Just a couple quick notes on a couple of games...
North Dakota picked up their first Big Sky win in program history, beating Idaho State 66-53. If you follow UND, you know the fact that it was a road win is big for the program, which has struggled mightily away from Grand Forks in recent years. They were led by Aaron Anderson's 19 points, as he benefits as much as anyone from the attention Troy Huff receives when he is in the lineup. ISU is still looking to crack the 60 point mark, which they haven't done against a Division I opponent.
In Bozeman, Montana State used a big start in both halves to fend off Portland State 62-59, after PSU's last gasp three-point attempt didn't fall. The Bobcats led 52-38 with 7:35 to play, and were up 61-53 with under 10 seconds left in the game, but the Vikings had a chance thanks to some threes and an MSU turnover. Paul Ewgwuonwu had 14 points for the Bobcats, scoring some big buckets in the second half. Flavien Davis had 16 and was solid.
Montana State was playing without Antonio Biglow or Jamie Stewart, and Xavier Blount was hobbled and not at 100%. Aaron Moore was big for the Vikings, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds, 7 of them offensive.
It wasn't all cheery for the Bobcats, however, as word came that Jamie Stewart was no longer a member of the program. This makes the second straight year that he started the year for the Bobcats, but didn't finish the year due to off-court reasons.
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I had the chance to see North Dakota at Idaho State last night. Huff definitely has the attention on him, deservingly so. That kid is a flatout athlete. Anderson isa good player as well. Those guards are going to cause trouble this year in the big sky. Jon judging from last nights game, I think both guards will be all-conference. Where do you see them? considering the Bamforth's, Wheelwright's, Cherry's of the big sky.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure about all-conference, but both are good. You are right Huff is a big-time athlete and good player... I think he could have been an all-conference player but will be hurt by missing those games in non-conference. But there's no doubt he has the talent for it, and should be a contender for POY next season. Anderson is solid but I don't think he is quite in the class of Cherry/Bamforth/Garrity/Russell (and I might be forgetting a couple). What he does, he does well, but I'm not sure he brings as much to the table as those guys. But those two guys really seem to play off each other well.
ReplyDeleteThe other thing I will be curious about is if it will be harder for UND and SUU players to get those accolades because they are newer to the conference and perhaps less known. That will be interesting to see.