development as college players. Just wait until they are grown men.
At 3-1 in the league, the Bills have put themselves in a pretty good position early on. The kids are playing some good ball right now, but what's most promising is that there is so much more room for growth in each and every one of them.
Even when I am at my most frustrated (which was the case in Charlotte), I still have to remind myself that this is a very young team that is prone to making lots of mistakes.
With that being said, I think we can all see the growth in this team and can be excited about how good they are going to be one month from now. Obviously, we cannot afford any more injuries because we've had our share this year, starting with Paul, then Jeff, Kwamain, and now Femi.
It was a nice turnout last night considering it was mid-week and we were playing a team at the bottom of the league. If the youngsters continue to play well and compete in the A-10, I am expecting to see some sellouts down the stretch.
I'm not going to lie to you. I will be disappointed if we're not packing 9-10K in the Chaifetz for games with Dayton, Xavier, Temple and Rhode Island, who are still left on the home schedule.
These formidable teams are all contenders in the league and we have them all at our house in Februrary (Temple is on March 3). St. Bonnie and Duquesne come calling as well in Feb. I hope everyone is one hand to give them a nice Billikens' welcome.
The rest of the league slate will be very tough, beginning with the GW, Richmond swing next week. Oh, it would be nice to get another road win. If that happens, we could really put ourselves in position for something interesting.
I'm looking forward to seeing it all unfold.
I know you are too.
Go Bills!

Freshmen of Influence

There is some pretty good young talent emerging in the St. Louis metro area.
I have been impressed with the performances of some of the freshmen, who have already started to make their mark in area basketball this season.
Here are a few of those talented freshmen:

Anthony Virdure, Jr. (Lutheran North): The son of former LN standout Anthony Virdure, young Anthony is a smooth 5'9" combo guard who can score and distribute the basketball. He has already emerged as the Crusaders' top offensive threat, averaging 13.4 points a game.

Hunter Reine (Roxana): A 6'7" post player, Reine has been impressive in averaging 14 points, 12 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game for the Shells. Reine has enjoyed some really dominating performances so far this season. With a 6'10" father, this young man could really grow into something special.

Malcolm Hill, Jr. (Belleville East): The son of former Normandy coach and ESTL Assumption standout Malcolm Hill, young Jr. is a nice 6'2" shooting guard who has made an impact on a veteran Lancers' team. With good size and a nice outside shooting stroke, Malcolm Jr. has been coming on strong as of late, averaging 10 points in his last four games.

Jordan Swopshire (Fort Zumwalt South): The fourth member of the talented Swopshire basketball clan, the 6'5" forward is one of the area's top youngsters with his versatile game. Young Jordan is averaging eight points and four rebounds for the Bulldogs.

Jordan Martin (Hazelwood Central): The 6'6" Martin is a talented young big who will be even more of an impact player in the future for the Hawks. However, to be starting for a team as talented as Hazelwood Central as a freshman speaks well of this versatile's young man's talent.

Keenan Minor (Cahokia): The 6'2" swingman has made an immediate impact with his outside shooting for the Comanches, who surprised many by winning the Centralia Tournament over the Christmas holidays. Minor had 12 points in the championship game.

Tyrin Williams (Riverview Gardens): The 5'10" point guard has been a real asset for an improving Rams' team with his speed and quickness at the point. Williams is averaging better than nine points a game.

Jim Barton and Nolan Berry (DeSmet): Barton is a 5'6" point guard and Berry is a 6'6" forward. Both are getting some varsity time for the Spartans and have showed some nice potential in limited varsity minutes. Barton is a floor general who can hit the open 3-pointer while Berry is a forward who has been handling himself well at the varsity level. Berry had a breakout game, scoring 23 points against DeSoto in the first round of the Ameritime Classic.

Many more youngsters will emerge and I'm sure I missed a few, but these are some of the talented young players that fans in the area will have a chance to watch develop over the next four years.
Enjoy.

McCluer's NBA Schedule

McCluer High basketball coach Erwin Claggett must have felt like a NBA coach during the past two weeks as his Comets played a challenging six games in the past nine days.
That's a rough stretch of games for any team at any level, but the Comets came away winning five of those six games.
Last week, McCluer won the championship of the D.C. Wilcutt Tournament at CBC. McCluer defeated Fort Zumwalt East on Monday, Clayton on Wednesday and CBC for the title on Friday night.
The following night, the Comets defeated Illinois Class A power Breese Central in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the Chaifetz Arena. Just two days later, they faced Normandy in the final game of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Basketball Shootout.
McCluer led for much of the game, but the Vikings came back to win 63-60, thus handing the Comets their only loss during this six-game stretch.
On Tuesday night, McCluer rebounded with a convincing victory at Parkway West.
The leader throughout the season for McCluer has been junior standout guard Shaquille Boga (pictured), who is averaging 22 points a game. He was also the Most Valuable Player of the D.C. Wilcutt Tournament.
Claggett also made liberal use of his bench, using as many as 11 players in one game. It was an impressive showing by a talented young group of players.

MLK Basketball Events on tap today

Today, we celebrate the holiday of a great man in the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with all kinds of community activites to remember his birthday.
A big part of the MLK birthday celebration will be two basketball events, which are presented by the St. Louis Gateway Classic Sports Foundation and local girls basketball coach George Merritt.
The Gateway Classic is presenting the 18th annual Martin Luther King Basketball Shootout at Normandy High's historic Viking Hall. The event will feature four games involving some of the area's top programs.
The first game is a girls' contest at noon featuring defending Class 3 state champion Cardinal Ritter against Northwest Academy.
At 2 p.m., Cardinal Ritter's boys will take on McCluer North in a rematch of the Normandy Holiday Tournament semifinal thriller, won by McCluer North at the buzzer. McCluer North is currently undefeated at 11-0, but their closest call came against Cardinal Ritter.
At 4 p.m., Soldan will take on Maplewood Richmond Heights as friends and former SLU basketball players Justin Tatum of Soldan and Corey Frazier of MRH match wits on the sidelines with their talented young teams.
In the nightcap at 6 p.m., host Normandy will take on McCluer. The Comets are finishing up a challenging week of five games in seven days. They won the D.C. Wilcutt Tournament at Kirkwood last week, then came back to defeat Illinois Class A power Bresse Central on Saturday night in the Coaches vs. Cancer event at the Chaifetz Arena. Normandy won the championship of the Denver Miller Tournament at Kirkwood last week. Both McCluer and Normandy defeated the host schools in the championship game.
Tickets are on sale for $12 at the door. See you there.

On the girls side, George Merritt has put together a nice four-game MLK event at North County Tech High in Florissant.
At noon, Gateway Tech will take on Cahokia in the opening game.
The second game of the event will feature Merritt's North County Tech team against McCluer North at 2 p.m.
The highlight matchup of the event will be at 2 p.m. when nationally-ranked powers Incarnate Word Academy and Chicago Whitney Young hook up in a much-anticipated showdown.
IWA is ranked No. 1 in St. Louis while Whitney Young is ranked No. 1 in Chicago. It should be quite a game.
In the finale, McCluer South Berkeley will take on Miller Career Academy at 4 p.m.

There will be another girls showdown in town today when Chicagoland power Oak Park Fenwick visits St. Joseph's Academy at 1:30 p.m. in another Chicago vs. St. Louis showdown.

So, there are plenty of good opportunities to get your basketball groove on today. Hope you take advantage of them on this special holiday.

Earl on the air this week

I will be at Normandy High School today calling games at the Dr. Martin Luther King Basketball Shootout on Prepcasts.com with Charlie Kennedy. We will be doing the McCluer North-Cardinal Ritter game at 2 p.m. and the McCluer-Normandy game at 6 p.m.

On Wednesday, SLU Hall of Fame play-by-play man Bob Ramsey and I will be calling the SLU-Fordham game from the Chaifetz Arena at 7 p.m. on 101-ESPN. The pre-game will be at 6:45 p.m.

On Friday night, I will be on the mic for the McCluer North-Belleville East game at the Belleville East Tournament.

Road win worth the long wait

Watching the Billikids achieve their first road victory of the season on Wednesday night at Duquesne made the day-long ordeal to get to the game worthwhile.
As many of you now know, my broadcast partner Bob Ramsey and I were stranded in the St. Louis airport for much of Wednesday. Our flight was supposed to leave St. Louis at 10 a.m. We were actually on the runway getting ready to take off when we were forced to turn and go back to the gate when some trouble with the plane's computer system was discovered.
We were poised to take a later flight into Pittsburgh, but that also got cancelled. Meanwhile, our original plane was taken to the hangar for repairs. At that time, Rammer and I looked at the prospect of not getting to Pittsburgh at all.
Anyway, they fixed the problem with the first plane and we boarded about 3:45 p.m. However, a few other issues came up and we sat at the gate for another 30 minutes or so.
At that time, we thought there was no way we could make it to the game on time. About 4:30 p.m., we considered getting off the plane and going home. But, we decided to stick it out. We finally took off about about 4:45 STL time, which would have put us in Pittsburgh at close to 7 p.m. eastern time, which was right around tip-off time.
After we landed, Rammer and I flew through the airport, got a cab, and raced into town. We arrived at the arena during the third media time-out with about eight minutes left in the first half.
We just put on our headphones and started talking as soon as the action started again. To add to our frustration, our boys started to turn the ball over and Duquesne went on a 8-0 run to take the lead and control of the game.
However, the boys came back strong in the second half and actually led by seven minutes left with four minutes left in regulation. However, give the Dukes credit for coming back and forcing the extra sessions.
In all, it was another typical SLU-Duquesne game. Since joining the A-10, some of most hotly contested games have been against the Dukes. I think this was our third overtime game with them in the past four seasons.
Kyle Cassity (pictured) was really clutch on this night with 15 points, on 6 of 7 shooting from the field and three for four from 3-point land. Kyle really played with a lot of confidence offensively and it showed in his results. His floor game is solid, but when he puts his mind to it that he wants to get something done on offense, he can score. He just has to be of that mindset more often. Boy, if we can bottle up what KC did in Pittsburgh for the rest of the season....
Cody Ellis was good again with 14 points, 11 rebounds and four assists. What I most like about this young man is that he makes everyone around him better. He can really pass the ball, space the floor and create opportunities for others. He has so many dimensions to his game that you can now do a lot of different things.
I'm going to enjoy the high-lows to Willie for the next three seasons, incuding the rest of this one. Willie returned to the lineup with nine points and four rebounds.
When you guard Cody in the high post, it's high-low time. When you slack off to double team Willie before he catches the ball, Cody flashes to the high post for an easy 15 footer. The pick and pop for the 3-pointer is always in play, plus he can post up as well.
Kwamain was big once again when we needed it. His offense was AWOL for much of the game, but he came on strong down the stretch, finishing with 19 points. When it's time to win the game, Kwamain just kicks it into another gear.
Jon Smith turned in another solid game off the bench with eight rebounds (five offensive) and four blocks in 19 minutes. Jon is also seeing time at the "three" spot, allowing us to play three bigs at one time.
Jon is long and athletic enough to guard opposing three men on defense, while Cody plays the three on offense because of his versatile skill set. It gives the team a little more flexibility and depth as well.
For the second game, everyone did something positive to contribute to this victory. I am very impressed to see this young team start to grow up a little. They have found ways to win two consecutive conference games, which should build confidence.
The youngsters displayed a lot of mental toughness in getting this win against an athletic Dukes' team that was desparate for a league win after dropping their first two A-10 contests. Duquesne played with great urgency in getting to the free throw line 36 times and ravaging us with 23 offensive rebounds.
Even with all of that, the Billikids managed to stay together and pull off their first road victory. It was worth the day-long ordeal to get to Pittsburgh and see this happen in person.
I'm suddenly looking forward to this weekend's trip to Charlotte. Make no mistake about it, Charlotte will pose another stern test to the Billikids, but I'm look forward to seeing this group continue to grow.
We still have a challenging stretch coming up this month with three of our next four on the road, but I think we have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. We could be interesting.
Talk to you this weekend.
Go Bills.

Earl on the air this week

On Wednesday night, Bob Ramsey and I will be calling the SLU-Duquesne game from Pittsburgh at 6 p.m. on 101-ESPN. The pre-game show will air at 5:45 p.m. (St. Louis time).

On Friday night, I will be calling the third-place and championship games of the D.C. Wilcutt Tournament at CBC at 6:30 and 8 p.m. on Prepcasts.com.
The Final Four of the tournament is CBC vs. Whitfield and McCluer vs. Clayton.

On Sunday afternoon, Rammer and I will be calling the SLU-Charlotte game from Charlotte at 3 p.m. on 101-ESPN. The pre-game show will air at 2:45 p.m.

Billiken Greats honored

It was a fun night in Billikenland last Saturday.
Watching the Billikids knock off highly-regarded Richmond in the Atlantic 10 opener was exciting enough, but it was only part of the story.
It was just as thrilling to several of the former SLU greats from 1989 and 1990 return to campus to be honored for their wonderful accomplishments and contributions to the SLU program.
In past games, the SLU administration has honored the great teams from 1948 (the National Champions), 1957 and 1971. On Saturday, the '89 and '90 teams were honored as was former coach Rich Grawer, who made his first appearance at a SLU game since his departure from the program after the '91 season.
It was great to see Coach Grawer back on the scene once again. He did such a tremendous job of bringing the SLU program back when it looked like it was headed for obscurity, never to return.
His work ethic and love for his home town helped bring winning basketball back to Saint Louis U. He was greeted with a big ovation and that was nice to see. It was also well-deserved because the work he put in so many years ago has laid the foundation for what this program has a chance to become in the very, near future. I'm just glad that Rich came out to witness some of the fruits of his labor, which started nearly 30 years ago in a tiny, little office at the West Pine Gym.
Of course, Rich had a little help from guys such as Anthony Bonner (pictured, center), Monroe Douglass and Roland Gray (pictured, left). The talented trio of former Public High League All-Stars were the linchpins of some great basketball in town for a stretch of five years, which included two trips to the NIT championship game.
All three local heroes were present to be honored along with other former local stars such as Jeff Luechtefeld, Anthony and John Duff. Kevin Footes, Jorge Wallace and Don Braun and former assistant coach Jeff Schimburg also came into town to be a part of the special ceremony.
Rammer and I were giddy at the sight of these men, who did so much to make SLU basketball a viable and exciting program. They created a program, which made it possible for the great years of Spoonball we witnessed with Highmark, H, Claggs and then Larry Hughes.
Bonner, Douglass, Gray and Co. had the old Kiel Auditorium rockin' every night with some great basketball, whether it was Monroe on an alley-oop dunk, Bonner being a monster on the boards or Roland backing down a helpless defender with the old-school turnaround.
It was a fantastic time to be a Billiken fan then as it was on Saturday when all of these greats were back for one special day. It gave us all a chance to re-live some very special moments in Billiken history.
I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. Judging by the ovation in the Chaifetz. I think you did.

Bills beat Richmond (Welcome home, Cody)

That was one helluva victory by our Billikids against the Richmond Spiders.
Richmond is very good, folks. They will contend for the league title. And to beat them without the services of Willie Reed was very big indeed. The kids battled through the rough stretches and survived being outsized and clobbered on the boards, as well as their outstanding pair of guards to bring home an important victory on Saturday.
I thought the most important part of the game came at the beginning when Brian Conklin opened up with his 10-point flurry. It was a big statement and an excellent display of leadership by BC.
Of his 10 first-half points, he got eight of them right off the bat and showed great emotion after a three-point play. It was as if he was saying, "I know we're playing a top team and we don't have our big man, but we're still here to win the game and protect our home court. Are you guys with me? There will be no Mo State repeat tonight." I loved it. I think the rest of the guys fed off of that as well.
At that point, I was convinced that we had a legitimate chance to win this game, even without Willie. I was not so sure before the game, but BC got me lathered up and ready to go in the first few minutes. It was BC's best offensive outburst since the games in Chicago over a month ago. I think it caught Richmond a little off-guard as well.
Cody was really good in his first game as a Billiken. He was really more than good when you consider he was playing with less than a week of practice after being on a plane for nearly 30 hours. To basically parachute into a heated conference battle and give us 10 points, five rebounds, three assists in 23 minutes was top-notch.
I hope fans continue to remain patient with Cody this year. There are going to be some rough patches as he tries to find his way. But as I said before, the Billikens are a much better basketball team with Cody Ellis. Not only does he have a big body and a versatile skill set, but he has the ability to make his teammates better.
I was most excited about his ability to pass. He fed Jon Smith with a nice high-low feed for a bucket. He also had a nice sit-down bounce pass through traffic off the dribble. I think we all got a little taste of what Cody will bring to this program for the future. The shots will eventually fall because he is a shooter. I wasn't expecting him to light it up because it will take time for him to get his basketball legs. He is a big piece of the puzzle for what Rick and the coaching staff wants to do.
If you recall, the pivotal play of the game with the score tied at 58-58 with 40 seconds play was run for him. He was fouled on the 3-pointer and converted two of the free throws to give us the lead to stay.
Of course, Kwamain was clutch again with 16 points, with seven of them in the second half. His step-back 15 footer on the baseline late in the game was Larry Hughes-esque. Kwamain has really put a lot of work in on his mid-range game and that is going to serve him well as teams will continue to play his penetration to the basket. He also took turns guarding Kevin Anderson and David Gonzalvez. For my money, KM is the best PG in the A-10. It's a big statement, but I'll ride or die with the little fella at the controls.
What was good about this win is that everyone gave us something over the course of the game. Femi John had an important six-point run in the second half with a 3-pointer and three free throws. Kyle hit a big 3 from the baseline in the second half and handled the ball well against their press.
Cory Remekun gave us a couple of buckets (including a 15-footer) and blocked a couple of shots. Jon Smith scored on a nice high-low feed from Cody. Justin Jordan got a big bucket and spent much of the game guarding Anderson, who is one of the best in the league. It was a huge job for Justin, who is still learning how to play consistent defense at this level. Christian gave us some big free throws to help seal the deal.
It was a fun day at the Chaifetz and an important must-win because we only have two home games in the month on January. We really needed this one and we got it.
Now, we face another big road challenge in Duquesne. The Dukes have lost two tough A-10 games to Richmond and Dayton (OT loss in Dayton), so they will be a little saltly on Wednesday night in Pittsburgh.
After preparing for Richmond's precise Princeton offense for a week, it's now time to get ready for Duquesne's pedal-to-the-metal 94 feet of pressure defense.
Talk to you soon.
Go Bills!

Earl on the Air this week

On Friday night, I will be on the call for the Suburban East Conference clash between Clayton and Jennings on Prepcasts.com with play-by-play man Charlie Kennedy.

On Saturday, myself and Bob Ramsey will be on the call as Saint Louis U. opens Atlantic 10 Conference play at home against the Richmond Spiders. Tip-off is at 4 p.m. with the pre-game at 3:45 p.m. on 101-ESPN.

After calling the SLU-Richmond game on Saturday afternoon, I will head over to CBC that evening to provide the color analyst for the St. Joseph's-Webb City girls game on Prepcasts.com. It is the final game of the Prepcasts.com Elite Girls Shootout.

Tough Night in Ohio

It was a tough night at the office for the Billikids, who dropped to 9-5 after their 59-50 loss at Bowling Green on Saturday night.
The Falcons jumped out to a 9-0 lead and were basically threatened for the rest of the night. Outside of an inspired 12 points, four-block effort by freshman Jon Smith in front of his friends and family from Ohio, there really weren't any bright spots to last night's performance.
In the first half, our entire starting five was held scoreless as we could only muster 15 points.
As expected, Bowling Green came out in an aggressive 2-3 zone defense and we struggled to shoot from the perimeter. We shot 37 percent from the field and six of 19 from 3-point range.
The Falcons did a nice job of trapping out of their zone defense and it caused us some big problems. We committed 12 turnovers in the first half with many of them coming when we still had a chance to be competitive.
We could never get any closer than seven or nine points. When we had the opportunity, we would turn the ball over and BG would push the lead back out to double-digits.
BG's bigs really set the tone early. They went inside to their post players early and often and established dominance in the paint. Otis Polk, their 6'9" 280-pound bruising senior, had 13 points and 9 rebounds. His 6'9" back-up, Marc Larson, had eight points and eight rebounds. And 6'7" 220-pound Erik Marschall had 11 points and seven rebounds.
By contrast, Willie Reed was held to four points and no rebounds while Brian Conklin was held scoreless.
Kwamain Mitchell led the Bills with 13 points, but he struggled from the field as well as BG's zone took away his penetration for much of the night. Smith had a breakout game with 11 points on five for five shooting, four rebounds and four blocks in a season-high 26 minutes.
The Bills will have one week to prepare for next week's A-10 opener against Richmond at home. It will be a tough game. As you know, the Spiders have put together a nice resume for the NCAA selection committee in March.
We should expect to see 6'8" freshman Cody Ellis make his Billiken debut next Saturday as well. He could still opt to redshirt, but I imagine he's chomping at the bit to get into action.
I'll have a preview on the Spiders next week.
Until then, Go Bills!

Heading to BG Arena

I'm in Ohio getting ready to go to the arena for tonight's game between Bowling Green and the Billikids.
Just checking in with the SLU fans. I'll have a report when I get back to the hotel tonight.
Meanwhile, Cody Ellis arrived in St. Louis safe and sound after a journey which took about a entire day. Looking forward to meeting him when we get back, as will the Billiken faithful.
You can hear tonight's game on 101-ESPN with a 5:45 p.m. pregame followed by tip-off at 6 p.m. with yours truly and Rammer on the call.
Go Bills.