Pilots Lose 78-73

Well rats... I thought we had a chance the whole way, but we could never get over the hump. What did the Pilots in was that stretch early in the second half where PSU pulled away to about a 10 point lead and UP just could never get it any closer.

The Vikings were hot shooting from the outside... it felt like they hit nearly all of their open threes, which is always a good recipe for success. And UP really didn't have an answer defensively for Morrison - it scares me to think what a really talented big guy could do against us, someone like Heytvelt or even Samhan from Saint Mary's. Knutson played him pretty tough but got into foul trouble, Jasonn has the size but not the wherewithall yet, Smeulders didn't have the strength, and Sikma was just plain undersized. But I'm not discouraged... we're talking about three freshmen and a sophomore.

Raivio was terrific - he really put the team on his back late in the game despite playing with a stitched up chin. Watson had a great stretch midway through the second half where he kept the Pilots in the game when no one else was scoring - great to see the senior do that. Both Raivio and Watson finished with 20.

Sikma was a beast on the boards, especially in the first half... I think he had nine in the first half and 14 overall. Also had two blocks, two steals and two assists. He had 12 points on 5-6 shooting... he was a perfect 5-5 against OSU... he is shooting 60% on the season... why are we not getting him more shots??? I really can't say enough about Sikma - he's leading us in rebounding (10.7pg), field goal percentage (60%), blocks (1.4pg), assists (3.1pg) and steals (1.9pg). Wow. And he's scoring 9.3 points a game and shooting 36% from three to boot. We've got ourselves a player in Sikma, and I really can't wait to watch him develop. It may be early, but in my view he's a multiple-year first team all-WCC player.

Stohl had a tough shooting night, but I love that he kept on gunning. He's been put in a tough spot playing a lot of minutes with Ito out, but even with a poor shooting night I love his game. He's still got to improve his handles and defense though.

Smeulders had a pretty disappointing night. Three points isn't going to cut it, and he seemed to not be able to get many looks at the basket tonight. Just one of those games, I guess, as he seemed to be out of his rhythm all game. Still, we needed his points tonight.

On a positive note, we did a much better job controlling the ball... only 12 turnovers!

Anyway, it was fun to see Dominguez play again... he had a nice all-around game and made some big plays down the stretch. I hope he continues to have a nice season for the Vikings.

Definitely a bummer of a game... coulda, shoulda, woulda once again. We've got a big challenge ahead of us against BYU... let's hope we can put on a good show and stay competitive!

Yeah, that one was a bit hard to watch. Smeulders struggled, and that hurt, because we need bigs that are a scoring threat in order to get any kind of inside-outside game going, as PSU had with Morrison in there. Smeulders doesn't have the bulk, so he's gotta use his speed.

58% from the line doesn't help, either. Ouch.

Sikma simply has great basketball instincts. Once these young guys have more experience playing ball at this level, they could become very good.

Nothing against Ito, but anyone else think Raivio did a good turn at point?

Any news on when Porter might be back?

Did Raivio need stitches when he went to the locker room? He was really bleeding and got his bell rung pretty good. He played a heck of a game in the 2nd half.

Sikma, Watson, and Raivio were fun to watch. They made some big shots in the 2nd half to keep the game close.

P.S. The black walls behind the baskets look great.

I saw the gash from the behind the drumset. It was probably an inch long and looked pretty deep. I bet it hurt like a sonuvabitch. I think stitches were required, yeah.

Were you guys playing a theme song from a TV show in the 80s late in the second half? It was killing me trying to figure it out... :-\

Not all was lost: At least Stonehouse hit the rim at halftime....

Noooooo, Stoney, you were in the halftime show!!!???

We played "Secret Agent Man" and an old CBS sports theme called "Championship" in the 2nd half, and "Peter Gunn" after the game.

That was my first time seeing the men live this year, and they looked really good at times. A little experience and the freshmen will be a strong core in time.

As I remarked to PilotDrummer, Hannibal vaguely resembles Greg Oden, if Greg actually looked 19 years old and not in his 30s.

Ahh yes, the CBS Sports theme. That was driving me nuts last night. Thanks for the information. :-)

so--Marty

where'd you finally pick to eat?

I see Purple Pride Trumpet beat me to it...those were the songs you guys were hearing.

Cool thing about Hannibal...I believe he's a music major (plays string bass in the UP Orchestra).

Sikma and Raivio sure inherited the basketball gene. Raivio made some incredible shots including one very deep three. Sikma was unstoppable at times. Pilots should be excited about their future with so many freshmen and sophomores playing.

Hopefully the Vikings are making this a true rivalry by tightening up the recent series record to 7-5.

Purplegeezer wrote:so--Marty

where'd you finally pick to eat?

I should be ashamed. Ended up having a dog at the arena. Ended up leaving work late and had to run and pick up my Dad downtown, would have been late if we'd have stopped off somewhere. I'll be checking out another Pilot (girlfriend graduated from UP) game or two this year, so the listed place won't go unused. Thanks everyone for the suggestions. :-)