Preseason: ENC vs. Fisher

Fisher College visited ENC for the preseason opener, Saturday October 30th. The game was divided into thirds, three 20 minute periods. Every period became a new game. Here are the breakdowns of the three periods of play:

First game: Fisher 31-28.
Second game: Fisher 45-39.
Third game: ENC 31-29.

Game One Highlights: Game one was a game of runs. ENC came out with an 18-8 lead as Fisher went on an 11-0 run to take a 19-18 lead. From their the game went back and forth, but Fisher ultimately came out on top. Both teams were in the double bonus, and while in the double bonus, ENC committed two fouls 90 feet from the basket, which turned into four points, and the difference in the game.

Game Two Highlights: This turned out to be an offensive game. Fisher held a 17 point lead with eight minutes left in the game, 39-22. ENC's Deangelo Alston scored 17 points in the game, and provided the spark to cut the Fisher lead to three. Fisher hit their free throws at the end of the game, halting the ENC comeback.

Game Three Highlights: The closet game of the three saw both teams hold leads of no more than four points. ENC's James Bertier made the most of his offensive opportunities and Matt Jayne played quality defense. Josh Butler got the crowd into it with a breakaway dunk. Eddie Allen made a pair of clutch free throws in the final minute. Fisher had the ball with 8.2 seconds left in the game, but turned the ball over on a traveling violation.

Overall Grade: C-

The game served its purpose. The coaching staff was able to see aspects of players games which can only be seen in a live situation. Plenty to work on and Head Coach Jim Aller has a wealth of material to go on. Saw some good things on the court today, look for this squad to improve over this next week.

Practice: Three Days From Preseason Opener

Welcome to the last week of practices, before Fisher College comes to the Lahue Gym to face ENC's men's basketball team. It is Wednesday, October 27th, and practice started at 3:30 today and the competition is noticeably elevated from the first week.

Practice began with Coach Jim Aller having his team sit on the bleachers as he implored his players to be "proactive, not reactive."

ENC hit the court with the usual three-man weave, as well as other warm up drills, before they moved into practicing their half court offense. (3:40 p.m.)

The first five on the court for half court offense has been running plays flawlessly, but the second and third units have had their fair share of trouble. (4:22)

It has turned into a full court game, with pauses for instruction. Coach Aller has been subbing player in and out on both sides. (4:48)

The offense has been rather sloppy thus far. Missed layups, turnovers, and not hitting open shots. Some players haven't acclimated themselves to the offensive scheme yet. (4:52)

For all that it's worth (absolutely nothing), team Red won the full court game 20-17. Players were asked to switch teams by the coaching staff. Good, hard, basketball overall, plenty of things to clean up, as expected, but effort was certainly visible. (4:55)

After a water break the first unit is on the court working on ways to combat the full court press. Coach Aller has asked eight players to play full court press against the starting five. (5:00)

The first unit was 3 for 5 breaking the eight man press. Mike McCoy has been subbed in for Atwater, McCoy now playing with the other four members of the first unit. (5:03)

For being 5 on 8, the offense faired well, even being down 3 players. The first unit even got a few layups after breaking the trap. (5:13)

They have moved into situational basketball. We have a 70-69 score, with the first unit down, and 4 minutes on the clock. (5:15)

Aaron Johnson hit two three's in the final minute to win it for the first unit 79-76. (5:23)

We now have a two minute game with the first unit down 3, 79-76. (5:24)

The backups prevailed in the two minute situational game, 91-87. (5:33)

As the team runs its final sprints for the day it will be farewell from me, hope everyone who reads enjoyed this live blog of practice. See you Saturday for the scrimmage. (5:35)