Published: Thursday, January 11, 2007
Thiel's men roll past Grove City
The Tomcats overcame early foul problems to post a 71-57 victory.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
GREENVILLE, Pa. — After spending a lot of time on the road, Thiel men's basketball coach Tim Loomis wasn't exactly sure how his players would respond to playing a conference game at home.
However, as things turned out, the Tomcats didn't disappoint their first-year coach as they defeated Grove City, 71-57, at Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasia Wednesday.
"I wasn't sure how we would play at home because we haven't been here for quite a while," said Loomis. "It was a great win for us tonight by the bench and that was good to see because we haven't had that yet this year. We had a lot of guys in there who normally don't play that much, and they held their ground.
"I thought if we would be down seven or eight at the half, we would be in good shape and as it turned out, they [bench players] did a great job for us. I don't know the last time Thiel was 2-1 in the conference, but that is a credit to the kids and how hard they are working."
There was good news for the Tomcats during the opening five minutes of the game as they rode seven points from Joe Herrmann to a quick 9-2 lead.
However, for the final 15 minutes of the opening period, it was anything good for Thiel as the Wolverines played solid ball on both ends of the floor to take at 35-28 lead at halftime.
Mirizio in early trouble
"A big part of that was [point guard Brandon] Mirizio sitting on the bench with foul problems," said Loomis. "Tony [White] did a great job, but when Mirizio is not in there, we sometimes have problems running set plays."
During the opening 20 minutes, personal fouls were a thorn in the side of the Tomcats as they were whistled 17 times to 10 for the Wolverines. As a result, Grove City made 18 trips to the free throw line compared to just eight for the 'Cats.
"We didn't make it to the free throw line much until late in the half," noted Loomis. "I think we were a little over-excited defensively. I kept stressing to our guys that they had to get after them because they [Grove City] have guards that can really shoot so we were out on them, pressuring them really hard."
As for the first half, Grove City coach Steve Lamie felt it might have been one of the best his team had played.
"I thought that was one of the best in terms of maintaining our composure and also the intensity we had," said Lamie. "We were able to draw a lot of fouls and I think that was due to our running our offense aggressively."
Tomcats make big run
The Wolverines extended their margin to 11 on a bucket by Mark Smith and two free throws by Ryan Gibson, but that is when Thiel responded with a 17-3 run to take a 47-42 lead midway through the second period. The Tomcats led by as many as 10 (56-46) with six minutes remaining.
"As for the second half, you have to give Thiel a lot of credit because I thought their defense was solid," Lamie said. "[Joe] Herrmann got hot and they just owned us on the boards in the second half. We couldn't keep up with them off the boards and then the foul situation was just reversed from the first half and I think that was due to them running their offense pretty darn aggressively."
Loomis put the ball into Mirizo's hands and the point guard took care of business.
"I said it [the ball] had to be in his [Mirizio's] hands or Joe Herrmann's to make the free throws," noted Loomis. "They both came through with solid efforts and iced the game out for us."
Herrmann leads way
Herrmann had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"I worked hard working in the offseason, lifting and doing other things," said Herrmann. "Down the stretch, the plan was to have Mirizio and Cory Chafee penetrate and have me seal up in the lane. If they had the shot, I just crashed the boards or if I was open on the seal, dump the ball into me and it worked."
Thursday, January 11, 2007
The Tomcats overcame early foul problems to post a 71-57 victory.
By BILL ALBRIGHT
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
GREENVILLE, Pa. — After spending a lot of time on the road, Thiel men's basketball coach Tim Loomis wasn't exactly sure how his players would respond to playing a conference game at home.
However, as things turned out, the Tomcats didn't disappoint their first-year coach as they defeated Grove City, 71-57, at Rissell-Beeghly Gymnasia Wednesday.
"I wasn't sure how we would play at home because we haven't been here for quite a while," said Loomis. "It was a great win for us tonight by the bench and that was good to see because we haven't had that yet this year. We had a lot of guys in there who normally don't play that much, and they held their ground.
"I thought if we would be down seven or eight at the half, we would be in good shape and as it turned out, they [bench players] did a great job for us. I don't know the last time Thiel was 2-1 in the conference, but that is a credit to the kids and how hard they are working."
There was good news for the Tomcats during the opening five minutes of the game as they rode seven points from Joe Herrmann to a quick 9-2 lead.
However, for the final 15 minutes of the opening period, it was anything good for Thiel as the Wolverines played solid ball on both ends of the floor to take at 35-28 lead at halftime.
Mirizio in early trouble
"A big part of that was [point guard Brandon] Mirizio sitting on the bench with foul problems," said Loomis. "Tony [White] did a great job, but when Mirizio is not in there, we sometimes have problems running set plays."
During the opening 20 minutes, personal fouls were a thorn in the side of the Tomcats as they were whistled 17 times to 10 for the Wolverines. As a result, Grove City made 18 trips to the free throw line compared to just eight for the 'Cats.
"We didn't make it to the free throw line much until late in the half," noted Loomis. "I think we were a little over-excited defensively. I kept stressing to our guys that they had to get after them because they [Grove City] have guards that can really shoot so we were out on them, pressuring them really hard."
As for the first half, Grove City coach Steve Lamie felt it might have been one of the best his team had played.
"I thought that was one of the best in terms of maintaining our composure and also the intensity we had," said Lamie. "We were able to draw a lot of fouls and I think that was due to our running our offense aggressively."
Tomcats make big run
The Wolverines extended their margin to 11 on a bucket by Mark Smith and two free throws by Ryan Gibson, but that is when Thiel responded with a 17-3 run to take a 47-42 lead midway through the second period. The Tomcats led by as many as 10 (56-46) with six minutes remaining.
"As for the second half, you have to give Thiel a lot of credit because I thought their defense was solid," Lamie said. "[Joe] Herrmann got hot and they just owned us on the boards in the second half. We couldn't keep up with them off the boards and then the foul situation was just reversed from the first half and I think that was due to them running their offense pretty darn aggressively."
Loomis put the ball into Mirizo's hands and the point guard took care of business.
"I said it [the ball] had to be in his [Mirizio's] hands or Joe Herrmann's to make the free throws," noted Loomis. "They both came through with solid efforts and iced the game out for us."
Herrmann leads way
Herrmann had 23 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
"I worked hard working in the offseason, lifting and doing other things," said Herrmann. "Down the stretch, the plan was to have Mirizio and Cory Chafee penetrate and have me seal up in the lane. If they had the shot, I just crashed the boards or if I was open on the seal, dump the ball into me and it worked."
Thursday, January 11, 2007
After spending a lot of time on the road, Thiel men's basketball coach Tim Loomis wasn't exactly sure how his players...
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