Saturday, January 8, 2011

Point-counterpoint from St. Bonaventure

ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. -- Let's play a little point-counterpoint after Charlotte's 92-88 triple overtime loss to St. Bonaventure:

Point: How can the 49ers expect to win when they shoot just nine free throws, compared to St. Bonaventure's 42?
Counterpoint: How can the 49ers expect to win when they continue to turn the ball over at such an alarming rate? They had plenty of chances to win despite the foul disparity and didn't do it. Charlotte kicked it around a season-high 23 times (OK, it took three overtimes to do it, but 19 came in regulation). They had 18 against Richmond on Wednesday, 16 against Georgia Tech and 22 against Mercer.

Point: Didn't TV replays appear to indicate that at the end of the second overtime that Derrio Green didn't double dribble and that the ensuing inbounds pass by St. Bonaventure didn't touch anybody, thereby giving the 49ers another shot with 1.6 seconds left?
Counterpoint: How many more chances did Charlotte need to win? The 49ers had the ball with opportunities to win at the end of both overtimes. When St. Bonaventure's Ogo Adegboye missed two free throws and Charlotte up by two with 14 seconds left in regulation, the Bonnies' Da'Quan Cook chased down the rebound and was fouled. He made his and the game was tied and went to OT.

Point: The 49ers sure show a lot of heart and are impressive in coming back from these huge deficits (two double digit ones in the second half, continuing a pattern they benefited from in the four-game winning streak but which has now bitten them in two Atlantic 10 games).
Counterpoint: It's time for them to reverse that pattern. With a week off and two straight games coming up at Halton Arena against Fordham and UMass, the 49ers need to live on the other side, getting an early lead and making the other team worry about coming back.

Notes: Charles Dewhurst came back and gave Charlotte lots of energy off the bench. He had six points in 15 minutes ... Jamar Briscoe's offensive slump ended with 20 points ... Derrio Green had a career-high 10 assists ... St. Bonaventure's bench is as short as Charlotte's. The Bonnies played eight guys, Charlotte nine. Two Bonnies -- guards Adegboye and Michael Davenport -- played all 55 minutes. Green played 50 minutes and Briscoe 49 for Charlotte.

15 comments:

Job F said...

Cannot disagree with anything said. Well put. Was incredibly frustrating to watch, though. That was some undeniably poor officiating, even the TV guys were commenting on it.

Biasedbutnotblind said...

Responding in order:
-Yes, we turn the ball over too much. Problem is, the refs making the calls for many of these turnovers are the same refs making the calls when we "fouled" the Bonnies and not calling it when they fouled the Niners.

-Yes, we did have chances to win, but the real argument is that we shouldn't have been put in that position to begin with. Had the game been called close to fairly, the Niners likely would have breezed to victory with no last minute dramatics needed.
As far as the specific example given, the first shooter missed both his shots and it could be argued that on the rebound the SBU player was "fouled" as opposed to fouled, again, taking away what should have been a victory. (That making at least two times if you count that and the "double dribble.")

-Hell, I agree with you there. Being ahead early and staying ahead is a more positive way to play the game.

Anonymous said...

I was cringing when we were within a foot of their players because I thought they'd blow a whistle. It is incredible that we took them to 3OT with that kind of foul discrepancy. With that being said, we had 4 chances to win. We blew 3 of those, and the ref saved them on the one where Derrio should have given us the win.

I am disappointed in how we handled those 3 game winning attempts - the ball should have gone to JB - but more than that we played our hardest and I am really proud of every player on the team.

Anonymous said...

How many of these turnovers were bogus offensive fouls called on the Niners. How about the 'turnover' when Derrio was called for a double dribble in 2OT? These refs were scooped up from the bottom of the barrel and it showed. The A-10 should be embarrassed for paying these guys.

Anonymous said...

the free throw issue is unacceptable. we don't have enough players to foul. Coach Major has done a great job of keeping us out of foul trouble this season given our short bench. I find it hard to believe that this is anything but some home cooking and a welcome to the A-10 coach major gift from these refs. I can't believe it was this close given the disparity. credit goes to the niners for keeping up the fight.

Anonymous said...

Pretty good point-counterpoint. Boils down to finishing and execution which final score suggest Niners did neither

Anonymous said...

In two losses, 42 turnovers. All that needs to be said right there.

Anonymous said...

was the game on tv? what channel?

Anonymous said...

uncc sucks. yeah...i said uncc. get over it. your program and fans (the 19 students that are tooo big of losers to be doing something else on a saturday night) are pathetic.

Anonymous said...

anon 10:43,

Cool story bro.

Anonymous said...

To anom 10:43:

Your pathetic. Why are you even reading this blog then? Do you actually pick up internet down in your Mom's basement? That's what I can't get over.

Anonymous said...

Gotta say I was at the game yesterday and I thought it was called fairly. While the foul discrepancy is a little out of control, Braswell and Jones were fouling Nicholson quite a bit. They were playing really physical with him because they had real problems guarding him. As for that "touch" at the end, live it looked like it was touched. It did look like Sherill got his hand on it. I did not walk away from that game thinking that the game was lost on the officials. Blown opportunities at the end of the 2nd half and both overtimes cost the Niners this game.

Anonymous said...

Quit crying. We lost to a better team. Refs are refs. We need to cut turnovers and grow a pair.

Anonymous said...

I'm a home and I know it. The officiating in the A-10 is sub-par to say the least. I think it was a mistake to move to the A-10 to start with, but that is water under the bridge.
But I am encouraged by the defensive effort put forth by the niners and I thinK Coach Major was a good hire. I see the team playing with better fundamentals and I hope they will get the turnover problem under control. Without a 'true' point guard it will be tough. I think both Derrio and Duece make adequate backup PGs, but without a better ball handler and leader on the floor, TO's will continue to be an issue.
I am optimistic for the future of the program under Coach Major.
And thanks for the coverage of the 49ers!

Anonymous said...

6:58....you're lying.