..Can you say Big Game?

      The Panther Express continued to roll last weekend holding off a very hot and tougher-than-expected Bowdoin squad at Pepin. 'ThePolarBears' shot 66% in the second half (6 of 8 from 3-land) and made some from spots beyond the arc that have had little traffic since yours truly was firing them up from just over the horizon 40-plus years ago. They kept coming on late, and only a top performance from the free throw line kept them at bay. That illustrated two salient points about 'TheBoys' this season. Midd is now a much tougher out than even our recent editions, because they've shed the moribund (low-60's) FT percentage and are now in the mid-70's, and have learned to keep the ball in the hands of our best shooters with the game on the line. That means that down the stretch, 'TheBigDog', Ryan Sharry gets it down low where the result is usually a deuce or a visit to the line, Jake, or Joey, who has the stroke and requisite ice-water in his veins (he's at 90%) to be the closer.

      The second key point is that we have enough offensive balance to offset a team that gets very hot. This is a necessity if The Boys are going to make a deep post season run. Although our team 'D' is solid - and we've got a lot of contributors, we haven't shown the knockout punch that the defense specialized in last year. All that having been said, it's my take that this group is more versatile, that Ryan is pretty much unstoppable down low, (especially when Peter Lynch, the new #44, is in the game), and that the G. rotation, particularly Joey, continues to improve, mature and mesh on both ends. That versatitlity, and our depth was on display in the Colby game. Colby tried hard, but was badly overmatched, and the 'D' rose up especially by the mid-second half  as the lead stretched out to 64-36. Everybody got some minutes-nice especially for Winslow and Carl G. who have soldiered on, and played well. Also notable, was yet another good segment by 'The Smoothie', Dylan Sinnickson. In a group of frosh that makes the future bright, he is currently the leader, and from what I've seen, the best of the nescac. Dean B. is starting to find his way out there in 3-land, more comfortable,his release is improving as he transitions from being a high school '4' to a '3'. Also liked the way that Eamon Cuddy handled himself, think he'll be heard from. 'Winston' could've brought the house down with thunder dunk, didn't make up his mind before taking off, but left everyone with the realization that it's there. He did make a sweet back door pass to a cutter for a bucket.

      Tonight Trinity will be scrapping and clawing as they try to hold onto the last playoff spot in the nescacs. Their frosh are now carrying a lot of the load, so they have a different look than The Boys have seen, but it's my take that most nights they don't score the ball well, and are inconsistent at best from the outside. We're better up front, our G. rotation has more working parts, and the depth down the bench give us recognizable advantages. But this is 'the road' and it is in a building where we've yet to take early control of a game. As always, counting on JeffB's preparation to focus on the business of the now against a team that is 'do-able'. Hoping that it's not a nail-biter so that our main guys don't have to go past 28 minutes, but that may be wishful thinking on the road.

      Can you say Big Game? That's tomorrow in front of TheLordJeffNation. Number 6 hosting Number 2! More or less the season on the brink. The winner gets to host the nescacs -a huge advantage. The winner will be the undisputed #1 in the ncaa regional rankings, and that will have a serious bearing on who is #1 in the eastern half of ncaa brackets. 'TheBoys' have their work cut out for them. Amherst has firepower, solid G. play, 'Bigs' that can hurt you, and home cookin'. My take is that if we cover Barrise on the arc and don't let him get going from 3, that's a big plus. That means Toomey will have to try and do more on offense, which should be to our benefit. Workman, their '3', has not really shot the ball that well from outside this year and is more of a 'slasher that can be defended.  Which Waller shows up may be the deciding factor. He has strung together several good outings of late, but has serious tendencies to be lazy on  'D', and reach, and thus is foul prone and which limits his minutes and them. My take is that as good as Toomey's press releases have been, Joey has an edge. And Jake and Nolan always show up, particularly in big spots -got to think this will be one of them. And 'TheBigDog' will be the best 'big' in the building. We've got to get him north of 18 attempts preferably down low, and his bark will keep TheLordJeffs off the porch. Slight edge - Panthers!

      Of course for our newly minted fans, who think they might encounter breathing problems during the game, lamaze sessions are available on the Panther Express during the pre-game hours. If you think you can handle it, without the lamaze, the rest of us will be at The Pub in Amherst about 1:45 for burgers and beers. Hope you can make it- it oughtta be a helluva game. Remember, down LordJeffrey's snooty nose, off the wall of the 'cage', past Hixon's shoe, nothin' but net. bew ell. Clubbo.