PSAC WEST

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Not a great schedule on tap tomorrow but a few decent games.


IUP at Gannon - What was once a pretty fierce, budding rivalry has kind of fizzled in the past several years. IUP has won 6 of the past 7 in the series - including a 21-point victory earlier this season. Gannon, after losing at home to Seton Hill, now finds itself in the heat of the PSAC Tournament race (at the wrong end, nonethelss). The Griffins and Cal are right on the Knights' tail. Gannon's season is already well lost. Not even making the conference tournament would be devastating. Unfortunately, their path has a major obstacle tomorrow. IUP seemed to finally hit on all cylinders the other night and also is now fully healthy with the return of starting guard Greg Bearer, who had missed the previous month. The Knights will fight but it won't be nearly enough. IUP -17

UPJ at Clarion - The only possible thing to slow down UPJ in this one is the acid-trip amount of painted lines all over the Clarion make-shift court. Mountain Cats roll. UPJ -28

Mansfield at East Stroudsburg - Warriors have three straight freebies. ESU -23

Edinboro at California - This is a game Edinboro can win. If it does, the Scots will find themselves with at least an outside shot of making the conference tournament. Real big game here for the Vulcans. With Gannon being a heavy underdog, Cal really needs this one. The Vulcans blew the Scots out of McComb in the first meeting. Edinboro is playing a little better. Neither team has any bench. Whichever team stays out of foul trouble may win. (Mild) upset special. The big fella, Trey Staunch, can go off in this one against a small Cal post. Edinboro -1

Bloomsburg at Lock Haven -- The Bald Eagles are all but invited to the little dance. A win tomorrow in front of what should be a jam-packed 80-90 people should punch their ticket. Lock Haven -4

Cheyney at Millersville -- What the what? Marauders -17

Kutztown at West Chester -- The last time Kutztown won a big game was way back on Nov. 9 at West Liberty. Since then it has been a steady stream of beating up on the lesser teams and losing to all the good teams they've played. They compete, but still haven't been able to get in the win column. West Chester dropped the hammer on the Golden Bears, 99-76, in Kutztown earlier this season. If you can't beat WCU at home, you aren't beating them in their house. Anthony Lee will need to go for 50 for Kutztown to have a shot. West Chester -13

Slippery Rock at Seton Hill -- Times can change real fast over the course of a basketball season. Three weeks ago most would have laughed if it was suggested Seton Hill could not only win this game, but, could actually be favored to win. Many thought SRU had a mirage-type quality to it. Having started its second loop with a double-digit loss at a reeling Gannon, and also a smackdown loss at IUP, things have abruptly changed inside Morrow Field House. To make matters much, much worse, All-American candidate Micah Till is nursing a leg injury. Seton Hill, on the other hand, is playing its best basketball of the season. Trevor Blondin and Nathan Davis are tearing it up -- and a few others are stepping up, too. The McKenna Center can be a snake pit for visitors. The Griffins shoot the ball extremely well there. SRU has some issues. Seton Hill wins outright. Griffins -4

[Fightingscot82]

An interesting story on Trey Staunch, everyone's favorite "goon"

https://gofightingscots.com/news/201...nch-story.aspx

[IUP24]

An interesting story on Trey Staunch, everyone's favorite "goon"

https://gofightingscots.com/news/201...nch-story.aspx

I stopped reading after the article referred to the PSAC as “one of the best conferences in the country in Divsion II.”

LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Fightingscot82]

I stopped reading after the article referred to the PSAC as “one of the best conferences in the country in Divsion II.”

LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Written by a kid who attends a DIII school so maybe its a lack of perspective

[IUPbigINDIANS]

It's a good story. There are certainly a lot of football players in the PSAC who could play basketball but Staunch actually did it -- and with a good deal of success. He was the perfect piece for that strong Edinboro basketball team last year ... a real spark-plug off the bench and some major muscle for a guard-loaded roster.

Man, he'd be pretty imposing on a pitching mound.


I was waiting to read in the article that his favorite non-football hobby is launching Dante Lombardi across gym floors. LOL.

[IUPalum]

It's a good story. There are certainly a lot of football players in the PSAC who could play basketball but Staunch actually did it -- and with a good deal of success. He was the perfect piece for that strong Edinboro basketball team last year ... a real spark-plug off the bench and some major muscle for a guard-loaded roster.

Man, he'd be pretty imposing on a pitching mound.


I was waiting to read in the article that his favorite non-football hobby is launching Dante Lombardi across gym floors. LOL.

IUP used to have football players playing basketball too. Eddie Peterson is the first name that comes to mind

[IUPbigINDIANS]

SRU escapes Seton Hill


Clarion shocks UPJ

WCU all over Kutztown

Boro wins at Cal

[Fightingscot82]

Boro leaves Armenti Caverns with two wins.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Boro leaves Armenti Caverns with two wins.

Race for that last spot is legit

[IUPbigINDIANS]

Rock went in to Greensburg and won without Till. Devastating loss for SH being that GU and Cal lost.

Don't look now ... those Fighting Scots are alive.

That was a game Cal had to win ...

[IUPbigINDIANS]

The West (lower level) race got real interesting yesterday.

UPJ's shocking loss at Clarion (and likely loss against IUP in a few days) mixes things up.

Edinboro got a huge win at Cal and is now in range of that final spot - just one game back. Cal had to win that game at home. It could be devastating for the Vulcans.

Seton Hill had a golden opportunity yesterday with Till sitting out and didn't cash it in.

Toss Gannon in there, too, and it's quite a race.

Some big games coming up in that tier this week.

Wednesday night will be highlighted by Mercyhurst visiting Slippery Rock.

IUP travels to UPJ, where the Mountain Cats are a perfect 11-0. Yet, they look like a glorified basement dweller on the road.

[IUPTrackMan]

UPJ is just so young and that should lead to wild swings in performance. However 11-0 at home doesn’t indicate that. IUP didn’t shoot very well in the first game vs UPJ. Maybe the Hawks will focus on higher percentage shots.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

EAST

West Chester (14-2, 18-5) - Rams have won 13 straight. Easy two ahead before Ship and ESU next week.
East Stroudsburg (12-3, 15-6) - Light week prior to WCU trip Feb. 23
Shippensburg (11-4, 17-6) - Tight loss at ESU. Pesky Millersville up next.
Millersville (9-6., 14-9) - NCAA hopes are gone but could be a tough out down the stretch.
Lock Haven (7-8, 10-10) - Bald Eagles having a nice season
Kutztown (7-9, 13-11) - What were close losses early in the season are becoming bigger losses
Bloomsburg (2-14, 5-16) - Huskies have lost 9 straight.
Mansfield (1-15, 4-19) - Almost over.

WEST

IUP (14-2, 21-2) - Hawks head to Johnstown for a quasi-home game and then get the weekend off.
Slippery Rock (13-3, 16-7) - Mercyhurst visits Morrow in two days. These two likely to play again in PSAC Tournament.
Mercyhurst (11-4, 16-4) - Not easy to win in Morrow ... should be quite the circus.
UPJ (8-8, 13-10) - Undefeated at home ... 3-10 away from home. IUP visit causes a lot of problems match-up wise.
Gannon (6-10, 8-15) - Knights travel to Cal and host Edinboro. They need both.
California (5-10, 7-14) - Gannon visit is essentially a playoff game for the Vulcans.
Seton Hill (5-11, 7-15) - Griffins heading north this week -- Edinboro and Mercyhurst. They have to go 1-1 to stay in it.
Edinboro (4-11, 7-13) - Scots have won two straight and could win two more this week (SH & GU). For now, anyway, the Boro is back in the conf. tournament race.
Clarion (3-13, 5-15) - Nice win for the Golden Eagles against UPJ. Still showing up.

[IUPbigINDIANS]

There's a pretty good slate of action tomorrow. There's a marquee game as well as several mid-tier match-ups between teams battling for their conference tournament lives.

Clarion at Salem -- Pretty even contest. Salem's record is better but they have a lot of soft wins. Clarion will compete in this game and should have a little pep after upsetting UPJ. The Golden Eagles get a rare road win. Clarion -3

IUP at UPJ -- Common theme: UPJ doesn't lose at home, and, IUP doesn't lose in Johnstown. The Mountain Cats shoot the lights out in Johnstown so they will find a way to keep this close for awhile. Several strong teams have fallen up there in the recent past. IUP is just too deep and too big. The Hawks will find a way to make them look like Golden State for the first 20 minutes, but UPJ doesn't have enough to go all 40 minutes. The first meeting was a blowout until the bench was emptied and the final score was made to look a little closer. Similar result tomorrow. IUP -13

Mansfield at West Chester -- A practice with uniforms on for WCU. Rams -28

Gannon at California -- The loser of this game finds itself in a world of hurt. For two teams on the conference tournament bubble, this is essentially a playoff game. It's also a very odd pairing. Cal can score. Gannon cannot. Gannon can defend. Cal cannot. With Darryl Porter recovering from an injury, the Knights just won't score enough points to win this game. Cal moves a step closer to the Little Dance. Vulcans -7

Seton Hill at Edinboro -- A month ago this appeared to be just another game for two struggling teams. Now, it has some significance. Edinboro's recent surge has put the Scots back in the race for the final tournament spot. Seton Hill really needs this one to stay in it. The Griffins are the better team, but Edinboro can be pretty tough in McComb. The difference tomorrow is Edinboro's defense is very, well, non-existent. The Griffins should put up a big number. Neither team has much on the bench so the zebra crew could play a big role. Seton Hill finds a way and pulls away late. Griffins -8

Cheyney at Bloomsburg -- The Huskies' 9-game losing streak ends here, right? It better. Bloomsburg -3

East Stroudsburg at Lock Haven -- Shippensburg fell asleep at the wheel in Lock Haven. Can it happen to another East heavyweight? Doubtful. ESU swarms the Bald Eagles. Warriors -14

Millersville at Shippensburg -- The Red Raiders won at Millersville. They'll win at home, too. Ship -10

Mercyhurst at Slippery Rock -- How times change. Back on Jan. 5, SRU left the MAC with a 92-91, (2) OT victory. Micah Till went bonkers -- scoring 35 points, grabbing 11 boards and handing out 5 assists. Fast forward 5 weeks and Mercyhurst is one of the hottest teams in the country. Till is injured and missed SRU's last game. His status for tomorrow is unknown. The Lakers are playing for seeding in the NCAA Tournament. With 7 losses, the Rock is on life support. It should be quite a scene in Morrow tomorrow night. The students there show up for big games. Oddly, SRU had zero trouble with the famed Mercyhurst zone in the first go-around. With Till's status unknown, a prediction is meaningless. However, even with Till, SRU has faded in the past two weeks. The element of surprise is gone and it's well-know now how to beat them. Till, or no Till, Mercyhurst wins. Lakers -11

[PSACwatcher]

Gotta feel for the kids at Mansfield. Their head coach bolts on them in mid-September, and they are battling through just a miserable season.

How does Cal U practice? They started the season with 6 guys playing big minutes, then frosh starter Jermaine Hall is injured and he has been out since mid-January. With a limited roster, Cal U plays a 2-3 zone most of the game. The irony is that 5 guys playing a 2-3 zone for 40 mins each against the Gannon offensive juggernaut is probably all they need.

Frosh 6'8" Big Turner Kurt is really coming on for Edinboro. He had back to back 17 pt games in last two wins v UPJ and Cal U. Edinboro was not getting that from him earlier in the season. Throw in the Trey Staunch enigma and a super-confident Simpson (rare triple double of 24/14/11 vs. UPJ) and you have to think they could win 3 out of their last 6 to somehow sneak into the playoffs. Give credit to Edinboro for hanging in.

Till is not expected to play.

[IUPalum]

Gotta feel for the kids at Mansfield. Their head coach bolts on them in mid-September, and they are battling through just a miserable season.

How does Cal U practice? They started the season with 6 guys playing big minutes, then frosh starter Jermaine Hall is injured and he has been out since mid-January. With a limited roster, Cal U plays a 2-3 zone most of the game. The irony is that 5 guys playing a 2-3 zone for 40 mins each against the Gannon offensive juggernaut is probably all they need.

Frosh 6'8" Big Turner Kurt is really coming on for Edinboro. He had back to back 17 pt games in last two wins v UPJ and Cal U. Edinboro was not getting that from him earlier in the season. Throw in the Trey Staunch enigma and a super-confident Simpson (rare triple double of 24/14/11 vs. UPJ) and you have to think they could win 3 out of their last 6 to somehow sneak into the playoffs. Give credit to Edinboro for hanging in.

Till is not expected to play.

Yeah, Edinboro is not good. I'll leave it at that!

[IUPbigINDIANS]

With no Till ... Mercyhurst will slaughter them. Oddly, Till has just crushed the Mercyhurst triangle in the past two seasons.

It's probably safe to assume these two will meet in the second round of the PSAC's.


It is still mind-boggling that Grady put Till back in the IUP game down 30+ with 10 minutes to play after he didn't come back out after halftime. I sure hope they weren't doing it for the stats. Seemed like a horrible decision when it happened -- and, even worse now being he hasn't played since.

[IUPalum]

With no Till ... Mercyhurst will slaughter them. Oddly, Till has just crushed the Mercyhurst triangle in the past two seasons.

It's probably safe to assume these two will meet in the second round of the PSAC's.


It is still mind-boggling that Grady put Till back in the IUP game down 30+ with 10 minutes to play after he didn't come back out after halftime. I sure hope they weren't doing it for the stats. Seemed like a horrible decision when it happened -- and, even worse now being he hasn't played since.

Could this team learn to play better without Till? I know it's a constant that he takes time off while on the court. Could this team work harder without him?

[PSAC76]

Grady given the job at SRU, named Head Coach

https://rockathletics.com/news/2019/...ead-coach.aspx

[IUPTrackMan]

Grady given the job at SRU, named Head Coach

https://rockathletics.com/news/2019/...ead-coach.aspx

This has been pretty predictable outcome that just kept gaining momentum game after game. He earned it.