Sorry Charlie

Hello Followers.  Hope you’re having a great week.

Well, tonight, the Pitt Panthers avenged their defeat from Monday by squeeking out a win against our gritty and undermanned Cougies, 57-53.  And in so doing, set up a showdown on Friday night for the CBI championship.

For more thoughts (cough! Cough!) on Wednesday night’s contest click on the ole jumperoo.

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Followers, this was a tough one to watch and lose on several levels.  But the one reason to be encouraged tonight is that Reggie Moore has shown himself to be totally un-guardable in this series.  And for that reason alone, we know that we have a fighter’s chance on Friday.

A few key moments in the game:

• After trailing by as many as 10 points with 10:00 left, the Cougs made a fierce rally to close the game to 42-40. This surge was led by some nice moves around the basket by Lacey, a three by Abe, another Lacy jumper, and then Moore’s continued aggressiveness around the basket.

• Then, with 6:30 left and up by two, Pitt missed a jumper.  Unfortunately, Charlie grabbed their post player while the shot was in the air which sent Pitt to the line. Then after missing the second of two free throws, Charlie whiffed on the rebound and then fouled Pitt’s post player again.  The result was a four point swing which represent the final margin in the game.

• After an Abe free throw brought the game within two at 47-45, Bone made the inexplicable decision to take Reggie out of the game.  The result was an out-of-sorts possession that could have tied it, and Pitt promptly took advantage of a rushed Abe three and extended the lead to 49-45 with 3:00 left.

• Of course, Reggie was not to be denied, as he scored on two of the next three possessions to tie the game at 49-49.  And from there Pitt went on a 6-0 run to all-but seal the game. Until…

• Down 6, with ten seconds left, Pitt got called on a bizarre (but accurate) intentional foul call, where the guy guarding Abe literally bear hugged him and pulled him down to the floor as Abe tried to move by him. The result was two free throws and the ball for the Cougs which we took advantage of:  Abe made both free throws and then Reggie scored on another drive to make it 55-53 with 4.9 seconds left.  Pitt then made both Free Throws for the final tally.

Other remarks:

It was hard to know what was worse, our interior defense or our interior rebounding.  In either case, Bone is going to have to play zone more in the next game if we’re going to have a chance.

Never quite noticed this before, but one of the culprits I witnessed on the glass is that nearly every Cougar player except Abe keeps their hands down when boxing out on the defensive boards.  The result was not only several holding calls, but also lots of missed rebounding opportunities.  I have no idea what is up with that?!

Our defensive rotations are absolutely atrocious.  The good news, Pitts’ are worse.  And the more that they extend to slow down our 3 point shooting, the more opportunities we have for Reggie and Lacey to get to the basket.  And that, dear followers, will be the key to the next game:  Our ability to take the ball to the rack and finish at the cup.

Finally, although not reported yet on the wire, a bit of breaking news.  Apparently, actor Valente Rodriguez of George Lopez was in the crowd tonight.  And, according to TMZ.com, he reportedly has interest in WSU guard DaVonte Lacey.

Could it be that Rodriguez is Lacey’s father?  You tell us.

In any case, Friday night should be a barn burner as the Cougs go for the Championship as well as win number 20 on the final game of the 2011-2012 season.

All for now.  Go Cougs.