The Mocs did a lot of things right in this game and if it was not for the 19-0 run in the middle part of the first half (along with a 8:40 scoring drought), the Mocs might have just won this game.
They lost the battle of the boards, but that was largely due to the high percentage of shots the Bears made (as evidenced by the OR%, which the Mocs had the advantage in). They turned the ball over fewer times than the Bears- a very acceptable thirteen. Those thirteen turnovers were not that bad against a team that had been forcing a high percentage of turnovers. It was still probably too many, given the low number of possessions in the game. Also, the Mocs got to the free throw line more frequently than the Bears, though not a particularly high percentage.
The Bears had been attempting threes on 33.1% of their possessions heading into the game. They had only been making 31.6% of their threes on the year. This was one of the reasons I thought the Mocs had a real chance in this one. The Bears made 37.9% of their threes in this one. They took threes on nearly 56% of their shots in this game. They made eleven threes. This was the main reason the Bears won- a team that has not been shooting a lot of threes, and has not been making a lot, took way more than usual, and made more than usual. Blame the Fire defense if you want, but the fact is that the Mocs aren't playing the Fire defense, and are still allowing far too many threes. As discussed earlier this year, the best way to play three point defense was to not allow teams to shoot threes, and the Mocs allow way too many three pointers to be attempted against them.
The Mocs also fell into some old habits in this one. The Mocs have not been shooting a high percentage of threes this year. However, in this one, they shot nearly 50% of their shots from three point range. It's almost unacceptable that Drazen Zlovaric got only two shots off in this game. He was a perfect two for two. He is not aggressive enough when he gets the ball, it seems like.
Z Mason took ten shots, so that worked. Gee McGhee showed a lot of very impressive shots and moves. He made 5 of 11 from the floor. Other than his three missed free throws in a row in the latter middle part of the second half (that really hurt the Mocs at the time) McGhee played very well. He showed a lot of very nice moves today.
Rico White had a very bad game. He made just one of twelve from the floor. He needs to forget about this one and move on. He did have five assists and two turnovers, so he played pretty well there. He will have much better shooting nights.
The Mocs jumped out to a 10-5 lead, and then Mercer went on a 19-0 run. The lead grew to as much as fifteen, but outside of the 19-0 run, the Mocs played well pretty well.
I would be remiss not to mention Martynas Bareika and Alex Bran. Bareika has played much better than he did last year and has shown some vast improvement. He collected seven rebounds in this one. Bran came in and provided some instant energy and instant offense, scoring eight points in six minutes. Sam Watson also played allright. He scored a couple of big buckets.
Time to get ready for Reinhardt and not blow that one. Then, onto the Dr Pepper Classic. We'll see where things go from here.
There is hope.
GO MOCS!
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