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.

A Tale of Two Halves as the Lady Hornets lost the game and their winning streak

Monday was a day of hope for the Lady Hornets basketball team as they tried to avenge last season losses at the hands of North Carolina A&T (MEAC Regular Season Champions 2008) in the first of their two meetings of the season on Martin Luther King Day and on the eve of Inauguration.

In the first half, the lady hornets got off to a hot start shooting 48 percent from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line. The lady aggies started the game well with a 7-2 lead but the lady hornets catch up quickly to gain their first lead with 11:57 left. Lady Hornets aggressive defense forced the lady aggies to shot just 36 percent and and only 44 percent from the free throw line. Coach Ed Davis must be proud of his lady hornets heading into the locker room 32-24 at halftime.

The second half was a fast start for the lady hornets as they went on a 13-6 run to maintain their big lead. It looked liked the lady hornets was going to win their fifth win in a row. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst as the lady hornets could not buy a bucket by missing shots, turning over the basketball, and worst than that their defensive shield went from a brick wall to a door of opportunities resulting in a 14-2 run lady aggie run.

Ed Davis and the lady hornets were scratching their heads about the lead they once held evaporate so quickly.

Suddenly the lady aggies proved to the lady hornets why they were the defending MEAC regular season champions by making key buckets down the stretch, forcing the lady hornets turnovers, making lady hornets shoot bad shots (32 percent in the 2nd Half), and hitting throws when it counts.

The lady hornets still could not find a good three point shooter during the second half as they shot a dismantle 1 for 10 from downtown.

Even though they couldn't get into first place in the standings, the lady hornets are still on impressive start in the MEAC 7-10 overall 4-1 in conference play.

The lady hornets have the defense to stop their opponents but what about the offense. The lady hornets can't rely on Sonia Johnson every game for offensive. They need Jamkea Smith, Keyanna Wakefield, Selena Galloway, and others to pick up the offense to score points or they will be stuck in a offensive crisis.

The lady hornets needs to work harder on offense when they play four straight home games starting with Bethune-Cookman (Saturday), Florida A&M (Monday), Coppin State (January 31), and Morgan State (February 2).