Eta Rho

I like the Beechies in this one. As bad as Covcath played in the first go around, from talking to Coach Schumate, Beechwood didn't exactly have their best game either. I see it being a close game throughout with neither team leading by more than 5. Third quarter I think Romes and Beuttel start to take over and get a 5-7 point lead which will lead the Colonels to jump in "panic mode" and start jacking up 3's which will take them out of it real quick. Unfortunately, I see the Colonels season ending Monday night, and a new team making the regional tournament out of the 35th. Beechwood 59 Covcath 52

Not when the whole team is playing out on the perimeter. Unless you were at the game it's tough to comment about how the game went by just looking at the final score, which a lot of you are doing.. Holmes did do well on the offensive glass but couldn't finish on their second and third attempts. At one point, JJ and Arnold missed 4 straight tip in attempts on one possession, and Barnes finally came down with the rebound. Not sure about the rebounding stats but I'd say Holmes won the battle. I don't remember SK getting too many second chances on the offensive end. BTW, SK has historically played Holmes tough. See past scores. Also, SK played with a lot of emotion last night in front of a packed house on their senior night.

Box Score: Holmes (27-2) - Riley 6 2 15, J. Johnson 3 3 9, Pittman 4 0 9, Housley 2 2 6, D. Johnson 0 1 1, R. Johnson 5 1 11, Arnold 1 2 4. Totals: 21 11 55. Simon Kenton (7-16) - Ball 2 0 5, Chambers 1 2 5, Barnes 5 0 12, Bishop 1 0 2, Sorrell 6 3 17, Schreiner 1 0 2, Lanham 1 2 4. Totals: 17 7 47. Holmes- 17-10-13-15- 55 Simon Kenton- 11-8-16-12- 47 3-pointers: H 2 (Pittman, Riley); S 6 (Sorrell 2, Barnes 2, Chambers, Ball).

That's very impressive that MC was able to hold those two to a combined 13 points.

I agree. Housely and Arnold are nice to have off the bench, but aren't at the same level of Rico, JJ, Riley, or Pittman. I wouldn't say they haven't been very good though. They still only have one loss to date in nky and have beaten nky opponents by an average of 15 ppg. I'm personally not too worried about the margin of this game. It will let them know they still have things to work on and need to get better or they'll be on the outside looking in. Holmes has historically played to the level of their competition late in the regular season, hence them losing last year and this year late in the year. Henley will have them ready to go for the tourney. Always does.

Nice win for the Flyers. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they do in the 11th region tourney. They seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.

Depends which Holmes team shows up. I really don't understand them right now. They blow Conner out of the gym on Tuesday, leading by as many as 32, and then barely get by SK. Boone is the hottest team in nky right now, hands down. I just hope Holmes can right the ship and find their indentity real quick, because the post season is right around the corner and there are several teams chomping at the bit to dethrone them. I wouldn't overlook Holmes, but based on the way Boone is playing right now, I have to concede that they are indeed the favorite.

Considering Highlands is the only nky team to beat Boone this year, I'd be hard pressed to believe they aren't much of a threat. I agree with their inconsistencies, but to say they aren't much of a threat isn't true at all. They beat Boone and gave Holmes their best game of the year at Holmes. Fair enough.

We have a winner....

How is it an excuse when you're giving the other team credit for doing the things well such as shooting well from outside, playing a defense that Holmes struggles with, and being aggressive to get a certain player in foul trouble? If anything I'm pointing out the Holmes weaknesses and giving SK credit for exploiting them . Unless you're at the game, which I'm assuming you weren't, it's tough to understand where someone is coming from. Foul trouble is a huge benefit for another team. See Holmes against Scott Co and how getting Phares in foul trouble helped them exploit SC's weaknesses. I find it comical how some on here are quick to say a team isn't "that good, etc" because of a close game. These are high school kids. They aren't going to be perfect night in and night out, despite what folks like myself talk them up to be.

Holmes defense isn't what Holmes fans need to worry about...it's their offense. A lot of standing around tonight and isolation by Rico and Riley. Pittman being in foul trouble and on the bench for 9 straight minutes also didn't hurt. Holmes needs him on the floor or you'll continue to see games like this where they barely win.

When a team plays a zone the whole game, that quickness isn't as much of a factor.

I agree. It seemed almost as if they would turn it on and off tonight. Sk would creep back in the game and then Holmes would go on a 7-0 or 8-0 run to give them a comfortable lead again, and then it'd seem as if they relaxed. People can't deny though that when a team hits 4 more 3 pointers than you do, it's going to make a game close.

Holmes defense forces a lot of teams to take long possessions which causes for a low scoring game. Their press is still being perfected and got several turnovers tonight, but once a team crosses the half court line, it's like the pressure stops and Holmes just forces you to "grind it out" in a half court game by stopping penetration and forcing you to beat them from outside. Let's not take away from SK. They played pretty well tonight and did things that have helped other teams keep the game close with Holmes all year. They got Pittman in foul trouble and shot the ball well from outside. If a team can do a combination of both, Holmes is very vulnderable, which was shown tonight. They got Pittman in foul trouble at the 5 minute mark of the 3rd and he didn't return until the 4 minute mark of the 4th. Without him on the floor, Holmes seems to struggle some. SK also sat in a zone pretty much the whole game (2-1-2; 2-3, 3-2) which forced Holmes to be patient.

Isn't this NH first loss to a 5th region opponent? Good win for the Tigers heading in to the district tourney.

Another big win for the Rebels. They seem to be firing on all cylinders heading in to the post season.

What really helped SK make a game of this tonight was their outside shooting. Again, they made six 3's to Holmes' two. Those 12 points ended up being a big difference in the final outcome.

No surprise here.

Wow surprised GRC lost after hearing they were up early 21-5. Ballard has to be commended for their efforts. Stenzel with 32? Kid is a stud. Can't wait to see how much he develops over the next two years.

Nice win for the Breds on the road heading in to the post season.

Not a clue. HC beat Newcath but lost to Brossart and Highlands. Newcath beat Brossart and Highlands but lost to Newport and HC. Highlands beat Newport and HC but lost to Newcath and Brossart. Brossart beat Highlands and HC but lost to Newport and Newcath. Your guess is as good as mine.

^^^ I was wondering the same thing. What's up with the Defenders? Seems like since they lost to Holmes by 18, they've been in a downward spiral. I know Morones was out for a while with an illness, but what happened to the team we saw at the beginning of the year? Congrats to Mason on the W though. Very impressive win on the road.

Holmes heads in to the post season at 27-2 for the second year in a row and are 33-2 over the past two years against nky opponents.

SK shot the ball VERY WELL from outside. They ended up with six 3's on the night to Holmes' two 3's. That makes a big difference in the game when the other team hits four more 3 pointers than you do. Holmes' perimeter defense has to improve.