Second half success for the Blue Raiders mete's out stiffling offense and defense
Saturday, January 14, 2011 - - As it was, the Owls Basketball team were in the fighting spirit, and never the less, struggled to keep their hopes alive as MTSU was a little bit too much on the night.
Coach Jarvis mentioned that “We will meet them (MTSU) at least one more time, and possibly twice,” in hopes of evening or bettering the head-to-head contest.
Scoring percentages were quite low for both teams, therefor your final of 67-54 was less than average for a winning contest. After the first half, the Owls were down a mere five points going into the locker room, and by the end of the second half, MTSU scored 39 to 31 for the Owls.
Coach Jarvis also mentioned that “we had a new offense going into the game, so we are just learning a new system”, hence the offense is being utilized without all it's requisite parts. Attendance was at 2,590 for the game, and the Burrow was rock'n this night.
With 10 points each coming from Shavar Richardson and Greg Gantt, the team scored an average of 31% from the field. MTSU's 53% from the field was better than FAU by 20% percentage points.
Three players on the night for MTSU scored greater than 10 points. JT Sulton, Marcos Knight and LaRon Dendy scored 14, 12 and 11 respectively.
The number of rebounds from each Team was through the roof. MTSU grabbed 35 and FAU took 31. All 11 players from FAU had minutes during the game.
Unlike MTSU which put all their substitutes in with 55 seconds remaining, the Owls were short four players, and gave each player significant time.
If you look into the fishbowl of a basketball game at this level, giving minutes to everyone whets the appetite for more. This increases the desire of being given a chance for more playing time.
While the interview went on after the game in the Media Center, Coach Jarvis mentioned the measure indicative of flawless play. He said points off turnovers as one element of success.
As it turns out, FAU scored three points off of turnovers while MTSU had 15. Points in the paint went FAU 18, while the Blue Raiders scored 38. What does all this mean, you may ask?
It all boils down to doing things fundamentally correct, while making sure all the T’s are crossed and the I’s dotted. Taking care of the ball, literally means completing your shots on the offensive end and getting that ball back on the defensive end.
If you do those fundamental's of the game enough, you will take the wind out of the sails for any opponent. Preparation is one of the other puzzle pieces that go into this picture.
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