As the game gets ready to get started here, I notice a few maroon shirts up in the crowd and I wonder ... who are they rooting for here? They'll either have to play the only team that's shown it can beat them or a team playing in an environment that is, essentially, a home game.

That's assuming a WT win, of course, but I think that's a safe assumtion.

In-game next ...

Abilene Christian vs. Central Oklahoma

Central got off to a hot start and five minutes in had the Wildcats doubled up, 10-5, thanks in large part to five ACU turnovers.

Just past the midpoint of the first half it was a 17-9 UCO lead, and ACU was shooting just 29 percent from the floor.

The poor shooting continued. Trailing 27-15 with eight minutes to play in the half, the Wildcats went almost six minutes without a point and their shooting percentage slipped to 25.9 percent.

Christina Yarbrough hit a trey as the buzzer sounded, give UCO even more momentum going into the locker room, with UCO up 38-23.

And not much to say about the second half ... just the same as the first. ACU was on its heels on both sides of the floor and couldn't hit a shot anywhere. Not a good showing by the Cats and the worst time of the year to play your worst game of the year.

I think ACU should probably be in the regional tournament, but I don't think they will be at this point without the win here today.

Posted by · March 8, 2008 12:05 PM · Comments (0)

We're about five minutes from tipoff here, and both teams looked pretty pumped in warmups. Of course, when you are playing for a shot in the conference championship game, how can you not be pumped, right?

For ACU, it's their first appearance in the semis since the 1997-98 season, which also happens to be the last time the team made the tournament. There they lost a 134-129 thriller to UCO.

Ranked No. 9 in the region coming in, ACU beat No. 7 Southwestern Oklahoma State in the first round. Now they've got two wins over SWO this season -- which might be enough to push the Wildcats into the regional tournament. A win here, and I would think a regional berth for the Cats is a certainty, regardless of what happens in the championship game.

In-game is next ...

ACU vs. Texas A&M-Commerce

We're almost eight minutes in, and this looks as if it will be a physical game. Both teams are pounding down low, but both also seem to be willing to take a few shots from the outside if they're open.

Commerce was up by four early, but now the game is tied at 13.

Commerce has worked its way to a five-point lead, 20-15, with 7:12 to play in the first half. Neither team is shooting well, though. ACU -- which came into the game with a league-high 51.1 percent shooting effort this season -- is shooting an abysmal 29.4 percent from the floor, including a 14.3 percent performance from 3-point range. The Wildcats are also the LSC's best at 3s, averaging a hit on 39.4 percent coming in.

Commerce was struggling from the field early, hitting about 33 percent, but has improved that to 41.2 percent now.

These refs are really slowing this game. Total of 19 fouls called now. That's not something that will help these teams get their shooting touch back, I don't think. To be fair, ACU works to draw fouls, driving quickly to the basket, and that's what some of this has been. But we're to 21 now, and some of that is just not letting the guys play.

ACU's up 29-28 at the half, with the lead bouncing back and forth over the final minute thanks to free throws.

After 20 minutes, Commerce is shooting just under 42 percent. That isn't all that far below what they average, at 46. But ACU's shooting has been far under what is normal. The Wildcats improved down the stretch, but are shooting only 34.6 percent from the floor and 11.1 percent from beyond the arc. Again, coming in, they were a league-best 51 and 39 percent.

Playing well, though, has been Stephen Musa for ACU. He averages 6 points per game on the year and he had a team-high 9 in the first half. His 4 rebounds are just under his average of 5.5. Look for ACU to get him the ball more in the second half, as his size presents a big mismatch.

Important note here: While this one is only a one-point game, ACU is 17-1 this season when leading at the half.

Also interesting: This is only the fifth time this season the Wildcats had not scored at least 30 points in the first half. Of the four previous contests, ACU lost three of them.

The Lions are fired up. They came out of the locker room ready to play, and lead 40-33 thanks to a pair of steals and big buckets. The Cats answered with two big baskets scored on the break by Sencanski, and the momentum is a little more balanced now.

Momentum now definitely not balanced. An 11-0 run by ACU has the Cats keyed up, and it looks like ACU's speed in the transition game may be too much for the Lions to handle consistently.

Both teams, as it turns out, have a bit of a mismatch in the offensive post. Musa's too big to handle one-on-one, but he's had some trouble handling the quicker Commerce attack.

The game's tied up again, this time at 46, with 10 minutes to play.

Eight minutes left, ACU leading by one, Sencanski gets it near the corner. He finally hits on the 3 and was fouled in the process. When he sunk the ensuing free throw, the four-point play gave ACU a five-point edge.

Posted by · March 7, 2008 5:50 PM · Comments (0)

Well, it looks like ACU will have to win this tournament to make the regionals -- which is absolutely ridiculous.

For the third straight week the Wildcat women have waited for the Wednesday release of the South Central Region poll, thinking each time that, finally, this will be the week they’ll see Abilene Christian listed.

And, for the third straight week, the Wildcats were jilted in the poll that will, at season’s end, determine the eight teams that will advance to the Division II regional playoffs.

The hottest team in the conference, ACU has beaten multiple regionally ranked teams this season, including No. 1 West Texas A&M. In the rematch with the Lady Buffs, ACU fell by just two on the road. It was the only loss ACU suffered the entire month of February. None of that, however, has swayed the voters.

The Lady Buffs still sit atop the poll, while Angelo State -- despite being upset in the last week of the season by a Texas A&M-Kingsville team that finished the season 7-20 overall and 3-11 in South Division Play -- is still No. 8. Northeastern State is No. 9 and Texas A&M-Commerce is No. 10. ACU split the season series with Angelo State, beat Northeastern in the lone matchup and fell in overtime at Commerce, the team ACU will face today in the first round of the conference tournament.

In-game updates coming soon.

(Oh, and the PA guy? I'm pretty sure it's either Reverend Lovejoy or Principal Skinner. Kudos to the LSC and Bartlesville for footing the bill to get him here from Springfield. That's good stuff.)

ACU vs. Texas A&M-Commerce

Audrey Maxwell is going to have a huge afternoon if this keeps up. She hits her first three shots and ACU is up 6-0 one minute in, forcing a Commerce timeout.

Commerce is finally playing a little bit better, but ACU is shooting lights-out right now. Maxwell just converted on an and-one with 11:46 to play, making it a 29-19 ACU lead. The Cats are shooting an incredible 80 percent from the field, missing just three of 15 shots. That can't hold the entire way, of course, but through almost 10 minutes it's been pretty impressive.

Commerce has finally settled in ... the Lady Lions were down by 14 after an Alex Guiton trey, but they scored seven straight to cut that lead in half.

It's an 11-point lead for ACU at the break, 49-38. ACU’s early attack down low has opened up the perimeter and the Wildcats are taking advantage of their open looks, sinking 60 percent of their shots in the first 20 minutes of play -- including a 75 percent effort from 3-point range. For their part, Commerce is hitting at 47.1 percent overall and 60 percent from deep. But the Wildcats have something to prove this week and, to this point, they're playing like it.

Britney Jordan is doing her best to win this one for the Lady Lions. She's got 23, and Commerce just took its first lead of the game, 55-54, with 11 minutes to play.

ACU, though, just strung together an 11-0 run to again take command.

With 3:51 to play, Jordan is going to the line trying to convert on an and-one that will make it a three-point game, 71-68, ACU. The Cats have to be worried that she's about to take over, as she is fully able to do.

She misses, but Commerce gets the rebound and putback, making it a two-point contest.

OK ... I've got a timeout here ... quick recap:

With 3:29 to play it was a two-point game, but Maxwell got a putback to make ACU’s lead four, 73-69, and an offensive foul on Commerce gave the ball back to the Wildcats. Maxwell cashed in on that opportunity, too, and the lead was six. Another two Commerce fouls led to two more trips to the free throw line and another two points for ACU. Then came a turnaround jumper for ACU and a charging call on Commerce, giving the ball back, once again, to ACU.

We're in a short delay here ... refs called a shot clock violation on ACU -- problem is that everyone else in the gym saw the ball hit the bottom of the back-iron with two seconds left before the buzzer. They are now trying to figure out how to work the VCR, I think, to watch the replay.

Tape's inconclusive, I guess, because they gave the ball to Commerce.

Hey, I'll admit it -- I was wrong on this one. Tarleton SID Joey Roberts was over there looking at the tape along with the officials, and he said it hit the underside of the backboard, just missing hitting iron. Sorry, LSC refs -- you definitely got this one right.

Either way, it didn't matter, though. ACU was going to win this game at that point, and it was just the final score that was in doubt.

Commerce coach Denny Downing was very gracious in his postgame comments, and called ACU maybe the hottest team in the nation right now, and he's right.

Also, it should be noted, Downing continued a string of complimentary comments from coaches and players about the way this tournament has been hosted. Every coach thus far has raved about Bartlesville, both about the tournament itself, the community and the product as a whole. He said even though Commerce hosted last year, this was an entirely different experience and atmosphere. He's excited about where this will go in the future, and I would echo his sentiments.

Bartlesville has done an outstanding job of putting on a professional show. They've taken care of the media, the staff and the teams, they're getting stuff on the Web in the form of photos, video and stats, and they are giving these players a true championship tournament experience.

Note: Senior center Katrina Mosley became Commerce’s all-time leading scorer with 14 points, just passing former Lion standout Meshell Graham (1984-88), who had 1,600 points. Expect that record to last about a year, though ... Jordan will soon own that mark.

ACU vs. Texas A&M-Commerce

OK, so I've had a bit of a blog failure here, but we're back up and going.

Playing catch-up through the bulk of the first half, Tarleton State trailed by three to start the second half. The TexAnns tied the game up at 42 three-and-a-half minutes in and again at 51 at the 13-minute mark.

Tarleton finally took a one-point lead when D’Anna Dingler nailed a wide-open trey and with 8:30 to play made it a three-point game when Jamie Ansley found a window under the basket and snuck around the defense for a point-blank shot to make it 60-57.

This game has been great from the outset. The teams have played a really physical, possession game, and right now Tarleton is clinging to a two-point lead with four minutes left.

With 21 seconds to go Karlie Free nailed a short jumper and Tarleton’s Krystal Cole tried to force up a shot that didn’t fall. UCO got to the ball and, with 7.5 seconds to go, TSU put Free on the line to shoot two. She nailed the first, making it a three-point game, and hit the second as well, ending Tarleton’s season.

Posted by · March 6, 2008 12:16 PM · Comments (0)

The gym and facilities here in Bartlesville are as advertised. Great atmosphere for a game here, and while the crowd for the first game isn’t huge, it is making a fair amount of noise, which is great.

I’ve successfully raided the media room for every media guide I was previously missing, and also managed to get my hands on the media guide put together for the tournament. If you get a chance to get down here, track one down. The thing is full-color and full of great stuff. The folks at the LSC and Bartlesville, once again, doing an outstanding job.

And a note for the Abilene folks: I caught up with former local sports anchor Cayden McFarland, now working in Tulsa. He’s loving the new gig, he said, as is his wife. Look for his Game 1 highlights to show up on KRBC and KTAB tonight.

ACU vs. Southwestern

The Wildcat are hot on both ends of the floor right now, and some big defensive stops have helped ACU get off to an incredible start. A 15-point run has put the Cats in control and, with 11 minutes to play in the first half, they lead 25-12.

The Wildcat lead at the break is 15, 47-32.

The Bulldogs have finally started hitting their shots, but coming back from a double-digit deficit against ACU will be tough. ACU is the best-shooting team in the conference, coming in hitting 51.2 percent of its shots from the floor. Southwestern, meanwhile, is seventh in the LSC with a 44.8 percent average. That’s about what it hit from in the first half today (44.4) but ACU is hot at 57.1 percent and doesn’t look like it will slow down any time soon.

Leading the Wildcats in the first half was Cam Holson, who scored 12 and gave ACU a possession that led to another basket when he laid out for a loose ball on the sideline, swinging the ball back to teammate Corwin Ragland. SWOSU, meanwhile, got 9 from Kendall Smith in the first 20 minutes.

One stat of note: ACU outrebounded Southwestern 18-10 in the first half.

A pair of Nate Perry free throws an ACU turnover and a Kendall Smith 3-pointer from the corner have pulled Southwestern to within eight in the opening minutes of the second half, and the Bulldogs are playing much better right now.

ACU has regained a double-digit lead, and a 3-pointer from Dejan Sencanski with 9:25 to go has made it a 68-53 Wildcat lead.

Kendall Smith is trying to win this one on his own for Southwestern. He's come in off the bench and hit 7 of 8 3-pointers, and with 3:40 to play ACU's lead is down to six, 80-74.

WIth 3.7 seconds to play Nate Perry hits a clutch jumper in traffic to tie the game and we're now in overtime, with the momentum clearly in the Bulldogs' favor.

I promise I'll catch you up as soon as I catch up, but SWOSU tied it up again with a long three and ACU missed a 3 on the final shot. We're in double OT.

ACU wins ... update soon.

This one, in the end, was all attrition. Five Southwestern players had fouled out by the time the second overtime was just underway and the Bulldogs just didn't have any offensive firepower left on the floor. It led to a 10-point run for ACU to close it out.

“They had lost four straight and then it was funny how their films changed," Southwestern coach Todd Thurman said of ACU. "They went away from their motions as much and started going to their ball screen and attack and letting Corwin (Ragland) drive the lane. They found their niche. We tried really hard to work against it, but they worked it really well. They were scoring a high amount of points and we tried to slim it down. I thought we did a better job in the second half, but obviously the first half is what killed us.”

SWOSU will now have to sit and wait to see if it will make it into the regional tournament. The Bulldogs were seventh coming in, so they may be able to hang onto that No. 8 spot if there are no surprise winners in any of the conference tournaments that would give an automatic berth to a team not otherwise ranked in the top eight.

(WT's just been upset and Tarleton is about 45 minutes away .... stay tuned.)

Tarleton vs. Northeastern State

Fueled by a strong presence down low, Tarleton jumped out to a quick 11-5 lead but it seems to have gotten away from pounding it in the post. The Texans are low letting loose jumpers and 3-pointers, failling to get the offensive board. Northeastern's taken advantage, and now leads 18-13 with 8 minutes left in the half.

Tarleton has just two offensive rebounds, compared to Northeastern's nine defensive boards.

The Texans settled down through the last minutes of the first half, but with one tenth of a second to play Aaron Arango knocked down a shot on the run, getting fouled in the process. He hit on the free throw, and Northeastern has a 33-28 lead at the break.

Northeastern's winning the boards (33-28) and is ahead in the 3-point game (4 of 9 to Tarleton's 1 of 6). Terrence Gamble's got 11 for the Texans, while Arango's got 11 for Northeastern.

Tarleton's back to playing the way most expected they would, scoring the first nine points of the second half to pull ahead 37-33 with 16:20 to play, forcing a Northeastern timeout.

This one looks like it could go to the wire. Tarleton is clearly the better team in the post, but Northeastern continues to hit big baskets and just enough 3s to keep in it. with 8:30 to play it's a 51-47 Tarleton lead. Gamble's got 20 and Eric Williams has scored 14 for TSU.

The RiverHawks are imprssing me, finding ways to stay in this thing. But a 3-pointer from Avery Patterson just made the Texans’ lead four with 2:17 to play.

It's a two-point game, Tarleton ball, 53.7 seconds to play.

Two-point game again with 26 to go after Arango hit a pair from the line.

OK ... the update on the finish.

The RiverHawks put Mike Daniels on the line and he missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and after he missed on the front end Arango let go a rainbow 3 from the top of the key with 9.2 seconds to play. The shot fell straight through. And when Tarleton called a timeout with 4.6 seconds to play, it looked like this one was probably over.

But when the Texans threw in the inbounds pass, Northeastern’s Ricky Branham was whistled for a foul, putting Daniels back on the line. This time he hit both and, when Arango’s running jumper went off the mark, the game was over.

It was a foul - as Tarleton coach Lonn Reisman said following the game -- but I'm not sure it was the best time to call that foul. They'd been letting that sort of close-quarters contact go all day. Deciding to call it with 3.4 seconds left? I dunno. Seems a bit tacky to me, and I feel for Northeastern. Those guys probably deserved to win that one -- or at least deserved to contest a final Tarleton shot rather than watch a pair of free throws.

Posted by · March 5, 2008 12:12 PM · Comments (0)

Well, it's been a long day, but I'm in Bartlesville, Okla., and we're less than 12 hours away from the first truly neutral-site Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament. It’s pretty exciting, really.

The local newspaper today (Tuesday) had a welcome to the players and fans on the front page, a story in sports and there was a full-page, full-color ad in there as well, which looked very professional. There were also signs with the conference tournament logo hung in the lobby of the hotel, and the folks here seem genuinely excited about the event. Stan Lambert and the rest of his crew in the LSC office, it seems, have this thing ready to go.

Be sure to check back often throughout the tournament. While I’ll be primarily covering ACU, Tarleton and Angelo State, I will also have a chance to see and talk with fans and players from most of the teams here, I’m sure. I’ll try to let you know what’s going on here as it happens, and hopefully will be able to offer some in-game insight while sitting courtside.

Posted by · March 5, 2008 12:24 AM · Comments (0)