February 2, 2012
Learning from the tough time
| Nate VanArendonk is a big
presence for Hope, leading the team in shooting percentage and
blocked shots. Hope athletics photo |
Their only blemish of the season was handed to them by a Division I school.
The Hope College Flying Dutchmen lost 80-58 to Western Michigan on Dec. 2. They haven't had that losing feeling since.
The streak is at 15 if you are counting at home, the latest victory a 64-47 road win against Adrian on Wednesday night.
Everything is going so well for Hope right now. It's 19-1 overall, on course for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship and riding the high of being ranked No. 2 in the nation.
There are a lot of reasons for the success. One of them is the lessons learned in the setback to Western Michigan.
“I feel that the WMU game taught us how hard we have to work, how hard we have to play and how hard we have to compete,” Hope coach Matt Neil said. “It was incredibly value to our team in that we finally understood how we had to battle for 40 minutes.”
The good teams learn from the tough times, and I think would be tough to find someone on the planet who doesn’t think Hope is a good team.
Six players are averaging at least six points per game, including three in double figures. Nate Snuggerud (15.7), David Krombeen (15.1) and Peter Bunn (12.9) are all averaging in double figures for a Flying Dutchmen squad that is pouring in 79.8 points per outing. Logan Neil, Matt's son, plays a key role off the bench as well since rejoining the squad after leading Hope's men's soccer team at goalkeeper to the round of eight in the Division III men's soccer NCAA Tournament.
From a defensive standpoint, Hope is allowing only 64.8 points per contest.
“I feel that our team is successful because we always talk about the team,” Neil said. “We are committed to playing better tomorrow than we played today and to never taking a possession off. I think those qualities occur because of senior leadership. Peter Bunn, Nate King, David Krombeen and Logan Neil have been here awhile and know what it means to win championships.”
The thing about Hope is that it shoots the ball well. The Flying Dutchmen don’t take shots for the sake of taking shots. They are shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and opponents are shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor.
“We take good shots as a team,” Neil said. “We have good shooters who often pass up open looks to find the next best shot, and then we knock one down. Selflessness is a key to shooting the ball well. We are constantly looking for the easiest basket.”
| Matt Neil was an assistant
coach under Glenn Van Wieren for 26 years before being tabbed as
head coach last season upon Van Wieren's
retirement. Hope athletics photo |
Hope shot only 37.3 percent from the field in the win over Adrian. Yet, it still found a way to get the job done, holding Adrian to 23.1 percent shooting. Krombeen scored 20 points to pave the way, including hit all four of his shots from 3-point range.
Five games still remain in the regular season. Hope is not only dreaming of a conference championship, but it knows a national championship is not out of the question either.
The key is not resting on its success. The Flying Dutchmen must continue to work hard and be ready to be at its best every time out. Opponents tend to bring their A game, or at least A effort, against a nationally ranked opponent. Hope has to be ready to match it.
“We become what we think about,” Neil said. “If we think average is good enough, we will be just that. But if we strive for excellence in all that we do, we will make that a reality.”
Noteworthy
Mount Union’s women’s basketball team is the top team in the Ohio Athletic Conference at the moment, but don’t overlook Ohio Northern.
The Polar Bears have won their last six games, including a 75-63 win at home over Capital in a pivotal OAC showdown on Wednesday night.
Cenzie Yoder and Kara Dysert came through with double-doubles to fuel ONU to the win.
Yoder scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Dysert clicked for 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Morgan Dumbaugh had a solid performance as well for the Polar Bears, dropping in 19 points and grabbing six rebounds.
ONU once again asserted its second-half dominance in the win. It outscored Capital 40-30 in the second half. In its previous two games, it outscored John Carroll 36-24 and outscored Otterbein 29-18 in the second halves of those games. The Polar Bears shot 52.7 percent from the floor in the win.
Crusaders back on track
For the second consecutive game, Mary Hardin-Baylor landed in the win column. The No. 10 team in the nation blasted Sul Ross State 90-56 as it improved to 18-1 overall and to 14-1 in the American Southwest Conference.
Thomas Orr rose to the occasion in the win. He scored a career-high 22 points, punctuating his effort with five three-pointers. Marlon Miller scored all 20 of his points in the opening half of play. The Crusaders had 12 players score as they capitalized on a balanced attack. They made 11 three-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field.
The Crusaders could have hung their heads after the tough 75-71 conference loss to McMurry, but they bounced back quickly and have remained poised for a league title.
Mary Hardin-Baylor is averaging 80.9 ppg this season and is giving up 64.8. As a team, it is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor.
Gottlieb stepping up for Wildcats
Natosha Gottlieb has been a big part of the success the Louisiana College women’s basketball team has enjoyed this year. The junior guard/forward averaged 20.5 points per game last week as she helped the No. 20 Wildcats win a pair of road games against Texas-Tyler and LaTourneau last week. She averaged 20.5 points per outing in the wins and has been the leading scorer for Louisiana College four times in its last eight games.
The highlight of the run was a 30-point performance in a 106-73 win over East Texas Baptist on Jan. 12.
The Wildcats are unbeaten during the stretch and Gottlieb is averaging 14.5 ppg for a team that is averaging close to 90 points per contest (87.4).
Quick Hits
Jake Mays of Wooster played a pivotal role in the latest win for the Fighting Scots. Mays scored a career-high 16 points as he made six of his seven shots from the field in an 89-70 win against Denison on Wednesday night. He also grabbed six rebounds as No. 14 Wooster improved to 17-3 overall and to 8-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. ... Five players scored in double figures for the Penn State-Behrend women’s basketball team in its 81-32 win over D’Youville on Wednesday night. It is the first time it has happened this season, with Julia Myers paving the way with 15 points. The Lions led 42-15 at halftime and the win is the ninth this year where they scored at least 70 and gave up less than 50. ... The Centre women’s basketball team capped its final non-conference regular season game with a 66-54 win over Spalding on Wednesday. The Colonels stretched their win streak to 15 games behind 16 points from Chelsea Benham. Centre only shot 36.2 percent from the floor as it improved to 18-1. ... The Randolph-Macon men’s basketball team is still six days away from its showdown against Virginia Wesleyan. For now, the Yellow Jackets are focused on the task at hand. They rolled to their 11th consecutive win with a 74-45 victory over Guilford on Sunday. Adam Desgain scored 20 points as the Yellow Jackets extended their home win streak to 21 games.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me about a story idea or share your thoughts on Division III college basketball. I enjoy interacting with the fans. You can reach me by email at brian.lester@d3sports.com or follow me on Twitter @Blester1993.
Their only blemish of the season was
handed to them by a Division I school.
The Hope College Flying Dutchmen lost 80-58 to Western Michigan on Dec. 2. They haven't had the losing feeling since.
The streak is at 15 if you are counting at home, the latest victory a 64-47 road win against Adrian on Wednesday night.
Everything is going so well for Hope right now. It's 19-1 overall, on course for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship and riding the high of being ranked No. 2 in the nation.
There are a lot of reasons for the success. One of them is the lessons learned in the setback to Western Michigan.
“I feel that the WMU game taught us how hard we have to work, how hard we have to play and how hard we have to compete,” Hope head coach Matthew Neil said. “It was incredibly value to our team in that we finally understood how we had to battle for 40 minutes.”
The good teams learn from the tough times, and I think would be tough to find someone on the planet who doesn’t think Hope is a good team.
Six players are averaging at least six points per game, including three in double figures. Nate Snuggerud (15.7), David Krombeen (15.1) and Peter Bunn (12.9) are all averaging in double figures for a Flying Dutchmen squad that is pouring in 79.8 points per outing.
From a defensive standpoint, Hope is allowing only 64.8 points per contest.
“I feel that our team is successful because we always talk about the team,” Neil said. “We are committed to playing better tomorrow than we played today and to never taking a possession off. I think those qualities occur because of senior leadership. Peter Bunn, Nate King, David Krombeen and Logan Neil have been here awhile and know what it means to win championships.”
The thing about Hope is that it shoots the ball well. The Flying Dutchmen don’t take shots for the sake of taking shots. They are shooting 51.8 percent from the floor and opponents are shooting just 39.1 percent from the floor.
“We take good shots as a team,” Neil said. “We have good shooters who often pass up open looks to find the next best shot, and then we knock one down. Selflessness is a key to shooting the ball well. We are constantly looking for the easiest basket.”
Hope shot only 37.3 percent from the field in the win over Adrian. Yet, it still found a way to get the job done, holding Adrian to 23.1 percent shooting. Krombeen scored 20 points to pave the way, including hit all four of his shots from 3-point range.
Five games still remain in the regular season. Hope is not only dreaming of a conference championship, but it knows a national championship is not out of the question either.
The key is not resting on its success. The Flying Dutchmen must continue to work hard and be ready to be at its best every time out. Opponents tend to bring their A game, or at least A effort, against a nationally ranked opponent. Hope has to be ready to match it.
“We become what we think about,” Neil said. “If we think average is good enough, we will be just that. But if we strive for excellence in all that we do, we will make that a reality.”
Noteworthy
Mount Union’s women’s basketball team might be the top team in the Ohio Athletic Conference at the moment, but don’t overlook Ohio Northern.
The Polar Bears have won their last six games, including a 75-63 win at home over Capital in a pivotal OAC showdown on Wednesday night.
Cenzie Yoder and Kara Dysert came through with double-doubles to fuel ONU to the win.
Yoder scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds while Dysert clicked for 11 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
Morgan Dumbaugh had a solid performance as well for the Polar Bears, dropping in 19 points and grabbing six rebounds.
ONU once again asserted its second-half dominance in the win. It outscored Capital 40-30 in the second half. In its previous two games, it outscored John Carroll 36-24 and outscored Otterbein 29-18 in the second halves of those games. The Polar Bears shot 52.7 percent from the floor in the win.
Crusaders back on track
For the second consecutive game, Mary Hardin-Baylor landed in the win column. The No. 10 team in the nation blasted Sul Ross State 90-56 as it improved to 18-1 overall and to 14-1 in the American Southwest Conference.
Thomas Orr rose to the occasion in the win. He scored a career-high 22 points, punctuating his effort with five 3-pointers. Marlon Miller scored all 20 of his points in the opening half of play. The Crusaders had 12 players score as they capitalized on a balanced attack. They made 11 3-pointers and shot 48 percent from the field.
The Crusaders could have hung their heads after the tough 75-71 conference loss to McMurry, but they bounced back quickly and have remained poised for a league title.
Mary Hardin-Baylor is averaging 80.9 ppg this season and is giving up 64.8. As a team, it is shooting 46.7 percent from the floor.
Gottlieb stepping up for Wildcats
Natosha Gottlieb has been a big part of the success the Louisiana College women’s basketball team has enjoyed this year. The junior guard/forward averaged 20.5 points per game last week as she helped the No. 20 Wildcats win a pair of road games against Texas-Tyler and LaTourneau last week. She averaged 20.5 points per outing in the wins and has been the leading scorer for Louisiana College four times in its last eight games.
The highlight of the run was a 30-point performance in a 106-73 win over East Texas Baptist on Jan. 12.
The Wildcats are unbeaten during the stretch and Gottlieb is averaging 14.5 ppg for a team that is averaging close to 90 points per contest (87.4).
Quick Hits
Jake Mays of Wooster played a pivotal role in the latest win for the Fighting Scots. Mays scored a career-high 16 points as he made six of his seven shots from the field in an 89-70 win over Denison on Wednesday night. He also grabbed six rebounds as No. 14 Wooster improved to 17-3 overall and to 8-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference…Five players scored in double figures for the Penn State-Behrend women’s basketball team in its 81-32 win over D’Youville on Wednesday night. It is the first time it has happened this season, with Julia Myers paving the way with 15 points. The Lions led 42-15 at halftime and the win is the ninth this year where they scored at least 70 and gave up less than 50….The Centre women’s basketball team capped its final non-conference regular season game with a 66-54 win over Spalding on Wednesday. The Colonels stretched their win streak to 15 games behind 16 points from Chelsea Benham. Centre only shot 36.2 percent from the floor as it improved to 18-1… The Randolph-Macon men’s basketball team is still six days away from its showdown against Virginia Wesleyan is six days away. For now, the Yellow Jackets are focused on the task at hand. They rolled to their 11th consecutive win with a 74-45 victory over Guilford on Sunday. Adam Desgain scored 20 points as the Yellow Jackets extended their home win streak to 21 games.
Get in touch
Feel free to contact me about a story idea or share your thoughts on Division III college basketball. I enjoy interacting with the fans. You can reach me by email at brianlester@thecourier.com or follow me on Twitter @Blester1993.
