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Tiny Bubbles is a regular blog straight
from the desk (or from a laptop on the
bus) from Coach Bobby Champagne.
January
25, 2012
BAD NIGHT IN GRACELAND
Walking in Memphis...the Delta
Blues...the Red Panda...3-point
barrage...That is what has happened over
the past week in UNA Hoops.
Our game with the Top 25 Christian
Brothers University just a few miles
from Graceland could have been our worst
offensive performance of the season. Not
exactly what you want to have happen
when you are playing the No. 11 ranked
team in the country on their home floor.
A season-low two 3-point field goals for
the game as well as a dreadful 25.8%
from the field led to a bad loss.
We had a quick turnaround and took on
GSC-rival Delta State. During this game,
we made more 3-point field goals (12)
than 2-point field goals (10). We
finished the game shooting 12-of-26 from
beyond the three point line and just
10-of-40 from inside the arc. I am not
sure if I have ever been a part of a
game like this, but we forced 19
turnovers and held the Statesmen to just
31% shooting on the evening. We ventured
out of league play for our next game and
played Concordia-Selma. We were one shy
of tying a school record for made
3-point baskets (16) and set a school
record for 3-point baskets attempted
(38). Beaumont Beasley came out on fire
as he scored 19 points in the first 10
minutes of action. He was 6-for-6 from
the 3-point line and 9-of-11 from the
field. As a team we shot 53% for the
game. We led from start to finish and
cruised to a 106-75 victory (Free Queso
at Rosie's and BOGO at Frostbite).
Parker Hendricks should be complimented
for securing Krystal, the Red Panda
Acrobat as our halftime entertainment.
She rode a seven foot unicycle, kicked
several bowls at a time into the air and
landed them in an ever-growing and
wobbly stack of bowls on her head. Each
successive flip was done with a greater
number of bowls. She holds the world
record for this act. The Red Panda
Acrobat left the Flowers Hall crowd
breathless.
Next up No. 12 UA-Huntsville and No. 22
West Georgia. Be sure and wear white as
we will "White Out the Chargers."
January
19, 2012
Writer's Block
Ok it's been over a month since I
have given an update on UNA basketball.
I will blame it writer's block but most
of you will know the truth. I will admit
that it is much easier to cut and paste
the www.roarlions.com story or the
www.timesdaily.com story to a twitter
and facebook account. That's lazy and
you deserve better. So here it is.
A lot has happened with our team since
my "writer's block" set in. Our record
was 5-2. We are now 9-6. The experiences
have been much more than just wins and
losses. We've traveled from New Orleans,
LA to Pensacola, FL as well as stops in
Carrollton, GA and Livingston, AL.
Through our 15 games we have only played
five games in Flowers Hall, so we have
really been able to experience life on
the road.
In New Orleans, our team experienced
much of what the Crescent City has to
offer. Much of what New Orleans has to
offer is some of the best restraints in
the world. Fresh seafood and Cajun and
Creole cuisine are available on every
corner. Our players ordered pancakes and
bacon instead of red beans and rice and
opted for Popeye's ("because it tastes
different in New Orleans") instead of a
muffaletta or Po' Boy from Mother's. We
also got a taste of what a BCS bowl game
is like, as the University of Louisiana
defeated San Diego State in the Super
Dome on a last second field goal.
Congratulations to former UNA Coach Mark
Hudspeth as he led the Ragin' Cajuns to
their first bowl game in over 40 years.
Following New Orleans we all took a week
off for the holidays. When we returned,
the team headed to Pensacola Beach for a
Holiday Classic. The Lions were treated
to surf, sun and hoops. One of the perks
we have enjoyed when traveling to
Pensacola is having Jimbo's Catering
serving our team meals. Not only does he
feed us but he cheered on the team.
Jimbo did a Hulk Hogan impersonation as
the bus rolled down the Santa Rosa sound
on route to our games with Virginia
State and St. Augustine.
Gulf South Conference season began with
us gaining a road victory over No. 25
West Georgia and a home victory over
Valdosta State. Senior guard, Beaumont
Beasley was named GSC player of the week
following the first week of conference
play.
We now are headed to Memphis for a
match-up with No. 11 Christian Brothers
with a home game against Delta State.
The 9th Annual Champagne Brunch will
take place on the 21st of January.
Congratulations to former assistant
coach, Cord Wright and his wife Kelly
are they are now proud parents of their
first child, Copper Davis Wright. I am
sure he will look great in purple and
gold.
Now that writer's block is cured, I will
keep you posted more frequently.
December
9, 2011
Rematch
What a difference a week makes. Last
week's 75-74 loss to Ouachita Baptist
was disappointing. What made it even
worse was waiting a week to play another
game. Fortunately for our team, the wait
worked out as we were able to avenge the
loss with an 82-64 victory over OBU.
Defense was the key for us as we held
the Tigers to just 1-of-11 shooting from
the 3-point line and scored 26 points of
their turnovers. We forced 26 turnovers
on the night and had a season-best 14
steals. Theron Jenkins lead the way with
5 steals while three other players had 2
each and Warrick Mastin had 3. Our
stingy defense not only kept us in the
game but allowed us to extend our lead
despite a relatively poor shooting
night.
Four of our players scored double
figures with Beaumont Beasley leading
the way with 19 points. Wes Long and
Mastin each had 15 while Jenkins added
12 and Nick Luttrell had 11. Eleven
players logged some minutes for the
Lions, with our bench outscoring the OBU
bench 25-12.
This was only our third home game of the
season. Our crowd was great and the
students took a much needed break from
their studies to cheer on our team. The
University's ROTC and the Cub Scouts
from Pack 297 were in attendance. The
BOGO free promotion for 7 three pointers
has been great. We have made at least
seven 3-pointers in the first half of
each of our home games. We are very
thankful for Frostbite helping us out
and that our fans wait until after the
game to collect their yogurt.
Exams begin so we will not play again
until the 18th when we take on the
Privateers of the University of New
Orleans. This should be a great trip for
our team. It will be our final game
before we take a week of for the
holidays.
Next up: University of New Orleans,
Sunday December 18th at 2pm.
As always I will continue to try and
keep you posted throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops!
December
5, 2011
Arkansas Road Trip
For the past nine seasons, we have made
at least one road trip to the state of
Arkansas. This will be our only trip to
"The Natural State" this season and
unless something changes in Division II
regionalization, it may be our last.
Thank goodness!
After trailing by as may as 14 points in
the second half, we came up one point
short and suffered our second loss of
the season at Ouachita Baptist. The
Tigers got a go-ahead jumper with 22
seconds remaining. We missed the final
shot of the game as time expired, giving
OBU the 75-74 victory.
On a positive note, we made the trip to
Arkansas and back to Florence without
the bus catching on fire (see previous
trip to Ouachita Baptist). Beaumont
Beasley led our team with 12 points
while Theron Jenkins added 10 points on
the evening. OBU's defense forced us
into 18 turnovers and held us to 38%
from the field. We trailed 51-37 with
13:45 to go in the game.
We were able to chip away at the
deficit, tying the game 60-60 on a
three-point basket by Wes Long and took
the lead on the next possession on a
three-pointer by Warrick Mastin. From
that point on the game would be tied
five more times. Emmanuel Engulu hit the
game winning shot with 22 seconds
remaining.
Due to a quirk in our schedule, we will
meet the same team Thursday night at
Flowers Hall.
This team has been fun to coach through
the early part of the schedule. Our two
losses by a total of three points and we
have played five of the seven games away
from Flowers Hall. We need to work hard
these next few weeks on offensive
execution. When we do that, our field
goal percentage will improve from the
39.6% that we are currently shooting and
our turnovers will decrease from the
current rate of 14.9 per game.
Exams begin on Friday so we will hit the
books and the hardwood for the next few
days.
Next up: Ouachita Baptist Thursday at
7pm.
As always I will continue to try and
keep you posted throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops!
November 29, 2011
Turkey, Dressing and Basketball
I hope everyone had a wonderful
Thanksgiving. For two of our players,
Nathan Spehr and Luke Corkery, it was
their first. Most of our team was able
to spend time with their family during
the weekend and we all enjoyed two games
at the University of Montevallo
Coca-Cola Classic.
We came away from the weekend with a two
point loss versus #18 Georgia
Southwestern and a five point win versus
host Montevallo. Both games were very
exciting and the coaching staff was very
pleased with everyone's effort. Once
again, our seniors showed some resolve
as well as maturity. We were down by
double digits in each of the games and
were able to cut into that deficit as
well as take the lead in each of the
games. Our team defense and overall
rebounding has improved as we held our
opponents to 38.5% from the field and
29.6% from the 3-point line. We also
forced over 15 turnovers per game.
Individually, Theron Jenkins averaged 22
points and 12 rebounds for the weekend
while Beaumont Beasley averaged 16
points and 3 rebounds and Warrick Mastin
chipped in 9 points and just over 3
rebounds per game. Wes Long, who has not
been shooting as well as in the past
contributed by averaging 5.5 points and
7 rebounds. Freshman Nathan Spehr
averaged 7 points for the two games
versus two of the better teams in the
Peach Belt Conference.
I was educated on what a class B
technical infraction is prior to the
start of our game versus Montevallo.
Section 6 Article 1 states, "A technical
foul shall be assessed to a player or a
substitute for the following
infractions: e. A team member dunking or
attempting to dunk a dead ball before or
during the game, or during any
intermission." So for the first time in
over 20 years in college basketball, we
started the game with a technical foul.
A class B is different from a class A,
so you may want to refer to your rule
book because we may have a quiz at the
end of the season.
With only a few days of class remaining
and exams on the horizon, we will only
have three games over the next 17 days.
It will be very important for us to
sharpen up on all aspects of our team.
Next up: Ouachita Baptist Thursday at
7pm.
As always I will continue to try and
keep you posted throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops!
November 18,
2011
Four and O Start
For the first time since the 2004-05
season, our team is off to a 4 and 0
start. Ironically, Luke Copeland, a
senior on that team stopped by the
office earlier this week to update me on
how his life was going and checking up
on his alma mater. It's always good to
see and hear from former players.
Winning is always high on our priority
list but it is also important is that we
are improving on a daily basis. I
believe that has been the case with this
team and much of that improvement can be
attributed to our five seniors. Beaumont
Beasely, Sam Buxton, Theron Jenkins,
Nick Lutrell and Warrick Mastin have
provided leadership for our team as well
as being very productive on the court.
They are responsible for 56.4 points per
game and 25.9 rebounds per game. This
accounts for 68% of our scoring and 59%
of our rebounds. Senior leadership is a
valuable part of any successful team.
We took a much needed day off on
Saturday and Sunday. This will be a
short week of school with the
Thanksgiving holiday so it will be a
great opportunity for our team to get
better with practice.
Congratulations to former assistant
Goran Secerovic and his wife Lori who
just had their first child. Mila Beth
Secerovic was born this week. Welcome to
our newest fan.
Next up: #21 Georgia Southwestern Friday
at 2pm.
I will continue to try and keep you
posted throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops
November 14,
2011
Three Days - Three Games - Three Wins
The start of the 2011-12 season began
with two games on the road and one at
home. When we scheduled the games in
early May, it seemed like a great idea.
Two in-region games played on Friday and
Saturday afternoon and then return for
the home opener on Monday night for a
double header with our women. What
happened was two tough road games and a
quick turnaround for a Sunday afternoon
game. I was a little anxious headed into
the games because of how badly we had
been beaten in our two Division I
exhibition games.
Our team played good enough to win the
games vs. Clark Atlanta and Morehouse.
Both of the games I believe will help us
as we get into our Gulf South Conference
schedule. Each game had some adversity
that we needed to overcome and we were
able to work through being down and
finding a way to win. Winning both of
the games were very important but I also
believe that the visit we made to the
Marin Luther King Memorial
http://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
was equally as important for our team.
This was my first visit to the center
and it is definitely a place everyone
should visit when in Atlanta. We
defeated Clark Atlanta 76-73 in overtime
and Morehouse 73-67.
Beaumont Beasley scored a game-high 24
points and connected on a game-tying
three-point basket in the closing
seconds of regulation to put the game
into overtime. He also made 5-of-6 free
throws in the overtime period to
preserve the win. Theron Jenkins and
Warrick Mastin each had double-doubles.
Beasley shot to send the game into
overtime was important but it would not
have been possible if Wes Long had not
chased down a long rebound and passed
the ball to Beasley.
Warrick Mastin scored 24 points,
including a layup with 17 seconds
remaining to lead us to the win over
Morehouse. Beasley added 17 points and
Long chipped 13 points on the night. As
a team, we made 10 3-pointers, 10 for 25
on the evening and held Morehouse to
only 2 of 12 from beyond the 3 point
line. On another positive note, the team
had one of the best pre-game meals of
the season compliments of Pitty Pat?s
Porch
http://www.pittypatsrestaurant.com/
Big Momma was our hostess for our meal.
The Huningdon game on Sunday afternoon
posed a mental test for our team. We
returned from Atlanta just before 2 am
and 9 hours later we were having a
pre-game meal and devotional.
Fortunately, our team responded as 5
players reached double digits as we
picked up a 101-74 victory to win our
third straight game. More importantly we
were able to play our bench for a
significant amount of minutes and
everyone responded well. All of our
freshmen played well and gained some
valuable experience.
Next up Oakwood College Thursday at 6pm.
Congratulations to our soccer team GSC
Champions and our Volleyball and
Football team for earning a berth in the
NCAA tournament and playoffs.
I will continue to try and keep you
posted throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops!
November 9,
2011
Exhibition Season Over... Thank
Goodness
Really our exhibition games are great
for our team to see where we are as a
team and it gives us an opportunity to
compete in great environments. That's
great for our players and our fans who
have traveled to these venues, it hasn't
been that much fun for me. Twenty-nine
and fifty point losses have not been
very good for my sleep or my eating
habits. I am optimistic that this will
change as we head into the regular
season and focus on Division 2 teams.
This weekend will be a great test for
our team as we take on Clark Atlanta on
Friday and Morehouse on Saturday. Both
of the games will be played at Morehouse
in Atlanta, GA. We will return to home
on Sunday afternoon to play Huntingdon.
This is a great time of year on our
campus; basketball season begins, as
well as the playoffs and NCAA
Tournaments for football, volleyball and
soccer. Congratulations to Coach Graham
Winkworth and his women's soccer team
for bringing home the Gulf South
Conference Championship Trophy. Best of
luck to you and your team in the NCAA
Tournament.
I will continue to keep you posted
throughout the season.
Yours in Hoops!
.
October 12,
2011
Pre-Season Conditioning Ends With
Help From UNA Army ROTC
Our month long pre-season conditioning
program ended this week with help from
the UNA Army ROTC officers and cadets.
Combined with the normal running,
lifting and cross-training techniques,
our UNA basketball team participated in
a mini-boot camp.
The UNA Army ROTC put our team through a
few "PT" drills and some team building
exercises. We concluded our "training"
with a paintball event which put the
coaches and ROTC against the players. I
believe our team benefitted greatly from
the two-day events and are very
appreciative of the UNA Army ROTC staff
for helping us become a better team.
Now it's time to play some basketball!
We will begin practice on October 15th
and will have a couple of weeks of
practice before we play the University
of Mississippi in an exhibition game on
November 3rd.
Season Tickets are on sale now. Our
regular season begins on November 11th
vs. Morehouse with our first home game
on November 13th vs. Huntingdon.
Be sure to check out the images:
PHOTO
1
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PHOTO
2
August 1,
2011
Dear Fans,
My wife Anna and I, along with our local
American Cancer Society division, will
host Alabama's COACHES vs. CANCER Colors
of Hope Ball in Florence on August 20,
2011. Coach Wimp Sanderson and Coach
Sonny Smith will join us for a weekend
of fundraising events to benefit the
American Cancer Society. We hope you
will be a part of this exciting venue!
The COACHES vs. CANCER Colors of Hope
Ball is a sports oriented fundraising
event at which top supporters, corporate
donors, fellow coaches, and other
colleagues in the sports industry enjoy
an elegant evening to benefit the
American Cancer Society. Our CvC Color
of Hope Ball will be a celebrity-filled
occasion, with appearances by Alabama's
college coaches and players and other
enthusiastic supporters. You will want
to be part of this event!
It is our hope that all college
basketball coaches in Alabama will join
this COACHES vs. CANCER fundraising
effort! Your Celebrity Coach reply form
is included. If you have questions or
need additional information, please
contact me at 256-627-6167.
CLICK
FOR MORE ON UPCOMING EVENT
Sincerely,
Coach Champagne
May
4, 2011
This story, from Russ Corey,
appeared in the TimesDaily.com
on May 3...
UNA
athletes assist in cleanup effort
Ricky Davison has seen tornado damage
before. What he saw Monday when he and
other University of North Alabama
athletes rolled into storm-ravaged Phil
Campbell left him speechless, however.
"I'm not a person that talks a lot
anyway," said Davison, a senior guard on
the UNA men's basketball team. He was
sitting with other athletes on the back
of a pickup in the parking lot of Phil
Campbell High School, taking in the
scenes of destruction left by last
week's deadly tornado.
Tony Pecoraro, defensive coordinator for
the Lions football team, said the
athletes and coaches from all UNA sports
were sent to Phil Campbell to help any
way possible. They arrived about 11:30
a.m. and stayed on site until 6 p.m.
"We've been working all day," Pecoraro
said.
The athletes, coaches and even some
parents helped removed debris and downed
trees from around homes. They helped at
a water-and-food distribution center and
rode through neighborhoods offering help
to anyone in need.
UNA placekicker Josh Montgomery lives on
campus, but his family's home is in
nearby Spruce Pine.
"I live near here and we're just helping
clean up the rubble," Montgomery said.
"I'm a little awestruck by all the
damage. What we've been doing puts some
of this in perspective, about how
dangerous these things can be."
He said the athletes did whatever they
were asked to do.
UNA basketball coach Bobby Champagne
said he and his players had a good
reason for helping out in Phil Campbell.
"The number one reason for us, one of
our team members lost his house,"
Champagne said. "We came to help them
out."
Freshman guard Lawrence Butts was at his
home in Phil Campbell with his mother
and brother when the tornado struck the
Franklin County town Wednesday
afternoon. The family survived the
storm, Champagne said.
Davison said it gives him a good feeling
to be a part of the effort to help.
"It's been hard to deal with," he said.
Montgomery's mother, Tricia Montgomery,
was driving groups of athletes around
town. The family's home was not damaged,
but they do their shopping and banking
in Phil Campbell.
"Three guys that work for me lost their
homes," she said.
Champagne said another reason they came
was to offer assistance to a town that
has supported UNA sports through the
years.
Watching news coverage of the storms and
reading about it in the newspaper
doesn't capture the magnitude of the
damage and what the affected residents
are going through as seeing it in
person, he said. "It doesn't seem like
we've done that much because there's so
much to do."
February
8, 2011
Player of the Week
Marcus Landry was named the Gulf South
Conference player of the week. He is the
second player to claim honors this
season, averaging 18 points and 10.7
rebounds while shooting 71.4% from the
field helping the Lions win 2 games
during the week.
The junior fell into foul trouble in the
first game of the week, scoring 9 points
and grabbing 7 rebounds in just 10
minutes of an 81-61 home loss to the #5
UA-Huntsviille Chargers. He followed
that performance with a strong outing
helping UNA to an 100-89 victory over
Valdosta State. The Sulpur, LA native,
led all players with 26 points and 16
boards in 30 minutes of action. The
junior then capped off the week with a
team-best 19 points and game-high nine
rebounds in a 96-89 triumph over West
Florida.
The two wins moved UNA to 4-4 in the
Gulf South Conference. In the three
games, Landry totaled 54 points 32
rebounds, 4 assists , 4 blocks and 4
steals. He shot 19-of-27 from the field
and 16-of-26 from the free throw line.
In Gulf South Conference games, he is
ranked 14th in scoring (14.0ppg), 5th in
rebounding (7.6rpg), 7th in blocked
shots (.9bpg) and leads the Gulf South
Conference in field goal percentage
(69.4%).
January 19, 2011
Player of the Week
Officials with the Gulf South Conference
have named North Alabama's Ricky Davison
as the East Division Player of the Week.
The senior becomes the first UNA player
to win the award this season after
helping the Lions get off to a 1-1 start
in GSC play.
In a pair of road games last week
against Valdosta State and West Florida,
Davison averaged 22 points and five
rebounds in just over 28 minutes of
playing time. He shot 53.8 percent from
three-point range and 81.8 percent at
the foul line.
The senior opened the week, leading UNA
with 20 points in just 22 minutes in the
Lions' 102-84 setback at No. 24 VSU. The
Fort Deposit native capped the week at
West Florida, helping the Lions to a
90-72 triumph behind a team-best 22
points and seven rebounds in 34 minutes.
January 15, 2011
The Difference One Game Can Make
Being 1-1 vs 0-2 doesn't seem like much,
but it is huge when you are talking
about league standings and players
psyches.
Our 90-72 win over West Florida moved
our Gulf South Conference record to 1-1
and tied with Valdosta State for the 2nd
spot in the GSC East after the first
weekend of play. I realize it is very
early in the 12-game season, but we
certainly feel a whole lot better about
ourselves and are very optimistic as we
head into this week s games with Lambuth
and West Georgia.
Our bench was the difference in the game
as they outscored the Argo s bench
35-19. Warrick Mastin (13pts) Sam Buxton
(10pts) and Doug Hunter (9pts) were big
factors for us as the trio accounted for
32 points and 11 rebounds on the night.
Ricky Davison continues to shoot the
ball well from the 3-point line,
shooting 4-of-8 and leading our Lions
with 24 points and 7 rebounds.
We trailed UWF by 10 points (25-15) with
less than 10 minutes to play in the
first half when our bench along with
Ricky s hot shooting provided the spark
we needed. We went into the locker room
tied at 40 and outscored the Argonauts
23 to 10 in the opening minutes of the
second half. Our defensive intensity and
aggressiveness made the difference as we
were able to hold UWF to 34% shooting
during the 2nd half of play. We also
turned 15 UWF turnovers into 22 points
for the game.
Nick Luttrell and Marcus Landry had
solid performances for us in the post as
well combining for 22 points and 9
rebounds. Nick leads our team in free
throw % for the season (79%) and Landry
leads us in rebounding (7rpg). If they
will continue to work hard and improve
there is no doubt that our team will
continue to improve as well.
This weekend s home games with Lambuth
and West Georgia will be huge for us and
I hope that our students will fill
Flowers Hall. Our annual Champagne
Brunch will take place this weekend so
be sure to check in on all the
excitement surrounding this weekend.
January 14, 2011
Gulf South Conference Opener
Our team ran into a buzz saw on Thursday
night. Valdosta State is ranked 5th in
the nation in scoring and they proved it
in the 102-84 victory over our team.
Normally scoring 84 points, shooting 44%
from the field, 40% from the 3-point
line and 80% from the free throw line,
would be enough for a victory, but it
was not quite enough versus the 24th
ranked Blazers.
Starting out the conference season with
a loss is never a good thing, but there
were some positives to take away from
the game. Offensively we played good
enough to win (five players in double
figures) so we can build on that. The
defensive end is where we need to
improve and improve quickly. This will
be our focus and emphasis for the game
versus West Florida on Saturday
afternoon.
Nothing about this job is simple. You do
what you feel is right and hope it
works. You hope your players can run
your offense. You hope they can stay
healthy. You educate yourself the best
you can, and hope
it's enough. Even though you're never
really sure it is.
I will attempt to give an update early
Saturday evening as soon as the game is
over.
January 12, 2011
Final Tune Up Before Gulf South
Conference Play
Non-Conference games during the semester
break can be tough. We were very
fortunate to come away with a 105-75
victory over Concordia-Selma. Coming off
the loss at Missouri, which we played in
front of 9,000 people and an ESPN3
audience, our players took a while to
get their motors running.
We trailed Concordia by 8 points early
in the opening minutes and then we
realized that the game had started. We
then spurted out to a 21-3 run and gain
the lead which we never relinquished.
The Hornets of Concordia would not get
within 15 points throughout the
remainder of the game.
Ricky Davison exploded for 26 first half
points and finished with 31 points to
lead six UNA players who reached double
figures. Other double figure scores
included Marcus Landry (20), Warrick
Mastin (14), Nick Luttrell (13), Wes
Long (10) and Sam Buxton (10).
Our attention now turns to Gulf South
Conference play; Twelve games played
over the next two months. As always, the
league will be very competitive and I
believe that it will be a very tight
race. We begin the race at #24 Valdosta
State on January 13th and at West
Florida on the 15th. This should be the
toughest road swing of the season and it
will be a great opportunity for us to
get off to a good start.
We added two players to our roster
during the semester break and I will
give you some information on those young
men very soon.
January 8, 2011
Fastest 40 Minutes in Basketball...
and then some
This is a fun way to play basketball.
Not sure how much fun Missouri s
opponents have, but we managed to hang
tough with the #8 Tigers through the
first 14 minutes of the game. In fact,
at the 6:01 mark in the first half
Beaumont Beasley had a steal and drove
the length of the court and made a
lay-up which would have made the score
30-24. Unfortunately for us the official
decided to call a charge. The Tigers
then made 3 consecutive three pointers
and a transition jump shot to push the
lead to 17 before we could slow down
Coach Anderson s squad. Mizzou closed
out the half with a 27-9 run.
That would take the fight out of most
teams, not the UNA Lions. We continued
to claw and fight even though we were
obviously over matched. It is really
hard to come away from a 40 point loss
and feel good, but I was very pleased
with how hard all of our players played
in what will surely be the toughest
environment we will see all season.
Other positives that we can take from
the experience are that we broke their
pressure on several possessions and got
lay ups or wide open jump shots,
Beaumont and Ricky Davison continue to
score in double figures and when Nick
Luttrell and Marcus Landry play
aggressively, we have a low post
presence. The fact that we forced 21
turnovers and had 11 steals were also
positives on the night.
I would like to thank Coach Anderson and
his staff for giving our players this
opportunity. And I almost forgot to
mention the "Antlers." Mizzou's student
group that is notorious for taunting the
visiting team. They were a lot of fun to
deal with and much nicer than I remember
them when they were in the Hearnes
Center. One of them made mention that he
follows me on twitter, facebook or this
website and he wanted to be sure to get
credit. I am thankful that there aren t
too many GSC teams who have a group like
the Antlers. Best of luck to the Tigers
as they begin Big 12 play and we will
see you in Flowers Hall.
January 6, 2011
New Year New Start
Happy New Year! Our team began the new
year it fine fashion with two wins. I am
not superstitious so we will not have
black eyed peas and cabbage as a
pre-game meal every game. Our team has
played with a sense of urgency as well
as some renewed energy and enthusiasm.
We were able to defeat
Arkansas-Monticello 96-75 and Southern
Arkansas 81-64 to improve to 6-8 on the
season. Our defensive intensity held UAM
and SAU to 43% from the field and 30%
from the 3-point line. We held a
decisive rebounding edge in both games
while forcing 68 turnovers and creating
32 steals.
In each of the game we utilized our
defense to create offense. Most of our
forced turnovers resulted in scoring
opportunities and enabled us to gain
control of the game. 17 second-chance
points vs. SAU and 12 vs. UAM.
Five players reached double digits
scoring vs. the Boll Weevils. Beaumont
Beasley had six three-pointers and
finished with 22 points to lead UNA. The
junior from Kansas City, MO, was 6-of-8
from long range, including a 5-of-6
showing in the second half. We made 80%
from beyond the arc in the final 20
minutes of play. We had a 5-point lead
midway through the first half before
going on a 10-0 run and held on to a 14
point advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, we led by as many as
26 points and shot over 61 percent from
the floor including 8-of10 from beyond
the three-point line. Ricky Davison hit
four 3-point shots and finished with 18
points. Warrick Mastin added 14 points
for the Lions while Nick Luttrell tossed
in 13 points on the night. Marcus Landry
also had 10 points and seven rebounds.
We used a fast start to grab a big lead
and coasted to a 81-64 win over the
Muleriders. SAU (8-4) on the season
knocked off No. 4 Alabama-Huntsville and
took and early 7-3 lead. We used an 18-0
run to take a 21-7 lead. SAU was able to
cut the lead to seven but we again
turned up the intensity on the defensive
end of the floor and held the Muleriders
without a field goal over the final 5
minutes of the first half.
In the second half, we capitalized from
the free throw line making 26-of-28 in
the second half to earn our second
victory in as many days.
Our team will now take to the road to
play the Missouri Tigers of the Big 12
conference. It should be a great
environment for our players and fans.
Hope to see you soon. Happy New Year.
Enjoy your black eyed peas and cabbage,
we will.
December 14, 2010
The Ride is Over
We hope you enjoyed the ride, please
exit to your left and do not get back
on!
Thank goodness finally some sort of
normal basketball game.
I am very proud of the way our team
bounced back from the disappointing loss
to Harding and ended the ride that we
have been on with a 73-60 victory over
Ouachita Baptist. Defense and rebounding
were the keys as we held OBU to only 7
field goals in the second half and held
a commanding 43-29 advantage on the
boards. Along the way we forced the
Tigers into 19 turnovers and pulled down
13 offensive rebounds.
Beaumont Beasley led us with 20 points
and Ricky Davison added 16 while Marcus
Landry produced his second consecutive
double-double. Landry's 12 points and 12
rebounds represented his fourth
double-double of the season. Ironically
he also had 16 points and 16 rebounds
versus OBU in the first meeting. Trent
McCants played 30 minutes with 7 points,
5 assists and 0 turnovers. Doug Hunter
also provided a spark with 7 points, 4
rebounds and took 3 charges.
With the victory, our team improves to
4-6 and we head back on the road for a
two-game swing through the state of
Arkansas. We will play Arkansas Tech and
have a rematch with Harding before we
take a break for the Christmas Holiday.
As a coach, we are always looking for
ways to improve and we definitely could
use some improvement in the free throw
department. Maybe Santa will drop some
made free throws in our stockings. We
are currently shooting 67.2 percent from
the charity stripe. We missed 15 free
throws vs. OBU and were 1-4 in the
overtime vs. Harding. Now you know why I
am bald.
It s hard to get the Harding loss out of
my head so here is the play by play for
those who like horror movies...
CLICK
HERE TO SEE THE HORROR SHOW
December 8, 2010
Disney Needs to Name a Ride After
This Team
Trust me, I would like to write about
something else but it is unbelievable
how this team is on a virtual amusement
park ride.
A second half 24-0 run against Georgia
College, then put up 95 points vs. Delta
State to be followed by the lowest
offensive point total since the 2008-09
season with an 80-55 loss to Christian
Brothers. To top it off, an 89-87
overtime loss to Harding. Oh yeah, I
forgot to mention that we had an
11-point lead with 1:01 remaining in the
Harding game. And did I mention we were
down 16 midway through the first half of
the CBU game, only to tie it up at 34
with 3:00 minutes to go in the half. We
went on a 16 to 0 run; we then allowed
CBU to close the half on a 9-0 run. We
score the first five of the second half
and then CBU outscores us 16-2 to gain
control of the game.
Has your stomach started to churn? Do
you feel like Goose in the movie Top
Gun? It is absolutely crazy how this
team can be so very good for a stretch
and then almost be non-existent for
another stretch.
The overtime loss to Harding has been a
tough pill to swallow even with the
strawberry flavored Mylanta I have in my
desk drawer. I tried to think of a game
that I had been involved with that ended
in a similar fashion. The 1989 1st round
NCAA game with South Alabama and Alabama
was similar but not really, we won the
game to advance against eventual
champion Michigan. I thought of the 2007
DII National Championship game where
Anthony Atkinson scored 10 points in the
final: 39 seconds to help Barton get a
victory over Winona State.
Okay enough about the thrill ride. Ricky
Davison has been scoring in bunches 19
vs. Christian Brothers and 29 vs.
Harding. Marcus Landry posted another
double-double vs. Harding, his third of
the season. Doug Hunter got his first
start of the year and scored 9 points on
4-of-5 shooting.
Exams begin this week and we have a
re-match with Ouachita Baptist. Hope to
see you in Flowers Hall to hopefully put
an end to the ride.
November 30, 2010
The Roller Coaster Ride Continues
On the heels of a two game losing
streak and playing our first home game
of the season against Delta State, it is
safe to say I was a little on edge
headed into to the game. Our starting
point guard, Trent McCants, has a
cracked rib, sixth-year senior, Doug
Hunter is still nursing his knee
surgery, and Warrick Mastin is one wrong
step away from another foot injury. On
top of that Delta State is a very
talented basketball team.
UNA and Delta have somewhat of a
history. The schools have played each
other 76 times with State holding a
38-37 advantage in the series. Our
school's football teams compete annually
for the GSC Championship. What II'm
trying to say is that this is a BIG
game!
Our player's rose to the challenge
defeating Delta State 95-75 and along
the way set a school record. Five
players had at least two 3-pointers, led
by senior guard Ricky Davison, who hit
five. Our guys were 17 of 30 from behind
the arc. This broke the school record of
fourteen 3-pointers made in a game
against Trevecca Nazarene in 1998.
Sam Buxton led the Lions with a career
high 19 points off the bench. The
Gibraltar native was shooting "The
Rock." Sam connected on 7-of-9 field
goals and was 2-of-3 from the free throw
line. He scored eleven of his points in
the first half.
Everything looks great when the "brown
thing goes in the round thing" and our
team used the hot outside shooting to
spark the defensive end as well. We
forced 24 turnovers which accounted for
22 points and had 18 second chance
points as well. Our bench was huge for
us scoring 32 points and really provided
a spark on both ends of the floor.
Dwayne Davis and Ozone sports provided
t-shirts for each 3-pointer made and
before the game I was folding those
shirts for our cheerleaders to throw
into the crowd, when our athletic
director came in the office. I asked him
how many 3-pointers he thought we would
make and he thought 13 was a good
number. I laughed and said something
about our 0-for-12 performance in the
second half of the Montevallo game.
Shows you what I know. I'm going to call
Dwayne today and see if we can get a few
more t-shirts for our game vs. Christian
Brothers.
Our crowd was great and the Beal Street
Flippers did a great job keeping them
entertained during halftime.
Hope to see you in Flowers Hall to join
the roller coaster ride.
November 29, 2010
Roller Coaster Ride
Have you ever been a part of a 24-0
scoring run? Well I have and it took
place at the start of the second half of
our game vs. Georgia College. Our team
had Great energy, enthusiasm and effort
by our team during the first ten minutes
of the second half to outscore the
Bobcats 31 to 4. Great run and should be
excited, the only problem, we were down
40-19 in the first half.
Absolutely one of the craziest games I
have ever been a part of. I was very
proud of our team s effort and am
hopeful that this will give us the
confidence that no matter what the
deficit we will be able to overcome.
Another learning opportunity for our
team but unfortunately we learned this
lesson with a 67-66 loss.
Our young team has battled through
adversity of playing its first six games
on the road against two teams in the Top
25 and has battled through several
injuries. I am very thankful that we
have our next three games at home.
The schedule doesn't get any easier but
at least we will have the support of our
fans in Flowers Hall.
Check back with an update on the Delta
State game.
I hope you all had as nice a
Thanksgiving as our team. We would like
to thank our friends and family who
helped provide some meals for our
players during the break.
Roar Lions!
November 21, 2010
Our team picked up two good road wins
this past weekend at Henderson State and
Ouachita Baptist. We overcame adversity
from every direction imaginable.
Obviously winning on the road is hard
with the opposing team, rowdy fans and
sometimes an unkind whistle, but this
trip was one that needs to be placed in
a book about small college basketball.
We had no problems early on, the bus
arrives on time, the boxed lunches
arrive on time and we leave Florence as
planned at 2:00pm. Twenty minutes into
the trip we are pulled over for speeding
but are only given a warning. We arrive
in Memphis as scheduled but then hit a
traffic jam because a truck driver hit
an overpass with a crane. Not a big
deal, just a slight delay so we arrive
in Little Rock a little late for dinner
but we can adjust. After dinner, our bus
driver who does a little bounty hunting
on the side, can't get the bus to go
over 45 mph, so an hour drive from
Little Rock to Arkadelphia turns into
two.
Thursday morning we head over to
shoot-around and share the court with
our women's team because the court is
only available for one hour.
Unfortunately for our women, their
basketballs arrive 10 minutes late and
we are kicked out of the gym five
minutes early because the PE class must
start on time. During my seven years at
UNA, I have come to realize that all
things will not go as planned in "The
Deuce." We spend the afternoon relaxing,
watch video of Henderson State and the
team goes to pregame meal while I watch
our women s team play. Midway through
the first half of the women's game, I
get a call that the bus is on fire and
the team is walking to the gym. This is
a true story, I can't make this stuff
up. I walk out of the gym and see our
bus in the parking lot with black smoke
billowing from the rear. The local fire
truck arrives shortly but the flames had
already been put out by our
bounty-hunting bus driver.
On a side note, Henderson State had a
bomb threat on their campus earlier that
day so their game management was a
little alarmed by the bus rolling onto
their campus with flames and smoke.
Okay, now we can get back to the game.
Four players reached double figures in
scoring for the game. Ricky Davison was
on fire (couldn't resist) and led our
team with 24 points. We really did get
hot on offense at the start of the
second half and shot 4-of-10 from the
3-point line and just over 47% from the
field. We ended up winning the game
77-72 and luckily for us, Coach Sam
Weaver shuttled our men's and women's
teams to our hotel on a Henderson State
bus so we didn t have to walk.
From here on out it is a little
anti-climactic, the bus company sends us
another bus that doesn't catch on fire,
we defeat Ouachita Baptist 69-62 and get
home safe and sound Saturday morning
around 5:30 am. Seriously, we were
fortunate to come away from this road
trip with two wins. Warrick Mastin did
not play one minute vs. OBU and Ricky
Davison did not play the second half, so
we were very happy to be able to beat a
very good team without two of our
starters. Beaumont Beasley led us in
scoring with 23 points and Marcus Landry
added 16 points and 16 rebounds. For the
weekend, Landry averaged a double-double
with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
We will have a few days of practice,
enjoy some turkey and then hit the road
again for two more games. Be sure to
check back to find out the entire inside
scoop on UNA Lion Basketball.
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