February 15, 2008...3:01 am
Second Half for the USD at MSU-Mankato men’s game
It looks like Coach Boots hammered into the Coyotes head the idea of rebounding as they have already grabbed a couple offensive rebounds and a couple of defensive rebounds. Both three point shots didn’t fall for the Coyotes though. Boots is still all over the officials and it is the most animated I have seen him with the officials in a while. He is constantly talking to them and in their ear. I am actually surprised he hasn’t gotten a technical foul yet. Granted most of the talking has been calm but he has lost it a couple of times. The Coyotes are starting to gain some momentum on the offensive end and their shot selection has improved this half. They still have some work to do at they are down 46-40 at the 17:00 mark. Dustin Little just grabbed a huge offensive rebound and called timeout. Little just showed the kind of hustle they need to commit for the rest of the half as he was on the ground when he pulled the ball away.
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Dylan Grimsley has started find his touch. He has 11 points in the game and five in the half. With four minutes past, Grimsley has almost reached his point total for the first half. Grimsley is usually the key cog for the Coyotes offensive game every game. Plus the defense he provides has always been solid. The Coyotes have been able to force more turnovers in this half as well and it has fueled the Coyotes. This is definitely a different team in the second half. The rebounding and defense has been completely different. The Coyotes just grabbed another two offense rebounds. At the 14:00 mark, the Mavs hold a slight one point lead at 46-45.
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Eric Hall picked up his third foul and Mitch Begeman has checked into the game for Grimsley. Steve Smith also has three fouls. If you remember Mankato’s coach, you know he is a character. You can probably hear him yelling all the way to Vermillion. Smith is abandoning his inside game and just took another three. He nailed it to give the Coyotes their first lead of the game. Smith can hit the three, I just don’t know how consistently. He does have 14 points in the game. Tyler Cain has become a beast inside and is the Cain we know and love again. He is starting to block shots and alter them as well. Hall just nailed a three to put the Coyotes up 57-56 at the 10:00 mark. Another friendly media timeout.
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The Coyotes rebounding has improved like I said. I just received stats and the rebounding is shared by both teams at 26. Tyler Cain has 2 blocks and 5 steals in the game, all in the second half. Santos has only two rebounds in the second half. Smith has 14 points, but the Mavericks has started a running game on the Coyotes. Grimsley checked back into the game for Begeman. Smith is on the bench getting some rest. The Coyotes have shot 50% in the second half which is up from 43% percent in the first half. The Mavericks have been able to run the floor well as Jake Morrow has started to head up a little. He just scored 7 points in the last couple of minutes after having only 2 points for the game. If they can contain him again, it would be huge for the Coyotes. Mankato leads 66-63 with Dustin Little at the line.
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The fouls have added up for the Mavericks and the Coyotes are in the bonus. Little is starting to make it to the free-throw line which is big because Little might be the Coyotes best player from the line. In fact, the whole team is pretty good from the line. Cain is their worst free throw shooter and he has improved from last year. Hopefully the Coyotes take advantage of this fact and take it inside to draw the foul. It looked like Dylan Grimsley took advantage of that fact and was uncontested as he went to the hole. Guard Jadee Jones has four fouls for the Mavericks. Morrow just missed two free throws and the game is tied 69 with 3:30 to go.
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The Mavericks want a timeout after Begeman nailed a huge three. The Coyotes are starting to gain a slight edge in momentum after that three. The Coyotes are up 72-69 with 3:14 to go. This matches their biggest lead of the game as they have had one three point lead about a couple minutes ago.
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The Coyotes have grabbed the advantage in rebounds at 32 to 29. Offensive rebounds go to the Coyotes at 12 to 9. The Coyotes shooting is up to 52% for the half, but the Mavs are shooting 52% as well to stay in this game. Jessie Clark nailed two free throws with a minute left as the Coyotes lead 75-74. The Coyotes just turned it over and Whitaker put back a rebound as the Mavs take the lead 76-75 with 28.9 left. The Coyotes have just called a timeout.
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Eric Hall hit a short jumper with 15 seconds left but Jadee Jones hit another short jumper with 5 seconds left. The Coyotes call a timeout and will have the last shot. The Mavs lead 78-77.
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Well, the Coyotes got what they wanted. Becker got the inbounds and found Begeman who drove down the court and just past the foul line put up the jumper that missed and Grimsley wasn’t able to put it back in. The Coyotes drop the game 78-77 to the Mavs. Unfortunately, this puts a major damper on the Coyotes hope for the NCC Title in the regular season. I will be back after getting comments from the Coyote players and final stats.
—- Justin Rust
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