Pilots Win! 68-65 Over Idaho

Whew... a little closer than I wanted, but again... we're winning games down the stretch, which is such a nice change from recent years.

Very tough shooting night for Robin and Jared, but Nik made some big shots (especially early when our offense was struggling), TJ played well, Luke was a beast on the boards, and BJ once again gave a nice lift off the bench. (How sweet was that alley oop?!?) We also shot pretty well from the line, which was good to see.

Anyway, I'm happy that we won a game when we didn't shoot very well, our offensive rebounding was terrific, and we did a good job forcing turnovers. Overall, nice to see us gut out a win.

And hey... guys, we're 5-2 and probably should be 6-1. Definitely can't complain about that!!!

We started out slow. And the shooting was off, but I think the defense kept us in the game. Hopefully, we'll get back on track asap.

A win is a win.

Actually one of the marks of a good team is the ability to win when they are not playing at full capacity. I think there are good things ahead for this team.

Tough, tough stretch in the second half where the Pilots just were not making shots. Good thing they were able to play tough on the defensive end during that time. I think that's one of the areas where we can see the benefits of the conditioning program. The team is not getting tired out there. I also thought B.J. had another solid game and should get more and more minutes as the season goes on.

I like the way this team is winning the close games this season. In prior years I think they might have let a few more of these slip away. I'd just like a few more like the Yale game. Is that so much to ask?

I sat directly behind the Pilot bench for the game--I will let you know, in case you didn't, that Coach Reveno is big and takes up a fair share of the view when he stands. If you are going to sit there, you need to balance the advantage of sitting next to the Pilot bench and seeing the emotions of the players and coaches, against the inability to see all of the play on the Pilot end of the court.

Noteworthy is how together this team is and how much they are pulling for one another: no dissenters, no sulkers. This is a group pointed toward a common goal. While the coaches are huddling to discuss options during timeouts, these guys are conversing and discussing a few things themselves--they are not on one another. There does not appear to be a selfish player on this team either--I think that a reflection of the head coach and staff. It is somewhat reminiscent of the Blazers to see that the staff is focused on character as well as ability in its recruiting.

Jared Stohl hit the bench after missing a few threes and obviously frustrated with his shooting troubles, slammed his water bottle down behind his seat. One of the team attendants/managers toweled the puddle up, but did not hear the guy in front of me exclaim that he too needed a towel . . .no towel was provided, fortunately for that guy Jared did not always return to the seat and also hit a three. If Jared is having an off night, they should make him go the fountain.

Jassonn Hannibal may not be the most gifted of athletes, but he is giving effort on the court. Talk about taking up space. When he came out of the game after fouling out, it seemed the entire team was pleased with his play and let him know. After fouling out, Jassonn made a point of coming to individual players to offer his appreciation for their play.

Dang, I need to get to the games more often, but Smeulders looks good. That man has an arsenal on offense. He, with Ravio, look like they will be leading the charge. Ravio is silky on the court, and seems to make very few mistakes. I am glad Ravio decided to come to the U, given that he had options. The resurgence of this team and program depends on his play.

Mac Hopson of Jefferson High, the point for Idaho, was a force. I do not know the full story of his recruitment, but I wonder if we could have signed him. I know he was having trouble getting a D1 scholarship. Perhaps grades were a problem; he started at a JC. With respect to Campbell, Hobson was breaking him down on the dribble and getting to the rim pretty much all night long. When he wasn't driving, he was shooting threes over Campbell. Campbell is cool under pressure, hitting some big shots in the closing minutes of the game, but is not particularly quick.

There was a flagrant or intentional foul called on Sikma, which was a hyper-sensitive over call on the part of the ref. It detracts from the game that the refs now so easily call intentional fouls--to use the phrase I heard former Pilot Bill Krueger use about the same call in the game against the Huskies-- "it is overpolicing." As Krueger suggested, they should let the players play and reserve that call for truly intentional moments when a player is attempting to inflict pain, undercut, etc. Sikma was definitely going for the ball--the fact that the Vandal player fell, who I believe was Hobson, but am not sure, was not indicative of any extra put on the block attempt of the layup by Luke, but was a result of the fact that the Idaho player was stretched out and so was Sikma while coming from the weakside to block the attempt. Poor call that tightened the game and cost the Pilots.

Enough already, Go Pilots!

You're right about Smeuders and Raivio leading the offensive charge. They've been doing that all year. Plus, they're surrounded by some gifted players and competitive athletes like Campbell. Ethan is a key missing piece right now. It's cliche but with this team the sum of the whole is much more than the individual pieces. If we have everyone healthy, I think we'll do well in the WCC.

Ethan wasn't in uniform, but did sit on the bench. When he was up and walking around, he didn't look at all like he was limping. Anyone have an idea if he'll be back in time for the next game?

When I saw him he still had a limp, although he wasn't wearing a soft cast.

I'd say the 10 days to 2 weeks thing is still in effect.

Ethan thinks that he'll be ready to play at BYU.

Sikma's intentional foul was actually a pretty good example of one. A player can make excessive contact and have an intentional foul called. I was fine with it. Not calling that intentional could set up problems later on.

Sikma was seeking to block the shot, not injure the player. The player fell backward because his right hand, which Sikma partially hit together with the ball, was extended all the way to attempt a dunk, not because he was fouled in a particularly hard manner. The foul clearly pushed the Idaho player off balance, but an intentional foul it was not. Moreover, the Idaho team, for its own purposes, then overreacted. I respectfully disagree that further problems would have followed . . .it would be interesting to hear Sikma's comments, or for that matter, that of the coaching staff.

It was a foul, clearly, but not an intentional foul... but I really liked the way the team reacted by coming back out strong and making a run after the call.

I wouldn't say it was an intentional foul in the sense that it was malicious or that he wasn't going for the ball, but I could see it being a flagrant/hard foul. I think he definitely put a little extra emphasis on it and he probably did it to send a bit of a message. So... probably could have gone either way, but given that the game was getting a bit testy at that point, it's probably not a bad call by the official. I mean, obviously as a Pilot fan I didn't like it, but I also wasn't shocked by the call.

Couple of random notes...

1) a play or two after Sikma's foul, there was another foul called on us and some more tempers flaring between the two teams, and one ref pulled both Rev and the Idaho coach aside, talked to them for a bit, and then made them shake hands. But it seemed like Rev thought that was stupid and just did like a little fist bump thing. That made me laugh, and it was indeed stupid. I mean... make the players who are jawing shake hands. That's fine. But the coaches? What purpose does that serve?

2) I think everyone noticed that the Idaho coaches (well, all four coaches plus two other guys in suits) were all jumping up and down all over the sideline pretty much all game. Pretty annoying. But there was one play... maybe my eyes were deceiving me, but it was a fast break for us and BJ was running down the sideline to the corner (for the open three), when all of a sudden he hit the deck. And I swear it was because the Idaho coach was on the court and bumped into him. BJ managed to get up and got the ball for the three (he missed), but I saw him looking at the coach on his way back up the court. I asked some people at the scorer's table and they didn't notice it... did anyone else? Or am I just making that up?

Video highlights are up!!!

http://www.portlandpilots.com/custompages/Videos/120608bbpromo.mov

You can see Sikma's foul... definitely a tough call. He clearly got his arms and not the ball, but it's hard to say that was malicious or intentional. I chalk it up as a good hard foul, one that makes him earn the points at the line rather than getting an easy two.

And how sweet is that alley oop at the end? I love it.

I would not have called it an intentional foul, but that's a tough angle on the highlight. Porter's got an alley-oop in the last two games, correct? Is he able to put in some solid minutes with Ethan being out?

He's looked good to me. He was in briefly against EWU and more against Idaho, but I would keep giving him more if he keeps up his play.

Just one other point, and that was the play of Jassonn. Unless I am wrong, his seven points is a career high aand I believe he tacked on two or three rebounds. He doehave his moments though, like watching our cheer leaders while Rev is drawing up a play during a time out. Could happen to anybody.