The Morning Dish – Monday, December 2nd, 2002
by Andrew Flynn
The big story from yesterday has to do with the College of Charleston. Wow. How often is that going to be the first sentence of this column? The Cougars won the Great Alaska Shootout this past weekend by defeating a strong Villanova squad 71-69, with A.J. Harris’ lay-up with ten seconds remaining. Charleston, who is now 5-0 on the season, was led by Tournament MVP Troy Wheless, who notched 22 against the Wildcats, along with Thomas Mobley’s 17 points.
Villanova’s downfall was the physical full-court press the Cougars used against them, holding them to only one field goal in the final ten minutes. However, it was still close due to poor shooting all around – both teams were under 33& from the field. The game was sloppy on the floor as well, as ‘Nova turned the ball over 20 times. The Cougars now have to avoid being this year’s Ball State, who won large in Maui last year, but lost their tournament and didn’t get to go dancing come March.
In the consolation game, the Oklahoma State Cowboys came back to down Michigan State, 64-61. Michigan State should book other events for their tournament – Alaska doesn’t seem to agree with them.
Side Dishes
Happy Birthday to Us: Tomorrow, December 3rd, is the one year mark of our launch. A lot has happened since then. We’ve had almost 400 articles written by 52 different writers, including over 150 so far this season, which is impressive, considering the season is only ten days old. We have also secured the Hoopville.com domain name (which we didn’t have originally), and have been getting attention and linked from other outlets. Looking forward to a great year two!
These Things Go Down: UCLA lost to Duke to open the season 0-2 for the first time in 40-plus seasons. Now everyone is making this into a big deal, similar to UNC’s early losses last season, but c’mon, this 84-73 loss was to Duke, not to Davidson and Hampton. There’s a subtle difference. Granted the close loss to San Diego was a bitter pill to swallow, but the Westwood faithful shouldn’t be grousing just yet. Though it was rather embarrassing when Coach K pulled most of his starters towards the end.
Not Exactly the Beanpot, but: Holy Cross, toughened by their earlier matchup with Kansas, downed Big East foe Boston College, 71-70. Crusader Brian Wilson (obviously not lying in bed) sank what ended up being the winning free throws with under ten seconds in regulation to seal the deal. Wilson ended up with 18 points in the back-and-forth contest, which ended BC’s 12-game dominance over Holy Cross. The Eagles tried to tie with an errant three, but BC’s Craig Smith, who recorded an 18/13 double-double, was unable to draw the foul on the tip-in at the buzzer.
Red Storm Rising: St. John’s forward Grady Reynolds has been charged with third-degree battery, stemming from pushing a female student and swim team member, who sustained a dislocated knee in the incident. Reynolds will continue to play while the school investigates.
Tonight’s Menu:
• Marquette visits the Golden Dome, as the Golden Eagle comes into Notre Dame for what should be an intriguing matchup.
• The Crusaders of Valpo drive down to Cincinnati to face the Bearcats. Cincinnati should win handily, but if this game was in March, it would be more interesting.
• Washington hits I-90 for an early season showdown for Washington supremacy by facing Gonzaga. This will be the first real test for new coach Lorenzo Romar’s Huskies.
That’s it for this Monday. Enjoy!
