Thursday, January 22, 2009

At Last a Hornet Win on the Road

Monday, I was able find a radio and listen to the second half of the men's Hornets/Aggies basketball game from most craziest environment in the MEAC conference: The Dawg Pound. During second half of the game there were a few different things that I never heard before during the game:

  • The North Carolina A&T crowd of the The Dawg Pound were not even as loud as I predicted.
  • Delaware State were playing without Donald Johnson due to academic troubles? On Saturday I heard the Hornets/Norfolk State game and according to Hornet's broadcaster Scott Klatzin, Johnson was feeling ill and didn't make the road trip.
  • Fred Bouie scored a career high 22 points (8-15 from the field, 4-7 from three point land)
  • Delaware State was not a very good shot blocking team but achieve 10 block shots (half were lead by Frisco Sandidge).
  • The Aggies grabbed a team high 21 offensive rebounds, but failed to scored some second chance points.
  • 10 fast break points for the hornets but only 4 for the Aggies.
  • Three hornet players played more than 30 minutes (Trevor Welchor, Sandidge, and Bouie), and three play for more than 20 minutes (Kris Douse, Arturo DuBois, and Marcus Neal)
After all the strangeness that occurred during the game, I'm happy that DSU was able to finish the game with a road win snapping a 13 game road losing streak.

The hornets put on a shooting clinic shooting 56 percent from the floor and forcing the Aggies to foul the Hornets as DSU went to the free throw 15 times (making 10) in the second half.

Coach Greg Jackson said it best to reporters, the Hornets played one of their best performances of the season with execution, intensity on both ends of the floor, and didn't allow A&T to get in transition.

The Hornets are glad to come home for a four game home stand starting Saturday with tough testes with Bethune-Cookman, Florida A&M (Monday), Coppin State (January 31), and Morgan State (February 2).

Coach Jackson currently has 299 wins but needs just one win to get 300 wins. If the Hornets achieve that goal this Saturday it will quickly take a lot of pressure off the Hornets team about flirting with history.