NM State Aggies vs UTRGV Vaqueros Women’s Basketball 1-26-19

 

Ooh, aren’t they glamorous?  Today’s game was “Twins Day” to celebrate the senior Mills twins, Dominique and Monique.  Twins would get free admission for the game.  I doubt the university took a bath on gate revenue.  PA Ed gave out several twins facts during the game.  I had the radio call in my ear, so I never clearly heard any of them.   

“Taste this and see if it’s okay.”  These are not the words you want to hear from a concession vendor, but at least they were thoughtful.  Thankfully, my raspberry tea was fine.  Before the game, I was watching a Women’s Basketball game in the Patriot League on Stadium.  There was a crowd shot of a group of tweener girls in the bleachers sharing a full pizza out of a box.  I got jealous.  “Why can’t we have that?"  Ron, who was with me, chuckled when I told him about it.  

At least I looked good in my new crimson and white sweater.  I’d gotten it for Christmas and I’d been saving it for game wear.  I had my Aggie button on it to make it official.  On court, the first thing I noticed was a UTRGV player with blue hair, #23 Makaela Mosley.  #15 Nichele Hyman also stood out being black, but with spectacular blonde hair.  As usual, the opponents also had a good-looking blonde assistant coach.  Is there any way of meeting anybody on visiting teams (especially certain Brazilian volleyball players or certain softball catchers [Actually, I did sort of meet Basia Query.  I should have taken better advantage of that.])? 

On the Aggie side, Stabresa McDaniel was again not in the game.  Assistant Coach McAdams (very well-spoken I might add) didn’t mention her at all on the Aggie Coaches Show this week.  He did ask host Adam Young if he had any ideas on how to keep Brooke Salas out of foul trouble.  They’ve tried to impress upon her that she adds no value to the team sitting on the bench.  Adenike Aderinto was back for today’s game and saw some limited action.  Kaeli Atkinson was a surprise starter. 

It could be worse with injuries.  I missed a Lady Miners game this week that was played at 9:00am.  They talked about the game later on Sportstalk.  The team only had six players who were able to play.  The rest of them overslept.  (Just kidding.)  Needless to say, they lost. 

It was a good crowd today.  It had some energy to it.  There were plenty of kids, some were girls on various high school and middle school basketball teams.  There was an Aggie Women’s team in attendance for the first half, but neither Ron nor myself could identify which team.  Swim and Dive?  Some of the Volleyball girls were present.  They got put on camera once and they started laughing at the attention.  The Roadrunner Review Band was playing a recent pop song when I came in, but I couldn’t identify before it ended. 

First Quarter

I was off by one point in my original scoring.  This game was intense enough to where I was definitely questioning why I was scoring and note taking.  In the third quarter, I was ready to give up so I could watch and enjoy the game and not miss anything.  Certainly it was hard to cheer along with writing and watching.  I didn’t even talk to Ron for most of the game. 

[I’m writing this under some extreme duress, by the way.  Some guy outside is working on his car and playing his radio full blast outside my window.  Gangster rap?  No.  It’s an oldies station.  I’m hearing, “IF YOU LIKE PINA COLOTAS!  AND GETTING CAUGHT IN THE RAIN!”  I want to go outside and confront this guy.  “Sir, perhaps you’d like to examine your life choices that brought you to this very embarrassing moment.”]    

This game could not have started off better for the Aggies.  Usually, you get singular good plays to note.  The first quarter started off with a string of them, thus causing me to scramble.  I’ll try to recount it here.  Brooke began the game with a steal.  Kalei got fouled on the fast break and converted a free throw.  There was another Aggie steal, which resulted in Dominique getting a layup.  Brooke got another steal and a layup.  At 5-0 Aggies, UTRGV took a timeout.

Right out of the break, Brooke got another steal.  No points came of it, but she did pick up a foul.  Next exchange, Monique got a steal.  Gia Pack would be fouled and convert on the shots.  The Mills sisters ganged up on a Vaquero player at halfcourt and forced a turnover.  Brooke got another steal.  D took a header in the goal padding after a collision with a Vaquero trying to stop the fast break.  Dominique was okay, though her tightly pulled red hair let loose a strand that gave her this messy, sexy look for the rest of the game. 

Next, UTRGV turned it over on a travel.  (There were a bunch of those calls in the game.  They’re like double touches in volleyball.  Some refs call it more than others.)  Next time down, the Vaqueros lost the ball on a pass under the basket.  By this point, the Aggies were putting their subs in.  Tayelin Grays would hit a three.  With three minutes left in the quarter, #34 Megan Johnson hit a basket for UTRGV’s first points.  It was 12-2 Aggies.

“Finally!” murmured one of the Cheerleaders as she stormed by in front of us.  The Cheerleaders had been standing in aisles for about 15 minutes waiting for the opposing team to score.  Most of the crowd had sat down during the timeout.  Me and a couple of other guys were still standing.  (Yes, that made it harder to take notes.)  I’ll be honest.  Perhaps this is a tradition that needs to be rethought. 

That was seven minutes of awesome defense.  From here, the game proceeded a bit more normally.  Mo got in a collision at halfcourt going for a steal.  She was knocked to the floor, but was okay afterward.  Gia and Brooke went out before the end of the quarter.  Of note for the Vaqueros, #4 Idil Turk hit a pair of three’s to get them back into the game.  It was 16-8 Aggies after ten minutes.

Second Quarter

Brooke picked up her second foul early and stayed out for the rest of the half.  Other Aggies picked up the slack.  Mo got a steal.  Gia went on a run with two threes and another basket.  “Gia for three-a!”  Okay, there’s a call that needs to be squashed immediately.  You know who you are.  Timeout UTRGV at 26-11 Aggies. 

However, the Aggies were fouling at a prodigious rate.  With six minutes left, the Vaqueros were already in the bonus.  The Band started doing a new tomahawk chop yell during opposing free throws and got plenty of practice.  The Vaqueros had whittled it down from a 15-point lead to an eight-point one.  D finally got a basket to end a three-minute scoring drought.  It was 34-26 Aggies at the half.

Halftime

The Cheerleaders rolled out some mats on the floor.  Two little girls gymnastics teams performed.  I think they were winners from the cheer competition last week.  Before halftime, Pistol Pete came around and interacted with some kids.  It was cute.  A father and his little daughter sat in front of us for a bit right before the buzzer.  They were really into the game.  That was also cute.

Third Quarter

Hold on to your hollycocks here.  It’s about to get real.  Gia had her pocket picked, which led to a layup and the lead was down to six.  Kalei picked up her fourth foul.  Gia was called for a charge, which was her third foul.  The lead was down to three.  The UTRGV bench was fully into it.  Five minutes in and the Aggies had already put them in the bonus.  Timeout. 

For Twin Day, there was a three-legged race during the break.  It was two band guys versus two middle school girl basketball players.  The guys tripped and fell.  One tried to drag the other along anyway.  The girls won easy.  The guys seemed okay with it.

The Vaqueros were fouling a bunch too.  The Aggies got into the bonus a minute later.  Brooke collided with a bigger player in the lane.  They had a staredown for a moment and I thought there was about to be fight.  Tayelin got a layup after a steal.  D got a full court layup and a foul shot.  The lead, which had been down to two, went back up to six.

Brooke was called for her third foul.  I admit I didn’t see it, but the rest of the crowd was up in arms.  Ron said it shouldn’t have been called.  Adam on the radio had also questioned a call earlier.  This crew may have been a bit shaky, though there were so many fouls in this quarter, it must have been hard to call.  Brooke stayed in.  Pam Wilmore got a steal under the basket and an assist to Brooke, who finished the play with a layup.  49-44 Aggies.  I was winded and I was just watching and writing.

Fourth Quarter

Dino Dash!  I was afraid they’d canceled the event, but they’d just moved it to later in the game to keep the crowd around longer.  (Actually, I have no idea why.)  Ah, watching people in dinosaur suits tripping and shoving each other never gets old.  In spite of a fairly static format, the conflict always seems to result in a unique combat performance.

The fouling continued.  D went right to the nail and hit a free throw for her sixteenth point.  A lone voice on the UTRGV bench started yelling, “Miss it!” during Aggie free throws.  It was somewhat obnoxious.  I never identified the player.  I noticed she wasn’t doing it during Brooke’s free throws.

Gia was back in and firing.  She had a pair of three’s and with five minutes left, and the lead was back to ten.  Brooke then hit a pull up three from downtown to make it 62-49.  The crowd roared.  Unfortunately, she then picked up her fourth foul with four minutes left.  Idil Turk, not a big player, had driven the lane and went right at her.  It was a heady play.  Brooke wasn’t able to be aggressive defense after this. 

#5 Jameka Dowell fouled out on a Gia basket, which gave her a three-point play.  The Mills sisters ran square into each other on court.  It was a bit an indicator that both teams were exhausted from the furious play.  Nichele Hyman had run in a couple of layups.  Turk was feeling it again with another three and a steal and a layup. 

It was a six-point lead with 40 seconds left.  UTRGV started intentionally fouling.  The Aggies weren’t making all of them, but made enough to increase the lead.  Dominique finished the game with a steal.  She just missed a layup at the buzzer, but was all smiles afterward.  71-63 Aggies is your final.

Sharpshooter Idil Turk was as advertised to lead UTRGV with 19 points and four three-pointers.  Madison Northcutt had 12.  Nichele Hyman was also clutch for them with 10 points, six in the fourth quarter.  Gia Pack, today’s high-scorer with 22, ran into the crowd after to see her parents, who were at the game.  I’m sure they were proud.  Her parents also got pictures and hugs with the Mills sisters as they went by.  (I’m available for hugs too ladies.)  Dominique Mills had a career-high game with 19 points.  Brooke Salas had her usual greatness with a double-double, 19 points and 11 rebounds. 

I’m not sure how many steals the Aggies ended up with, but UTRGV had 25 turnovers, way more than their average.  They did however beat the Aggies in rebounds going +11.  I think our take-away from the game is that with Brooke, Gia, and D on the court, this team pretty good.  Foul trouble may be the only thing holding them back.

After the game and dinner, Ron and I went back to my apartment to watch a movie.  I’d told Ron last weekend that, while I’d seen the entire Stargate SG-1 and Atlantis series, I’d never seen the original movie.  (I did see some of the Universe series, not a fan.)  Ron felt that needed to be corrected immediately.  I enjoyed it, not that you need a review of a 30-year-old movie (or however old it is). 

However, I basically missed the Aggie Men playing the Vaqueros on the road.  I heard about the last five minutes (game time) on the radio.  It was a very exciting part to listen to though.  The Aggies had a three-point lead with 38 seconds left.  Ivan Aurrecoechea got a dunk, but was injured on the play and had to come out.  His status was unresolved after the game.  It doesn’t look good. 

AJ Harris hit a free throw to make it a four-point lead.  The Vaqueros answered with a three to make it a one-point game with 20 seconds left.  Jabari Rice was fouled and hit one free throw, but UTRGV immediately tied the game on a layup.  Eli Chuha came right back with a layup to give the Aggies back the lead.  There was time for a last second shot, but Shunn Buchanan stole the ball to end it.  63-61 Aggies and a sweep over UTRGV today.

Sports Journal January 19-20, 2019

1-19-19

After watching a successful Aggie Women’s Basketball game this afternoon, I listened to the Aggie Men playing Utah Valley on the road in the evening.  Jack Nixon reported that everyone was over the flu.  They’d certainly need everyone tonight, as they were playing a team with the second-longest home winning streak in the country.

First Half

On the Aggies’ first possession, Johnny McCants went for a three.  The shot missed, but he got the rebound and laid it in.  On the second possession, Terrell Brown missed the shot, but again grabbed the rebound and got the bucket.  However, the Wolverines went on a 14-point run for a 10-22 lead.  Timeout Aggies.  I’m not sure I understand what happened next.  Somehow a production equipment wire got caught in one of the goals?  Mohamed Thiam dislodged it.  Jack credited him with an assist.

This clearly sparked the Aggies as they went on an 8-point run.  Trevelin Queen (I love the alliteration on that name) hit a three to get it to 23-26.  With five minutes left, the Aggies got it within one, but then they gave up a three and a layup.  It was 33-39 Utah Valley at the half.

Second Half

The Aggies again got it within one on a couple of three’s.  They’d take the lead on an AJ Harris’ three.  With 10 minutes left in the game, the lead started going back-and-forth on alternating possessions.  Eli Chuha already had a double double with 7 minutes left.  The Aggies got into the double bonus with 5 minutes left.  There were lots of fouls in this game.  The Wolverines had several players with four fouls, though none fouled out.     

The Aggies got out to a 3-point lead and took a timeout with 3 minutes left.  AJ came out and hit a three to make it a 6-point lead.  Jojo Zamora then hit a three to make it 77-70 Aggies with one minute left.  All those fouls would come back and haunt the Wolverines at the end.  AJ and Terrell hit 6-straight free throws at the end to ice the game.  83-78 Aggies win! 

Well, the Wolverines had broken the Aggies’ home winning streak last year, so this was just returning the favor.  Coach Jans was happy in the postgame to give you an idea of what he thought of the team’s performance.  Eli Chuha had 20 points with 14 rebounds.  AJ Harris and Terrell Brown each had 19.  Jojo Zamora had 13.  Here’s your stat of the game: the Aggies were 83% on free throws and +11 over the Wolverines in making them.

  

At this point, I should have started writing up the Women’s game, but I couldn’t quite turn off the TV that I’d left on during the Men’s game.  Groan.  Alright let’s get to it.  Later that night, Manny Pacquaio fought Adrien Broner in a boxing match.  Actually, if they’d played Bridge or something that would have been a tremendous surprise and perhaps more interesting.  I had hoped I’d missed this last week, but apparently the commercial that I’d seen was advertising it for this week.  I couldn’t be less enthusiastic, but since I already had the TV on, I thought I’d watch.  Two undercard matches that went the distance later, I was ready to bail, but the main event finally came on at 11:30pm two hours later.

No, I’m not even doing round-by-round scoring.  I wasn’t even going to take any notes unless something interesting happened.  In the third round, I swear Broner tried to escape the ring by ducking through the ropes.  This was probably the point where he finally fully realized that he was badly overmatched.  In the seventh, I was momentarily thrilled that the fight might end early on a TKO.  Manny had Broner on the ropes twice.  Broner could only clutch to stop the onslaught.  The ref would not stop the fight though, and Broner was saved by the bell.

Broner got his second wind and continued the fight.  He was momentarily knocked off his feet in the ninth, which got the crowd on theirs.  By the eleventh, Broner was running for his life around the ring.  The crowd did not appreciate his sprinting skill and let him hear it.  At the end of the match, Broner jumped up into a corner of the ring and held up his arms in moral victory! 

The judges disregarded his display and unanimously awarded the match to Pacquaio.  Credit to the ref for not stopping the fight prematurely, even though Broner was being used as a punching bag there in the seventh.  I think I had more fun writing this than watching it.  Oh crap, now its 12:30.  Forget writing up the Women’s game tonight.  I’m done.    

1-20-19

I guess there’s a couple of big NFL games on today, so what a great time to talk about hockey.  (Rush Limbaugh has kissed and made up with the NFL.  He’ll regret it.)  Getting back from seeing my parents, I didn’t make it back in time for the beginning of the Washington Capitals versus the Chicago Blackhawks game.  I just missed the first Blackhawk goal by seconds.  They were still showing replays of it when I turned the TV on.  That’s okay, I saw their next goal a few seconds later while changing into more comfortable clothes.  2-0 Blackhawks early in the first period.

I decided to exercise rather than sitting down to watch and take real notes.  I might have been figuring that the game wouldn’t get much more exciting.  Well, the Caps scored a goal.  The Blackhawks got another goal off of an own goal by the Caps, as a player deflected it off his hand trying to knock it away in the air.  (I thought you couldn’t get a goal on a hand pass?)  They nearly scored again, but it was waved off as the puck was actually pushed under the net.  3-1 Blackhawks.

There was a player on one of the teams named “Kookoo,” (I’m sure I’m not spelling that right).  Mike Emrick tried to explain the spelling and entomology, but it was eliciting giggles from me whenever I heard it.  There was a little segment on the horn at the United Center.  It was brought over from the old stadium.  It’s operated like an ICBM; you have to turn a key before hitting the big red button.  And, the operator’s name is Michael Horn.      

Early in the second, the Blackhawks scored again to make it 4-1.  I was calling for a goalie change and the Cap’s coach heard me.  Next up was a mass fist fight.  Then there was another fight between Alex Ovechkin and Patrick Kane.  This resulted in a 4 on 4, but then there was another penalty and another fight.  At one point, I saw four Blackhawks in the penalty box.  The refs had some confusion and everyone else shared in it.  The TV graphics displayed that it was a 4 on 3, then a 4 on 4, and then finally full strength before play actually restarted.  (I think, it was very confusing.) 

The Blackhawk goalie (whose name I didn’t quite get) made three saves in one five-second sequence.  At one point, he was sideways and airborne making a stop.  The crowd was on its feet after the play.  About a minute later, a fluky goal got right past him to make it 4-2.  That’s the way it goes sometimes. 

I had to turn away for a minute to see something at noon.  College Wrestling was on the schedule on Stadium.  There it was.  Navy was taking on Lehigh and they’d be taking on Duke afterward.  I couldn’t believe this was on over-the-air TV.  A decent crowd was there for the event.  I didn’t quite get all the rules, but I got the gist.  What I saw was interesting, but not as interesting as the hockey.

At the start of the third period, the Caps scored to get within 4-3.  Kane answered 30 seconds later on a power play to make it 5-3.  The Blackhawks made it 6-3 with Jonathan Toews scoring on a two on one breakaway.  Emrick told a story about an organist controversy at an All-Star Game in the 70’s, as the ASG is coming next week.  The United Center organist was shown on camera and happily waved to the TV audience. 

The Capitals scored two more goals and then it was 6-5.  By this point, I was actually glad I wasn’t keeping detailed notes on the scoring.  Toews got a hat trick with his third goal to make it 7-5.  Finally, there was an empty-netter to finish the game 8-5 Blackhawks.  The crowd and myself were standing and the applauding the effort by both teams today.

After the game, I flipped back over to the wrestling.  To my surprise, they were showing a couple of little kids out on the mat.  I was confused until the announcer explained that it was halftime.  Yes, they have quarters and halftime in wrestling.  Flipping around, I found on a Mexican station showing bullfighting.  I’ve run into this a couple of times on the weekends.  I think it’s a weekly recap show: This Week in Bullfighting or something like that.  The video was dramatic with the bullfight going on in a downpour.  Okay, I’m not breaking down bullfighting or wrestling today.  That’s enough of that.

NM State Aggies vs Utah Valley Wolverines Women’s Basketball 1-19-19

I didn’t realize until I sat down to write this, but this is my first live, in-person report for the year.  Today was promoted as “Space Day.”  Fans were encouraged to wear space-themed gear to the game for seniors Baylee Robinson and Stabresa McDaniel, and a poster was also produced for them.  I wore my crimson Star Trek shirt, though I think I was the only one wearing themed wardrobe today.  The team is recognizing their seniors for the next few home dates.  I am looking forward to “Brookie Cookie” day next month.  I’m sure Brooke Salas is cringing.  (Tell Aggie Marketing to stay away from her until she’s eaten a couple and is in a better mood.) 

Regrettably, neither of today’s honored seniors played today.  I saw five girls not suited out to play.  The rest of the team was wearing their throwback Roadrunner uniforms again.  Maybe it’s going to be a weekend thing for the rest of the season.  The Sundancers and the Cheerleaders were there.  The Roadrunner Review Band was there and they were psyched, I could tell immediately.  Oh, and there was a nice-looking tall brunette referee on court. 

There’s a new video board at the scorer’s table.  Ron, who was with me today, saw it when he was here last week.  The crowd was okay.  There were two sections of Utah Valley fans, but they weren’t sitting next to each other.  The group behind us was probably there for a player from New Mexico and another from El Paso.  They cheered for them during the introductions.

  

First Quarter

My mechanical pencil failed when I first attempted to fill out my scorecard.  I had to use my pen.  My concentration wavered several times during the game and there was one basket that I marked that was nearly waved off.  Somehow, I actually scored everything correctly.  I’ll use pen from now on.  (No, I won’t.)

Both teams came up empty on their first couple of trips.  I was worried it was going to be one of those kind of games.  #3 Maria Carvalho for the Wolverines broke the seal on the game with a three-pointer.  She was hard-to-miss on court.  While actually reasonably pretty, her hairstyle was shaved around the sides with the hair on top tied into a topknot which left a thin band of bare skin around her head.  At this point, she’d likely be better off shaving the whole thing and starting over. 

Ron was interested in #40 Josie Williams.  He was interested in her 6’5” height and being well-built.  He thought they’d be passing it underneath the basket to her all game, but that didn’t happen.  She had great hair, long and flowing.  She should really offer some hair care advice to her teammate Maria.    

Eventually, a few shots got in for both teams.  Utah Valley went to the nail on a shooting foul.  The Band started singing or humming during opposing foul shots.  I said they were feeling it today.  The first timeout was for the media at under five minutes, 5-7 Wolverines.  An entomology professor was honored on court.  PA Ed stumbled all over the various bug names that he was studying.  Most of the crowd was grossed out at the mention of them. 

Aaliyah Prince came off the bench.  She made a great steal from a taller player, but lost it going down court.  Kalei Atkinson also came in and came out firing with a pair of back-to-back three’s.  Brooke missed a three at the buzzer, but the refs stopped to review the shot.  During the delay, I could see the contestants for the Dino Dash fighting each other in the wings, waiting to come on.  The refs ruled that Brooke was fouled.  She’d make two of the three shots, though the TV coverage had already gone to commercial.  It was 15-8 Aggies after the first quarter.

Second Quarter

The Dino Dash contestants performed well, which is to say, funny.  The pretty ref was laughing at the spectacle, although she did call a flagrant foul on one of them.  Pistol Pete came by and shook my hand.  This was the handsome Pete, and I’m not just saying that because he said “Howdy,” to me.  He has a good manly look to him.  He’s perfect for the part.

The high-level of defense for both teams continued in the second quarter.  Nobody scored for several minutes.  Prince would pop a three.  Then, she got a steal.  Her and Tayelin Grays passed the ball to each other on the break, and Prince got the layup.  The Aggies went up by 10.

Unfortunately, they went into a scoring drought right after and Utah Valley got a free throw and a three to get close.  A gentleman next to me asked where Stabresa was.  She must be injured, since she’d played well in the Aggies’ last game.  This guy was really into it, yelling at the team like a parent.  (I was sitting there keeping a scorecard and notes, and I’m saying he was into the game.)  Specifically, he was getting frustrated that the girls couldn’t seem to score in the paint.  They were getting point blank shots, but missing them.   

#20 Alexis Cortez hit another three to give the Wolverines the lead.  Monique Mills hit a last second three to end the half and give the Aggies back the lead, 25-23.  I was really struck though by Mo just walking off the court afterward like she hadn’t done anything.  It was strange reaction in the lack of any reaction.  A little fist-pump would have been merited at least.

Halftime

A little girl dance group performed to start the break.  After that, a Cheerleader group from Roswell High School came out.  They marched out without shoes and proceeded to absolutely work it for a couple of minutes.  They were in sync and acrobatic and got the crowd cheering for them.  It was Bring It On!-level cheerleading.  I was seriously impressed.  Several people in the crowd taking video of the performance left right after, so they must have been their parents. 

Third Quarter

The band played the team in with Sweet Caroline.  I hadn’t heard them play that before.  They were really frisky today.  Oooh, I finally noticed some members of our champion Volleyball team nearby.  There was captain Tatyana Battle, Jordan George, and Ashley Anselmo (who I spent ten agonizing minutes trying to remember her name, I have the team autograph card on my fridge for Pete’s sake).  Ash looked really classy with her hair up.  Kiley Tonge seemed to be sporting a new silver blonde hair color.  Lastly, beautiful Megan Hart is letting her luscious hair grow out.  If they’d walked by at any point, I’d have congratulated them on their great season.  Oh, well.

On court, Brooke made a great steal at half court and hustled to keep it inbounds.  Unfortunately, the team lost the ball and Alexis turned it into another UV three-pointer.  Brooke was getting some points in the second half that she wasn’t getting in the first.  She was able to cut under the basket twice for easy layups.  The Wolverines did hit another three to take the lead. 

Prince was back in and hit another three to regain the Aggie lead.  Gia Pack followed that up with three as well.  Brooke got off a great pass on a fast break to Adenike Aderinto for a basket.  Still, the Wolverines were keeping it close.  It was 40-39 Aggies after three quarters.

Fourth Quarter

Oh, this was bad.  On the first play of the quarter, Brooke got knocked down to the court clutching her knee.  Thankfully, she was okay and kept playing, but she was in some real pain there for a moment.  That could have been bad for everyone. 

Prince hit another big three to increase the Aggie lead to 45-39.  On one possession though, the Aggies got like three offensive rebounds, including a great leaping one by Kalei, but couldn’t score.  Still on the same possession after the rebounds, Utah Valley committed two fouls and gave the ball back to the Aggies, who still didn’t score.  I’m sure the team will have trouble later watching the film on this sequence.

The Aggies nearly turned it over on a shot clock violation on another trip, but Gia hit a three at the buzzer.  Okay, now I know the girls are practicing these buzzer-beater shots.  While the refs reviewed the shot, Gia took a bow of sorts at half court.  That’s the way to celebrate those.  I was glad the refs decided she got the shot off in time, since I’d already marked it off in pen.

52-41, the Aggies got a steal on a Wolverines’ inbound, but still didn’t score on it.  Utah State turned it around with a steal and a layup, 52-45.  Timeout Aggies with two minutes left.  The Band began dancing to the PA playing Ah Ha’s Take On Me.  They were having a great time. 

Back to play, Tayelin slipped and fell taking the inbounds pass and turned it over.  She then committed two fouls.  Utah Valley closed in to 52-47 with 35 seconds left.  The Aggies got the ball back.  The UV bench started screaming at their teammates to foul.  They tagged Brooke, who sank two.  The Wolverines hit a quick three, 54-50.  Tayelin was fouled.  She calmly dropped in both shots to ice the game.  Nice comeback for the freshman guard.  58-52 for a good Aggie win.

The Aggies were really short-handed today.  Players were being cycled in-and-out constantly.  The Mills sisters were not scoring today and weren’t in for much of the second half.  Brooke Salas led with 15 points, 18 rebounds, and only one foul.  Aaliyah Prince was a real sparkplug with 11 points.  Gia Pack had 10 and Kalei Atkinson had 9.  The bench definitely stepped up. 

The Aggies displayed a new banner afterward for the Women winning the conference last season.  The Aggie Cheerleaders came out and unrolled mats out on the floor and brought out a box of trophies.  This was not for the team though.  Ron and I figured out that a cheerleading competition was about to be held in the Pan-Am Center.  If the other teams were as good as that Roswell team, the thought of staying was tempting.  However, I wanted lunch and they were probably going to clear us out before it started.

I’d been craving Raising Canes for about four weeks.  A new fast food place is about to open next door to it with steak burgers and ice cream.  I’m interested in that ice cream, since Canes doesn’t do desserts.  Instead, we went over to PQ Treats where I used a gift certificate.  I got a minty fresh Frozen Tornado.  While Ron was in the bathroom, Aggie Softball star, Kelsey Horton, came by and got dinner at the nearby grill.  She was hard to miss as she was in uniform.  The team must have been practicing.  If she’d come anywhere near, I would have totally fangirled on her, and my breath would have been so minty fresh too.  Even without being able to give any adulation to Kelsey or the Volleyball team, it was a great afternoon.   

Artifacts: My Alpha Fighter Model

This is one of my most prized artifacts, an actual Robotech Alpha Fighter model.  However, this isn’t some pricy import obtained from a very well-stocked anime-themed outlet or website.  I actually bought this before Robotech was ever on the air here in the US.  I found it at a variety store near where I used to live in El Paso.  Dollar stores are only a pale, pale imitation of the old variety stores that used to be.  Variety stores were great places for kids because they usually had awesome toy departments.  In any case, this was about the least likely place you could imagine finding exotic models directly from Japan. 

Suddenly one day at this store, a pile of these cool-looking Japanese models showed up.  There were several shelves full of them with a full variety of mecha from the Genesis Climber Mospeada show.  If you’re a Robotech fan, you’re likely crying right now over the thought of acquiring something like this so easily.  I’ve certainly haven’t stopped crying. 

It gets worse.  Not only did they have the models, they were selling fully transforming Alphas in blister packs.  They were maybe a little bigger than a TMNT figure.  Oh yeah, they were cool.  They were also expensive for the time (now, they’re effectively priceless).  I could not procure funding for one of these mecha (from my parents, I had no money).  I was lucky I got this one model, probably for a birthday present.  So, I’m left with only a haunting memory of what could have been.  People often speculate what they’d do if they could time travel.  I already know.  I’ve got a mental shopping list of places in the past I’d be hitting.

I’m just putting up this one picture of the model, because I pretty much butchered putting it together.  I think the paint job is actually red fingernail polish.  (No, I can’t tell you now how that came about.  I don’t remember or am repressing it.)  I’ve never been a great modeler in spite of lots of practice as a kid.  This is a fairly sturdy model though.  I did actually play with it and the little included figure (which I modified with an improvised gun).  This led to me changing my mind about whether the landing gear should be up or down more than once.  If you’re a good modeler, you don’t want to see the bottom of this.

Piling on the irony, these models were probably being sold just a couple of years before Robotech came on the air.  By that time, my model was sitting in a box in the garage with most of the rest of my toys.  While Alphas were prominently shown in the opening credits, it probably wasn’t until the Invid Invasion episodes that I finally recognized it.  Hey, that looks familiar!  At that point, I rescued the model and put it on display.  Of course, the models and toys at the store were long ago taken down and sent to who knows where.  (Who knows how they got here to begin with.)  All I could do was weep.  

Here’s the rest of the box.  Anybody who can translate Japanese, feel free to do so in comments section.  I’m actually curious.  I know this was kind of a sad story to relate, but I hope it was interesting.  I am grateful, however, that I have this really cool model.

NFL: National Fraud League

We’re going to interrupt my regularly scheduled Aggie post for “a giant ‘see I told you so.’”  I wrote a couple of hours before the NFC championship that Rush Limbaugh would be “regretting kissing and making up with the NFL.”  (That post will come up in a couple of days.)  I had no idea that it was going to be happening later in the evening.  I thought it was going to be because of the players being their usual racist, anti-American, jerkoff millionaire selves.  I had no idea that the entire sanctity of the league would be called into question.

Oh, ho!  The glory that showered down upon me as I heard a national radio personality finally saying in front of millions of listeners exactly what I’ve saying for years!  The NFL is a big F***ing fraud!  You idiot loser “fans” who worship at the pagan altar of your sports god, how did that taste going down your throats?  Have you puked it up yet?  Are you seeing the world a little more clearly now?  Remember, Rush is an actual NFL expert (for a fan).  If he’s questioning the legitimacy of the sport, that’s a really harsh indictment. 

You know, Colin Kaepernick just picked the wrong cause to get on his knees for: the utter joke of players killing themselves on the field for a game that they have no real control over.  I might have joined him.  There’s no beating that third team on the field, the refs.  They’re undefeated.  Unlike WWE “referees,” these NFE (National Football Entertainment, because you can’t sell it as an actual sport) referees are no joke.  They will control the outcome and scoring in a game as they are instructed to by the league.

Predictably, the sports media is circling the wagons around the teat they all suck at.  I didn’t actually see the major offending play in question in the Rams/Saints game.  It doesn’t matter.  I’ve seen the officials screw up or no-call enough plays to know what happened.  “If only the Saints had . . .” or “If only Drew Brees had audibled a . . .” Blah, blah, blah.  Shockingly, coaches and quarterbacks don’t call plays based on the possibility of the referees getting involved in determining their outcome. 

Or do they?  I saw a couple weeks ago in the playoffs, a coach inexplicably go for two in a situation where it wouldn’t make a difference, because they still needed to recover an onside kick and score to have a chance of winning.  Another point wasn’t going to affect what they needed to score.  Ahem, except those two points covered the spread in the game.  How deep this go?  The league?  The officials?  The coaches?  The players?  Who’s pulling the strings? 

Rush suggested that nationalized wagering may clean up the sport.  What irony that would be!  Millions of degenerate gamblers demanding that the NFL be transparent and accurate in enforcing their rules during their games.  There’s no point in betting if you think the whole sport is rigged.  If betting ever falls off in the NFL, it’s doomed.  It’s the sole reason for its popularity.  No, everything else you’re thinking of is insignificant compared to the power of office pools, spread betting, and the double F word, Fantasy Football. 

Fantasy Football was supposed to render all discussion of game fixing irrelevant.  Playing stats, rather than the score, would keep most of the dummy dedicated fans happy regardless of a few blown calls.  That works great right up until the playoffs, where betting on the spread and the results take precedence.  There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide during these spotlight games that display the full fraudulence of the league with everyone watching.       

How do you even clean this up?  They say, “NASCAR rules are written in pencil.”  Hey, what is a “catch?”  It’s apparently whatever the ref says it is.  Same goes for pass interference apparently.  There’s holding on every play of the game, you know.  It’s only called whenever a ref decides to throw a flag.  It’s arbitrary, or the exact opposite, on purpose.

I watched just enough of both games to get disgusted.  What I saw were games being decided on flags and reviews on every play near the end.  From the Patriots and Chiefs game, the most credit I can give is that the refs screwed both teams pretty equally on bad calls.  Perhaps there were two different agendas fighting over the outcome and using the refs to do it.  And these are the “best” of the crews working these games!

This should have been a crowning moment for the NFL, two conference championships going overtime.  They’d finally seemingly gotten over the whole “kneeling” thing and the fans had come back.  Instead, there are allegations that the Rams were “chosen” for the Superbowl to bolster their flagging fanbase in Los Angles before their new stadium opens.  Why not?  That’s as good a reason as any to fix these games.

So, have I really been proven right about the NFL?  Ultimately, the fans of this sport are going to have to decide that.  If they turn away from the sport again or demand changes for honesty in the sport, then that means everyone is seeing the NFL the way I see it, as a fraud.    

Sports Journal January 12-17, 2019

1-12-19

I’m going to backtrack a little bit before getting to today’s game.  While Coach Jans was “okay” with Thursday’s near certain loss to GCU (1-10-19), he was mad about that loss to CBU last week (1-3-19) during Wednesday’s Aggie Coaches Show interview.  He said something I found interesting during that discussion, “You can get mad at the players for not following directions and not paying attention, but you can’t get mad at a kid for missing a bunny.  That’s just part of the game.”      

Of course, the Aggies actually won that game against GCU.  Little wonder, they shot 50%!  Johnny McCants had a career high in points and added another highlight for his reel.  Jack Nixon was calling him “Miracle” McCants for his last-second winning shot.  I’m not sure that’s going to catch on.  Jack also commented on how “uncharacteristic” AJ Harris’ two turnovers at the end of the game were, along with Terrell Brown missing two free throws.  He wasn’t insinuating anything, I think.  Now suddenly I’m wondering.  Boy, the last thing NMSU needs is an NCAA investigation. 

AD Mario Moccia came on the pregame.  He said he talked to AJ after the game, just to reassure him that the team needs him.  AJ was actually out with the flu for this game and wasn’t even on the bench.  (If he was out with two broken kneecaps, I’d tell Mario to start looking for a new job immediately.)  This afternoon’s opponent, CSU-Bakersfield, who are 3-0 in the WAC, will be leaving the conference in the near future.  Mario said they just picked up a new junior college member, Dixie State.  They’re in Utah.  Ooookay.  Maybe I heard that name wrong.  

Mario was worried about today’s crowd before the game.  The student section was looking sparse.  Mario had hoped with the early start time that it wouldn’t conflict with the Cowboys’ playoff game in the evening.  He was begging everyone listening to come to the game.  Now I felt bad for now having planned to go to this game.  Certainly with the weekend afternoon game, a good opponent, a halftime Mascot basketball game, a free caricature poster, and an autograph session afterward, it would have been a good game to go to.    

First Half

The pregame said that the Roadrunners were very physical on defense.  Ivan Aurrecoechea found that out the first time drove the lane and was clobbered.  Ivan also had a cold, probably from AJ (probably from the team partying after their win on Thursday).  He ended up coming out early and didn’t come back for the second.  It was likely some heroic effort just to get him out on the floor.

 

Trevelin Queen came off the bench and tied the game at 9 on a three.  However, the Roadrunners were out-rebounding the sluggish Aggies (perhaps they’re all sick) and regained the lead, 9-20.  Timeout Aggies.  Two minutes of tongue-lashing later, the Aggies suddenly come out rebounding and drawing fouls attacking the basket.  Unfortunately, they were only 6 of 11 on foul shots in the first half.  The Aggies managed to crawl back into it.  Terrell Brown made a last second three to end the half, 22-29 CSUB.  (Are the guys all practicing buzz beaters now?)

Second Half

Jack was amused by the Mascot Massacre basketball game at halftime, as a bunch of costumed mascots attempted to play each other.  They even brought back the old Women’s Roadrunner mascot for another game (12-15-18).  For stats, Queen was the surprise Aggie high-scorer at the half.

The crowd was right back into it as the Aggies came out firing and cut lead to 5.  They were down by 3 after a three.  It was 35-36 CSUB, when McCants was given a tacky charging call before a media timeout.  The crowd booed as this was his second questionable foul call of the game.  Terrell Brown tied it on a free throw shot and took the lead on a couple more, 38-36 Aggies.  Brown put in a layup to make it 40-36 and force a Roadrunner timeout. 

The lead started changing on alternating possessions.  There were still 11 minutes left in the game with all this furious action.  Brown put in another three to make it 50-45.  The Roadrunners retook the lead 52-54 with six minutes left, but Keyon Jones got it back on a three, 55-54.  McCants added a couple of buckets at the rim to make it 59-54 with four minutes left.

Jack had some out-of-town news.  The Aggie Women had just won in 61-59 in Bakersfield on a buzzer-beating shot.  The girls must have been watching the Men on Thursday after their own game ended.  From the newspaper account the next day, it was Adenike Aderinto who got the ball on the inbounds with two seconds and made the shot.  Brooke Salas had 16, but nearly all of that in the first half.  Gia Pack chipped in 10, but what was really encouraging was Dominique Mills had a double double.  This is what the girls need to win; at least three players scoring in double digits. 

Back to the current game, Brown put in another three and then Keyon Jones had a layup to increase the lead to 10.  The Aggies were picking up all the offensive rebounds now.  McCants had a layup after a baseball pass inbounds with under a minute to make it 70-60 with under a minute left for another highlight.  73-62 Aggies win! 

I’m not sure what the crowd size was, but they were really into it.  That was a good halftime comeback for the guys today.  Credit to Coach Jans for his strategy change, clever sub moves, and/or screaming motivational speech at the half.  Terrell Brown led the Aggies with 19.  Not bad for a guy who’s not even on the schedule poster.  Shunn Buchanan had 12 for a career high.  Eli Chuha had a double double. 

Jack noted a little boy in line for autographs afterward.  He was dressed as a little Pistol Pete in line with chaps and cowboy hat.  During the game, he’d also talked about a tiny little boy working the mop by one of the goals.  He only came up to the knees of one of the players.  This is apropos of nothing, but the scene sounded so cute, I really regretted not being there.

1-17-19

Now everybody’s doing it.  After the Aggie Men had won on a last-second shot last week (1-10-19) and the Aggie Women won on a buzzer-beater on Saturday (1-12-19), the UTEP Miner Men also won on the weekend on a shot after a full court inbounds.  It was a literal sub-last second shot.  The other team protested the result, and I think ESPN analysts said that theoretically they couldn’t have gotten the shot off in the time remaining.  Okay, this is all swell, but Johnny McCants is still Clutch Supreme with the highlight of the year. 

I’d like to give you a detailed recap of tonight’s Aggie games, but it’s not going to happen.  It’s not my fault.  The video for the Aggie Women’s home game against Seattle U was supposed to be on Twitch, but they were instead showing a video game competition.  The coverage started off showing one of the competitors break-dancing before the match.  Really.  Needless to say, I didn’t stick with it.  The game was probably on TV, but not only was I way too busy to leave my desk . . . err . . . I also forgot to look.  These things happen when you’re busy!

At least I was able to follow along on Statcast.  Looking on, Holy Cats!  What a game to miss!  It was 20-23 SU at the end of the first quarter.  That’s 43 points in ten minutes!  Brooke Salas already had 10 points.  High-fouling replaced high-scoring in the second quarter to drive down the down the shooting.  It was 36-33 Aggies at the half.  They were shooting over 50%.  Brooke sat out with two fouls for most of the quarter.  Adenike Aderinto stepped up with 8, and Aaliyah Prince had 7 off the bench.

Brooke was interviewed yesterday on the Aggie Coaches Show.  Brooke came off really well, confident, pleasant, and wants to win and help the team.  She hopes to keep playing after graduation.  Adam Young brought up her potential records for this season, but she said she didn’t follow that stuff, but admitted her mom does.  Brooke acknowledged her problem in collecting fouls, so apparently she can’t help it.

Aggies poured it on in the third, 57-44.  Dominique Mills, whom Coach Atkinson nicknamed “D” on the Coaches Show, came on with 10 points.  Brooke was still sitting out most of quarter with 3 fouls.  The Aggies would win in a convincing fashion, 75-55.  Brooke Salas did play the fourth and finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 fouls.  Dominique Mills put up 15 points.  Adenike Aderinto had 11.  The team shot 52%, but troublingly, they went 1 for 9 in three-pointers.

I started listening to the Aggie Men’s pregame show for their road game against SU . . .  err . . . but I got distracted watching my waifu Dizzykitten on Twitch.  Well, she was doing an extended Q and A and she’s so pretty.  Anyway, I missed the first half wherein the Aggies held a slim 26-point lead, 50-24, at halftime.  They were only shooting over 60%.  The best that the Redhawks could manage was that they had a guy named Terrell Brown on their team as well.

I was listening to the second half.  The Aggies were using their bench players about halfway through, but SU wasn’t doing any better.  Coach Jans would ask the Redhawks Cheerleaders and a team photographer to move out from under the basket.  How humiliating.  Apparently, it’s a small venue and the girls were in line to get potentially run over.  I’m pretty sure I’ve seen their gym before in other sports.  While its capacity is under 1000, Jack Nixon reported that it was full tonight.

Speaking of Jack, the team just picked up a new sponsor.  He stumbled all over their tongue-twister name during the ad read.  It’s going to be a long rest of the season.  The Aggies got the Redhawks’ big men in trouble in the first half.  In the second, three SU players fouled out.  Late in the game, Trevelin Queen and Berrick JeanLouis got back-to-back jams that excited the crowd.  Huh?  I was hearing cheering.  There couldn’t have been that many Aggie fans there traveling with the team.  Jack pronounced JeanLouis’ name “Jaan Lou-is,” not “Jaan Lou-ee,” as before.  It’s like the “R-oww-t” 66 Casino ad read, instead of saying “Root” (Route) 66 Casino.

87-60 Aggies!  Holy crap!  Even Coach Jans was pleased during the postgame interview.  Three Aggies finished in double figures.  Eli Chuha had a double double. Heck, 15 Aggies played and all of them scored.  The team shot over 50%.  New long range threat Johnny McCants went 2 for 2 shooting three’s.  While the viewing and listening were a bit disappointing, the results tonight were sweet.

Sports Journal January 5-10, 2019

1-5-19

I thought I’d get the weekend off from sports writing.  The UTEP Women’s Basketball game was preempted for the FCS Football Championship game on the radio.  Unexpectedly later in the afternoon, another Women’s Basketball game came on Stadium.  It was the New Mexico Lobos versus the Nevada Wolfpack.  I’d seen the Lobos in person this season (12-15-18) and I’d also seen the Wolfpack on TV (11-25-18).  This was their first meeting in Mountain West conference for the year. 

The Lobos were on a ten-game winning streak, mostly winning by 20 or more each game.  They are number one in the nation in blocked shots and attendance.  (I’m not surprised at all about leading in attendance they way they travel.)  Out on court, size-wise, the Lobos seemed to have a definite advantage over the Wolfpack. 

However, Nevada does have an advantage in coaching.  Coach Amanda Levens, who I’d noticed last time, is a real cutie.  Certainly she looks very serious and intense out there, but she is cute.  She’s a highlight blonde and today Amanda was in a pair of blue jeans and a light blouse.  (Here I am doing a coach’s wardrobe segment for another team.)  There was another attractive referee on court too with pretty long, dark hair. 

First Quarter

The Wolfpack starters were introduced coming out through a curtain.  Kinda classy.  Both teams came out playing nervous with several turnovers.  At 6-2 Lobos, nearly five minutes in, Nevada scored their first points.  The Wolfpack Cheerleaders were finally able to leave the stands and come back down to the court.  (Aggie Cheerleaders are there until the opposing team scores.  Everybody has different traditions.) 

9-8 Nevada took the lead off of some continuing sloppy play by the Lobos.  You could hear their Coach Mike Bradbury screaming on court over the announcer’s microphones.  The team kept dribbling off their feet for some reason on the way to ten turnovers in the quarter.  It was 11-9 Nevada after ten minutes.

Second Quarter

Lobo #23 Jaedyn de la Cerda hit three early.  I remembered her from the Aggie game.  She’s kinda cute and absolutely torched the Aggies.  The game was getting rough with girls hitting the floor.  It was 17-17 after the Lobos took an ill-advised shot.  “Coach Bradbury isn’t going to have a voice by the end of this,” said the play-by-play guy listening to the coach’s reaction. 

That got the team’s attention and they went on a 10-0 run.  24-19 Lobos on a steal and a layup.  One Lobo got hit in face under the basket and went down.  The coach went over to check on her, but she stayed in.  30-22 NM at the half.

Third Quarter

Early, there was another Lobo steal and an attempted layup.  It was three-on-one and the one defender had three fouls.  The Lobos passed the ball twice and ended up coming away with nothing.  The only stat the Wolfpack were leading in for the first half was rebounding, and they were doing it well in the second half too.  It was keeping them in it.

Nevada was also doing it down under the basket offensively.  A Wolfpack player under the rim made a fake and got a Lobo player to jump on her back.  The girl hung there for a moment before they both collapsed.  They both came up smiling.  A little later, it was about the same play, but two Lobo defenders were standing over the Nevada player.  She pump faked and hesitated twice, got the basket, and the foul.  The Lobos finished with the lead, 48-44.

Fourth Quarter  

The Wolfpack had gotten within two late in the third, but the Lobos went on an 11-0 run.  It was 55-44 early and NM’s biggest lead.  A loose ball was caught by a fan by the side of the court.  The announcer identified him, by name, as a Nevada professor, who’s a big fan of the university’s basketball programs. 

60-57 Lobos, Nevada’s Terae Briggs suddenly couldn’t miss and got the Wolfpack right back in it.  Timeout Lobos.  More rough play, a Nevada girl went down hard after making a block.  After a review, a Lobo player got an “Unsportsman-like conduct” foul.  From what I saw, it looked like she kicked the other girl on the way down.  Needless to say, the Lobo girl got booed every time she touched the ball thereafter.

64-62 Lobos, an NM player fouled out on the next play.  She was one of their main defensive players.  It was tied at 64 with about 90 seconds left.  The Lobos got a steal and layup again to take the lead.  Nevada had the ball with six seconds left, but missed a last second three to win it.  66-64 Lobos win.  Now it’s an 11-game winning streak.  Hey, that was a great game.  I’m glad Stadium showed this instead of what was scheduled and that I was able to watch.

1-10-19

Two Aggie Basketball games were on tap tonight.  I had a bunch of work and some distractions later that kept me from really watching and taking notes, so this is going to be a bit spotty.  First up, the Aggie Women were in Phoenix to play GCU.  They didn’t have a good game there last year and got drummed.  (Checking back, apparently I didn’t cover that game.)  I had the GCU video feed up while I was working.  They have two professional announcers working for them.  They were good and fair in calling the game (unlike their student broadcasters).   

I did find myself looking at the Lopes’ Coach Nicole Powell.  I’d noticed her when she brought her team here.  She’s a very athletic and attractive woman.  I didn’t note Coach Atkinson’s wardrobe again.  I’m failing in fashion reporting.  Also, I’m still fascinated with the Mills sisters’ hair color choices.  Dominique was still red, but  Monique seemed to be going with a golden hue. 

And now, how to write a recap without any notes.  Brooke Salas had no field goals in the first quarter.  She wasn’t cold; seemingly the whole GCU team was keyed on collapsing on her whenever she had the ball.  Still, the Aggies stayed close, trailing 12-16 after ten minutes.  Brooke got her first basket in the second.  She’d already accumulated nine rebounds to that point, so she was playing hard.  The Aggies went down by as many as seven, but got within one on an Aaliyah Prince layup and free throw.  The Aggies were still down 24-28 at the half.

I missed the third quarter.  Brooke was finally able to get going on offense.  The announcers were impressed with her.  In the fourth, the Aggies got within two in final seconds.  Brooke got a steal, but then turned it right over.  The Aggie pressure defense got a turnover and time for a final shot.  Kalei Atkinson was fouled and missed both free throws (the second may or may not have been on purpose).  On the last Aggie play, needing a three, the inbounds went off Brooke’s fingers and out-of-bounds. 

51-54 Lopes win.  They led all the way.  The Aggies at least did better than last year, when they only scored like 39 and lost by about 20.  Brooke Salas had 16 points and 16 rebounds.  Gia Pack was next with 10 points.  Your stat of the match was zero, the number Aggie three-pointers made.

The Men’s Basketball game against GCU here in Las Cruces started at about halftime of the Women’s game.  I started off listening on the radio, as I was away from my desk.  Even on a rainy night without any special promotion, there was nearly a full house at the Pan-Am Center for this conference rivalry matchup.  They were into it too.  Watch out though, three bus loads of GCU fans and students also came to game.  They’d be cheering too. 

When I got back to my desk, I found the game on Twitch again and started watching near the end of the half.  There wasn’t a lot of chat going on with the game and it was only GCU fans talking.  The halftime score was 38-41 Lopes in a very tight game.  (Like I said, I was busy.)

By the time the Women’s game came to its disappointing end, the Men’s second half started.  Here, however, was my distraction.  I was watching DizzyKitten, also on Twitch, interacting with her chatroom.  She’d made an offhanded comment that she had a printer in the bathroom and Chat started teasing her.  It was her mom’s master bathroom and printer.  Finally, Dizzy left her room for a moment to ask, “Mom, Chat wants to know why there’s a printer in the bathroom.”  Also, there was a coffee maker and gun supplies in the bathroom.  It’s a large bathroom.  Obviously, I couldn’t tune away from this exchange.

On some level, I missed most of a super-intense second half.  I definitely missed a couple of great Johnny McCants’ jams.  On the other, the score remained close and nothing really changed.  The Aggies may have gotten the biggest lead of the game, up five, with under two minutes.  The Lopes came right back with a three. 

With under 30 seconds left, disaster struck.  Up by three, all the Aggies had to do was dribble out as much as possible.  Excellent ball-handler, AJ Harris, suddenly got his pocket picked for a layup.  Moments later, AJ turned it over again on the inbounds for another easy layup for GCU.  With 13 seconds left, the Aggies were suddenly losing by one.

Terrell Brown was fouled shooting when the Aggies got the ball back.  He’s the team’s best free throw shooter at 80%.  He missed both.  On the rebound, the Aggies intentionally fouled immediately with only a couple of seconds left on the clock.  The GCU player missed the front end of the one-and-one. 

And then a legend was made.  Local boy Johnny McCants got the rebound and dribbled to halfcourt.  Johnny is not known for his long distance shooting, in fact people were questioning why he was in this late in the game, since he doesn’t even shoot free throws well.  Well behind the halfcourt line, he calmly heaved the ball as only tenths of a second remained.  The ball went right through the net, barely touching the rim.   

76-75 Aggies win!  Johnny was instantly mobbed and dogpiled on court by the team.  My dad reported that Jack Nixon on the radio was out of breath for the rest of the broadcast.  Adam Young, doing the video, was in a bit of shock.  He’d seen endings like this on replay, but never live, much less calling the game. 

As the team partied in the student section, Coach Chris Jans admitted in the postgame interview he was already walking over to congratulate GCU Coach Dan Majerle before Johnny shot the ball.  He’d said he was actually not mad about the impending loss, since the team had played hard and well.  In any case, Coach Jans was euphoric, along with the rest of the Aggie fans.  Did we just steal one?  Maybe. 

The star of the game was Ivan Aurrecoechea with 20 points and 11 rebounds, a tremendous comeback from being blanked against CBU last week (1-3-19).  Terrell Brown had 15, Johnny McCants had 17 (a definite breakout game for him offensively), and Keyon Jones had 12.  It’s still hard to get a read on this team.  Hopefully, this last second win turns the corner for them on losing close games.  We’ll see who steps up for the next game on Saturday.