Cox Communications Classic – Day Two
NORFOLK, Va. – The theme of day two at the Cox Communications Classic should be that it was a new day. After no team really impressed on Friday, all four teams clearly looked better on Saturday.
The stage is set for Sunday’s games likely in the way the organizers would have figured. The first game will pit two 0-2 teams against one another, while the last game of the tournament will decide the winner as Old Dominion and Clemson will face off with 2-0 records.
Old Dominion (2-0) 69, Arkansas State (0-2) 61
The bench made all the difference for Old Dominion.
Trailing 7-2 just over two minutes into the game, Monarchs head coach Blaine Taylor changed course in a big way: he subbed in five new players.
“We came out flat. We didn’t come out and play like we wanted to play,” said senior point guard Drew Williamson. “You can’t blame him for taking us out.”
“I didn’t say anything, did I?” Taylor said of his response to his starters. “The guys that are out there knew they didn’t get the job done, so I didn’t need to tell them twice.”
After falling behind by three more, the reserves went on a 17-5 run to give the Monarchs the lead. Brandon Johnson brought some of the life to the game, finishing with seven assists, five in the first half. Freshman Marsharee Neely had just five points, but was aggressive and showed how athletic he is. Arnaud Dahi gave them a lift after not starting. During the run, Abdi Lidonde nailed a three-pointer.
The Monarchs would surrender the lead a little later, but would regain it for good by scoring 11 unanswered points for a 30-20 lead late in the first half. They never led by single digits in the second half until the final seconds in their 69-61 win over Arkansas State.
Two seniors did a lot of the damage in the second half, as Valdas Vasylius had 14 of his 17 points in the second half, while Williamson had 10 of his 17 after intermission and had six steals for the game.
Arkansas State didn’t go quietly, especially in the final minutes as they finished the game on a 10-3 run. The Indians shot over 68 percent from the field in the second half and didn’t go away easily despite Isaac Wells fouling out with over nine minutes left to play.
Adrian Banks led the Indians with 20 points and freshman point guard Ryan Wedel had 15 points and six assists. Wedel really acquitted himself well after a tough collegiate debut in Friday night’s blowout loss, and he looks like a promising floor leader that will only make them better.
Clemson (2-0) 77, Monmouth (0-2) 65
On a couple of occasions, Clemson looked like they could take over the game at any time, only to have Monmouth take back the momentum. Later in the second half, they didn’t lose that momentum, taking over the game on a 23-8 run en route to a 77-65 win over the Hawks.
The Tigers didn’t start out well, as Monmouth ran out to a 17-5 lead behind Dejan Delic, who scored eight points and assisted on two baskets. The Tigers would then rally with 11 unanswered points, taking the lead later before a back-and-forth finish to the half.
Several times the Tigers made plays that suggested they were ready to take over the game. Each time, Monmouth answered; there were two ties and five lead changes in the second half. They took a 57-54 lead on a three-pointer by Delic, who finished with 18 points, with 9:01 left. That’s when the Tigers started their decisive run with 13 unanswered points.
Tiger forward James Mays scored all 18 of his points in the second half and added nine rebounds and five steals. He made a big difference at both ends, especially when they pressed. Clemson was never the same after he was ineligible for the second semester last season, and clearly they have a good look with him in the lineup.
Freshman Trevor Booker looked good again as well for the Tigers, scoring 12 points on 6-8 shooting. The Tigers’ guards also shot it well from long range, as Vernon Hamilton, Cliff Hammonds and K.C. Rivers combined to go 8-17 from downtown.
Monmouth looked like they could come out on top for much of the game. Whitney Coleman had a better night at the offensive end with 17 points, including 3-5 on three-pointers. Where Monmouth lost the game was on turnovers, as they had 25 and Clemson scored 33 points off them. Coleman and fellow sophomore Mike Shipman each had five turnovers and freshman Jahmar Youngblood had three. Head coach Dave Calloway chalks that up to their relative inexperience, and while his team clearly played better on Saturday, that’s not enough.
“The bottom line is, we’re still 0-2,” Calloway reflected. “We didn’t come here to get moral victories, we came here to play basketball games, and we haven’t won any yet.”
The Hawks also were not helped by the officials. There were a number of plays where a Clemson player made a good deal of contact and it was let go, but the box score has the telling statistic: 17 second-half fouls against Monmouth with the matchup zone defense, six against Clemson.
