"the 'new normal'...not for the faint-hearted"

      No post last week as we were off to Pepin and Midd environs for the annual BBall Alumni Weekend. Terrific turnout by the alums who were treated to two great efforts by 'TheBoys' in pulling away from The Camels in the second stanza on Friday. Then holding off Shasha, Callaghan and the rest of the JoeReilly's, late to post a photo-finish, O.T. win over Wesleyan. The intensity of the 'D' in the last 14 seconds was riveting, and we've heard indirectly that during Wes's late charge the pre-paid lamaze cards were in liberal use, particularly for the rookies in the crowd. As Shasha's feet slipped out trying to escape the choking tenacity that encompassed him, serious watchers knew his falling away, two-handed set from his waist wasn't going to draw iron, and the rest let out a collective whoosh before heading to the pubs to re-live the excitement.

      In case anyone thought that the nescac wasn't going to be its usual bumpy ride this season, three wins by a total of five points gives cause to pause. TheBoys put up two W's at Bates and Tufts, and overcame the great equalizer of "the road". Then they had to deal with Wesleyan's late game hot handedness (12 of 18 from the floor in the last 8:55 plus O.T.) to survive atop the nescac with Williams and Amherst. Although four-and-oh, Midd suffered more casualties in the ConnColl game. Brierly and Bullock both went down with serious injuries diving for loose balls. Reminds one of that cynical corollary to Murphy's Law- 'no good deed goes unpunished'. Dylan Sinnickson an earlier casualty of 'hustle' is still on the mend from his preseason broken arm (diving for a loose ball). Hopefully he might be ready for Amherst weekend, but that's undecided at present. As for the 'B. brothers', Nate and Dean, only time may tell, but our depth is now on thinner ice, although when pressed into service Bert Nasciemento and 'Winston' Churchill stepped right up with solid contributions in their minutes. Shows how deep the talent on this team really is, when Bert can come off the bench after sitting for two-plus seasons and drain a couple of beautiful 3-balls. That's one hot dog with plenty of mustard. 'Winston', a potential great work in progress, had said he was ready (after a long bout with mono), and played right to his words. Of course, those who think 93-10 over the last four seasons is the new normal, expect JeffB. to keep bringing guys up from down the bench and keep the play at championship levels.  So far they haven't been disappointed.

      Hamilton is on the docket tonight. They're primarily a G. oriented team, that's been in and out but is capable when everything goes well. They scared the bejeezus out of Amherst, but couldn't close the deal after leading by four with a minute to play. Their best scorer is a frosh. Welcome to Pepin, where he gets introduced to Nolan T., maybe the most underrated big-time G. in the country. That should be enough to make his forty minutes miserable. And it isn't like the other G. is getting a walk in the park, if Joey or James matches up. Inside, 'Pedro' Lynch, at number three nationally in FG percentage, is a force. Also like the way that 'Longjack' has come on. More fire in his game. More assertion on the 'D'. With the addition of Winston inside, TheBoys ought to be able to win the battle in the paint, and because this is our only nescac dance this weekend, should be fully focused. Hamilton is definitely do-able particularly if my take on the match-ups is right. At Pepin, with the Panther Faithful in full voice, something in solid double digits is the expected margin, and then TheBoys can get ready for the trip to Williams next weekend, to see who gets the first leg up on hosting the nescacs.

       Remember: "down 'The Alibi' stairs, past Moose Provancha's gas pumps, by Duke Nelson snoring with his feet uop on the desk, off Old Albert's cage, nothin' but net." Be well. Clubbo.