What a game in Jefferson City last night as Helias finally beat a very good Rolla team. The number 13 (Wands) point guard is the real thing. Helias seemed to have answer for all of Rolla's runs. The coach for Rolla seemed to lose it a few times getting at least one technical. Made a big difference late in the game.
What a Game inJefferson City
- Thread starter SHML
- Start date
Rolla's coach did not get T'ed it was two different Rolla players that were frustrated with the calls and the situation. Rolla battled foul trouble the entire night with 4 starters fouling out. The Rolla daily news said Helias took full advantage by hitting 33-35 free shots, while Rolla went 7-8 from the line. Shooting that well from the line will win you lots of close games. Helias is a very good team that plays a very physical brand of basketball which could frustrate many teams as they move forward.
Coach Knight always wanted to make more FT's than the opponent shot. I'd say even he would be satisfied with over 4x as many. Lol.
The big difference in the FT shot attempts comes from Rolla shooting contested 3 point shots off the dribbles all night and Helias attacking the basket by way of feeding the post and Husting penetrating and dishing all night long. Looked to me as if Rolla was not in game shape. It was a great game and as bad as Rolla played, they kept making runs at Helias, but Helias answered each one.
Kind of glad to see both Rolla teams out of it. I might be wrong with this, but isn't this sectional game the only game out of Class 4 and 5 that a team could be playing basically on a home court and town? I know class 5 definitely tries to not make the sectional game in a schools own hometown.
Class 5 Sectional had Kickapoo and Nixa playing at Drury University. Sectional games in Rolla hasn't been much of an issue in the past because Rolla hasn't had much success in the state playoffs. The bottom line is that winning teams travel well and can make a "home" environment with the crowd wherever they go. Rolla was blessed to have a great following the last two years that typically comes from 1) a successful program or 2) recent success after a drought. Rolla's was the latter. However, a big crowd doesn't necessarily translate into home court advantage. The number of games played on the court & local referees are going to have more of an impact on home court advantage. Rolla did not play a game at Missouri S&T this year and last year they played two during a holiday tournament and then the sectional game.
If in Rolla's sectional game last year if they had 4x the number of FTs taken as Borgia, I would have been concerned. The fact that Rolla shot a tremendous percentage from the floor was probably more of a factor than playing in the home town on a neutral court. The court didn't have that much do with the high percentage - that comes from having good shooters that as a team can get streaky. Rolla had a game this year where they shot 81% from 3pt line which should be a State record. They also had a game where they missed their first 12 3's of the game and then ended up hitting 18 for the school record. They went 0-17 during a stretch in the first Helias match-up but still pulled away with a victory. Good shooting. Streaky shooting. Doesn't matter the court - just the time!
