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Posted Feb. 12, 2002

Coming from out of nowhere
Last season, while their new gym was being constructed, the Capital men's team was forced to practice at a local recreation center in Columbus, Ohio. They weren't exactly the highest priority at a facility where they shared six courts with whomever happened to be there that day.

One time a group of 14- and 15-year-old kids, upset at losing their chance to play during a holiday, protested by plopping themselves on the floor.

Another time, a 50-something year-old man came over to tell Capital coach Damon Goodwin, then in his seventh season, that he was running a drill improperly.

Capital head coach Damon Goodwin credits last year's adversity with instilling focus in his Crusaders squad.

"We learned how to deal with distractions,'' said Goodwin, whose 13th-ranked squad hasn't been fazed by many this season, with a 20-3 mark, a 15-game win streak, and a chance at the Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season title if it can beat local rival and No. 8-ranked Otterbein on Saturday.

"You really learn to focus in on doing what you do when you have all those people playing pickup next to you."

The Crusaders have been able to put their share of distractions a three-game losing streak, a season-ending injury to starter Mark Denner, and the attention that comes with a long win streak — despite having a very youthful team. The Crusaders have no seniors and only three juniors. During one stretch they won four consecutive games — all by five points or less. All three defeats — to Otterbein, Mount Union and Ohio Northern — could have been victories, with two being decided by three or less and the other going to overtime.

"Our guys have really come together,'' said Goodwin, whose squad went 16-10 last season and placed fourth in the OAC. "I think that any time a team wins 15 games in a row, something very good is happening.''

Capital doesn't do anything terribly complex, using a motion offense and a man-to-man defense. Junior guard Geron Tate, a threat to penetrate and post up, resulting in plenty of trips to the foul line, leads the team in scoring at 14.6 points per game and just had a string of 26 consecutive free throws.

Teammates Tony Ruberg and Adam Stolly both shoot 46% or better from 3-point range, and freshman reserve Paul Sheehy is also a threat from long range. On the inside, 6-6, 260-pounder Chuck Bihn pairs with 6-7, 230 pound Tyler Schleich on both scoring and rebounding.

Capital has only made the NCAAs once during Goodwin's tenure, but a second bid seems a strong possibility at this point, so long as no distractions get in the way the last couple of games.

"It has come down to the kids believing in themselves and in the system,'' Goodwin said. "It's kind of like the saying I once heard — 'The diamonds are pieces of coal that stuck to their jobs.'.''

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN: Those who remember last season's piece on the wacky WIAC can appreciate this note about the race for first place in the women's side of the New Jersey Athletic Conference.

With two games remaining, five teams are not only battling for the four playoff spots, but for first place in the conference, with one game separating them.

Under one scenario (requiring the top three teams splitting and the other two sweeping), all five teams — Kean, College of New Jersey, Richard Stockton, Rowan and Rutgers-Camden can finish with a 13-5 mark. The tiebreaker would be ordering the teams by their record against the other four, with the possibility of a play-in game for the teams that place fourth and fifth (provided that one team didn't sweep the other during the season).

The last team to finish with that good an in-conference record and not make the NJAC playoffs was Trenton State (now College of New Jersey), which went 12-6 in 1994-95. There's still a battle for playoff spots on the men's side as well, not to mention the American Southwest Conference women's East Division and the Midwest Conference men.

HELP! Those who follow Division I might have noticed that the Yale men's
basketball team moved into first place in the Ivy League this weekend with a
win over Princeton. This is the same Yale team that lost to Macalester 90-82 on Dec. 29 at the Furman Poinsettia Classic, yet beat non-conference foes Penn State and Clemson. Our question, thus far unanswered, is: Who was the last Division III team to beat a Division I program that either a) won its conference or b) made the NCAA Tournament that season?

"I guess we awakened them,'' said Macalester coach Curt Kietzer, whose Scots are 14-9, 12-6 in the MIAC. "They had been playing well before that game. For them to lose, it was a wake up call that they have to come to play every night.

"They are talented, but pretty young. In a game like ours, it was easy for them not to be as focused. Whereas we were very focused.

"We're a pretty good team, but some pretty extraordinary things happened that night, like shooting 65% from 3-point range. Things happened right for us that might not happen again for a couple of years. It was a once-in-a-lifetime type of game."

20-20 HINDSIGHT: When Wooster held its four-team tipoff tournament back in November, with Randolph-Macon, St. Thomas and Pitt-Bradford, there probably aren't many who thought that Wooster would have the worst record of the bunch in mid-February.

In the Al Van Wie Classic semifinals, St. Thomas topped Randolph-Macon 70-63 and Wooster topped Pitt-Bradford 94-86. R-M took third place with a 75-58 win over Pitt-Bradford, and St. Thomas placed first with a 76-66 win against Wooster.

Through Monday night, St. Thomas is ranked No. 5 and 21-3, Randolph-Macon (ranked No. 6) is 20-4, Pitt-Bradford is 18-4 and Wooster is 18-5. Wooster and Pitt-Bradford each receive votes. And St. Thomas has won 16 of 17 games, Randolph-Macon had a streak of 18 wins in 19 games against D-III teams, while Pitt-Bradford had a streak of 15 consecutive wins.

COMEBACK OF THE WEEK: (this side of N.C. Wesleyan) Lisa Fry's layup with three seconds to go in overtime gave Cornell an improbable 82-81 victory against Simpson on Saturday night in Indianola, Iowa. The Rams trailed 71-61 with 2:29 to go before mounting a 14-3 run to close regulation. Cornell improved to 12-12, 7-10 in the Iowa Athletic Conference.

MILESTONES: Trinity's Megan Selmon cleared 1,000 points on Feb. 2, only the fourth player in team history to do so. ... Junior forward Kelli Bakanowsky scored her 1,000th career point at Richard Stockton in a loss at New Jersey ... Emerson standout and former high school state champion member Robert Hennigan scored the 1000th point of his career as a sophomore on Saturday night in a 75-67 win over Great Northeast Athletic Conference foe Norwich. The Worcester, Mass., native reached the milestone on a 3-pointer with 3:48 remaining in the first half. ... Hennigan also has the school record for points in a game with 47. He set the record on February 7, 2002 in a win against GNAC rival Suffolk.

Notes for Around the Nation are compiled with the help of sports information directors across the country. If you have suggestions or information for this column, please send it to mark@d3hoops.com.

Previous columns
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March 6: Faith restored
Feb. 27: John Jay, Cinderella
Feb. 21: No safety net
Feb. 14: Ursinus better enough
Feb. 8: Hope-TMC on collision course
Jan. 31: Plattsburgh's big shot
Jan. 24: UMD answers call
Jan. 18: Like Bosko, like son
Jan. 11: Keystone stakes
Dec. 13: Unstoppable
Dec. 7: UWW aiming deeper
Nov. 30: Coach's shadow lingers
Nov. 15: Strong duo
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