Final.

 

Unofficial scoring for Holmes:

 

Rice- 22

Hayes- 16

Gray- 9

Palmer- 6

Peterson- 6

Mayfield- 2

Knox- 2

 

Holmes: 17 - 15 - 19 - 12 ---- 63

Holy Cross: 13 - 15 - 15 - 11 ---- 54

 

Holmes moves to 1-0 in the district.

Holy Cross drops to 0-1 in the district.

This was a good game. Holmes stretched out a little lead in the 1st quarter and it remained 4-10 points the remainder of the game. HC shot the ball real well for the game and Holmes played in spurts. Hayes hit 3 big 3's in the second half when HC would cut it close. Rice was the big factor in the game. He played above the rim often. The Bulldogs took the Indians out of the game in the first quarter with several blocked shots inside. HC didn't take it inside much after that. Good effort by both teams.

Final.

 

Unofficial scoring for Holmes:

 

Rice- 22

Hayes- 16

Gray- 9

Palmer- 6

Peterson- 6

Mayfield- 2

Knox- 2

 

Holmes: 17 - 15 - 19 - 12 ---- 63

Holy Cross: 13 - 15 - 15 - 11 ---- 54

 

Holmes moves to 1-0 in the district.

Holy Cross drops to 0-1 in the district.

 

Did Knox not show up tonight? He should get 2 pts in his sleep the way he usually bangs down low.

Did Knox not show up tonight? He should get 2 pts in his sleep the way he usually bangs down low.

He was a factor defensively and on the boards. He played hard. He didn't put it in when he had chances.

Did Knox not show up tonight? He should get 2 pts in his sleep the way he usually bangs down low.

 

Knox didn't take too many shots tonight. His two points came from the free throw line.

He was a factor defensively and on the boards. He played hard. He didn't put it in when he had chances.

 

That's good to hear. The last couple of games I saw he wasn't much of a factor and they need him to be that defensive stopper down low and hit the boards hard.

As for the game, Holy Cross fans should be thankful that McClendon was declared eligible this year when he transferred. Without him, it would've been ugly for the Indians. I don't have his exact numbers but I'd say he had 15-20 on the night and also had no less than 5 rbs. Maybe statman can help out with the stats.

 

For Holmes, the turning point was when Chris Hayes had 11 points in the 3rd quarter, including three straight 3's to put Holmes on top by 10 or 11 after Holy Cross cut the lead to 3. After this, HC would get no closer than 5 the rest of the game.

 

Kudos to Holmes for staying mentally tough. They had some lapses that allowed HC to go on some mini runs but for every run HC made, Holmes would responded with 3 and 4 unanswered buckets themselves. There were two or three spurts where Holmes scored 8 unanswered.

 

Holmes has a big game Tues against Covcath that likely will decided who gets the #1 seed in the district.

That's good to hear. The last couple of games I saw he wasn't much of a factor and they need him to be that defensive stopper down low and hit the boards hard.

 

Knox and Peterson both played extremely well defensively with a couple blocks and big rbs throughout the game.

 

Quan Palmer is also getting better as the season progresses. He had a personal 6-0 run tonight that helped extend Holmes' lead.

HC kept it interesting throughout, they just couldn't get over the hump. Largest lead for Holmes was 11 and the Indians managed early in the 4th to cut it to 2 at 40-38, but that was the closest they could get. Number 2 for HC rimmed out a close 3 that might've changed the complexion of things. Ultimately the Bulldogs intense defense gave them troubles and the better team prevailed. HC has a really good looking team though. Better than I had expected.

Edited January 8, 201115 yr by B-Ball-fan

As for the game, Holy Cross fans should be thankful that McClendon was declared eligible this year when he transferred. Without him, it would've been ugly for the Indians. I don't have his exact numbers but I'd say he had 15-20 on the night and also had no less than 5 rbs. Maybe statman can help out with the stats.

 

For Holmes, the turning point was when Chris Hayes had 11 points in the 3rd quarter, including three straight 3's to put Holmes on top by 10 or 11 after Holy Cross cut the lead to 3. After this, HC would get no closer than 5 the rest of the game.

 

Kudos to Holmes for staying mentally tough. They had some lapses that allowed HC to go on some mini runs but for every run HC made, Holmes would responded with 3 and 4 unanswered buckets themselves. There were two or three spurts where Holmes scored 8 unanswered.

 

Holmes has a big game Tues against Covcath that likely will decided who gets the #1 seed in the district.

 

That will be a tough test for the Dogs in front of the crazies.

Knox and Peterson both played extremely well defensively with a couple blocks and big rbs throughout the game.

 

Quan Palmer is also getting better as the season progresses. He had a personal 6-0 run tonight that helped extend Holmes' lead.

 

Important to have a couple of guys off the bench to contribute. Palmer needs to keep shooting to gain that real confidence in crunch times. Peterson gave them some good minutes in the Lloyd tourney when Rice was in foul trouble. He is a quick jumper.

Important to have a couple of guys off the bench to contribute. Palmer needs to keep shooting to gain that real confidence in crunch times. Peterson gave them some good minutes in the Lloyd tourney when Rice was in foul trouble. He is a quick jumper.

 

Holmes' best lineup last night was when they had Peterson, Rice, Palmer, Gray, and Hayes on the floor. That's an extremely athletic group and HC had no answer for them at either end of the floor.

A few notes from Ryan Ernst story of last night's game:

 

...Holmes, ranked fifth in the Enquirer Northern Kentucky coaches' poll, jumped out to an early lead, shooting 63.6 percent from the field in the first half. Rice scored the Bulldogs' first nine points. In the second quarter he increased the lead to 30-19 on a bank shot. But the unranked Indians came back, closing the quarter on a 9-2 run - keyed by a Rob Broering 4-point play - to cut the lead to 32-28 at halftime.

 

....When the Indians did get close, Hayes put the lead out of reach. He made three 3-pointers in a two-minute stretch late in the third quarter, stretching the Bulldogs' advantage back to 10 points.

 

Holy Cross trailed by just five points in the fourth quarter, but Rice scored eight of the Bulldogs' final 10 points to close out the victory.

 

Rice finished with a game high 22 points and eight rebounds.....

 

Box Score:

 

Holy Cross (5-6) - McClendon 6 3 18, Avery 3 0 7, Broering 2 1 7, Arlinghaus 2 2 7, Burger 2 0 5, Allen 2 0 4, Walker 1 0 2, Knochelman 1 0 2, Fuller 1 0 2. Totals 20 6 54.

 

Holmes (9-4) - Rice 7 7 22, Hayes 6 0 16, Gray 3 3 9, Peterson 3 0 6, Palmer 3 0 6, Knox 0 2 2, Mayfield 1 0 2. Totals 23 12 63.

 

Holy Cross 13 15 15 11 -54

Holmes 17 15 19 12 -63

 

3-pointers: HC 8 (McClendon 3, Broering 2, Burger, Avery, Arlinghaus) H 5 (Hayes 4, Rice)

BTW, check out my prediction:

 

My Prediction?

 

Holmes 63

Holy Cross 53

 

I guess that I was mistaken when I said that HC cut it to 2. Looks like it was 3 and it was more like 50-47 instead of the 40-38 that I first indicated. And now I'm not even certain of that. Sorry for my bogus information. I have to hand it to the Bulldogs for constantly denying the Indians any further gain every time they were knocking at the door. With the way HC kept pulling close it appeared that they were about to figure it out but Holmes kept answering when it was crucial. The 3 ball kept HC in it and they died by it as well, and at the line too. Holmes denied anything close to the basket. I keep hearing that Burger is a great player, and he truly appears to be a fierce smart competitor, but the Bulldogs totally shut him down making him a non-factor. The most effective and consistent players that I saw for the Indians were McClendon and Broering. HC isn't too shabby and I think that on a spectacular shooting night they might be able to beat the Bulldogs, but I still think that hypothetically Holmes would take 8 out of 10 games played.