Tag: Brandon Horvath

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 14 & 15 – Saturday Doubleheader

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 14 & 15 – Saturday Doubleheader

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 14 & 15

Saturday Doubleheader

 

March 2 – Game 1 – New Hampshire vs UMBC

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So, I was fortunate enough to get to sleep in before my big day of basketball. I slept until 10:30 or so. Now granted this was after I had already been woken up by my kids countless times, but the wife got up with them this time! My morning was pretty basic. I had some coffee, cinnamon toast crunch and a shower before I left for UMBC around 12:30. Tip-off was at 1 p.m. I arrived literally during player introductions. I am getting pretty good at timing things. Or so I think. See what happens later…..

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This game was the last placed team in the America East, which is New Hampshire; against UMBC, who is battling for third place. UMBC was struggling all game long. A couple of journalists that were sitting next to me were expecting a 15-0 patented UMBC run. Well, they sure took their time to do so. New Hampshire went scoreless for like eight minutes mid way into the second half, to about the two minute mark. UMBC was down by as much as 18 at one point. Brandon Horvath, a slender 6’10 200 forward, led the charge. Horvath 13 points and made nine free throws to close the gap. The game was capped off by Jose Placer. Placer hit a game winning three with just 2.4 seconds left. Before that UMBC was 2-19 from three. During this span UMBC pressured New Hampshire and they had no answer. They turned the ball over 20 times and struggled to get into their offense. New Hampshire is a young squad and it showed. Leading the way for them was point guard Marque Maultsby. Maultsby had 15 points, four steals and four turnovers. Senior guard Jordan Reed had 10 points, five rebounds and three turnovers.

 

UMBC escaped in this one. They have been battling injuries all year, but the consistent senior Joe Sherburne was once again the main constant. Sherburne finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists.

 

After the game, I left as soon as I could. Of course it was raining. I believe it has during every trip to UMBC this year. I rushed home so I could eat some of the wife’s loaded bake potato soup. I had to pick up some sourdough bread on the way home. I stopped by Panera Bread and they were fresh out, so I went to Food Lion, which is closer to where I live. Objective complete. I got home and watched some of the UCF vs Houston game I had recorded. Then I ate some soup while watching some Kid’s Baking Championship with the family. I watched more of the UCF vs Houston game, then departed around 6:15 for the nightcap at Loyola MD.

 

 

Game 2 – Lehigh vs Loyola MD

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So, I thought I would have plenty of time to get to this game. Remember earlier in the day I was thinking man I’m good at this timing thing…… Wrong. Loyola is located in the middle of Baltimore city. There is no easy way of getting there. Waze, my gps friend, took me right through the middle of downtown. I was supposed to arrive at 6:57 for the 7 p.m. tip. Well, I did arrive around that time. I had to park, then go to will call to pick up my credential. Needless to say, I walked in 25 seconds after the tip off. Objective not complete.

 

Lehigh came into the game looking to end the season tied at the top of the Patriot League standings. Loyola was trying to finish top eight. Well, Loyola played extremely well on senior night. They controlled the game from the start and won by a final of 92-73.

 

Lehigh was led by their normal trio of guards. The two seniors, Kyle Leufroy and Lance Tejada, combined for 30 points. Leufroy is a steady shooting guard that has the ability to play some point in small doses. He has a solid three-point jumper and is a good mid range shooter as well. Tejada likes to use his quickness to blow by defenders and cause chaos in the lane. He also has the ability to shoot from three. Junior point guard Jordan Cohen displayed his great vision all night. He is a knockdown shooter as well. Cohen finished with 16 points and four rebounds. Lehigh has a solid trio on the perimeter. They just lack overall size as a team. However, big man Nic Lynch did provide solid minutes in the paint. He had 13 points, twelve rebounds and three blocks.

 

For Loyola they also excel in guard play. Freshman Jaylin Andrews exploded for 21 points and hit five three-pointers. He will be a player to keep an eye on. He has good size and length at 6’4 for a shooting guard. Point guard Isaiah Hart delivered 18 points and seven assists. Hart cut his turnovers down this season and is going to be a factor for Loyola the next couple of years. The consistent Andrew Kostecka chipped in 19 points. Kostecka seems to shoot better with a hand in his face. Some guys are just like that. He is also a pest on defense. He uses his quickness and anticipation to disrupt passing lanes and ball handlers regularly.

 

Once the game was over I ran out a soon as possible. I went home and my kids were already put in bed. I got home around 9:45p.m. My kids keep waking up super early on the weekends, like 7 a.m. This is earlier than they wake up for school. Maybe we should let them stay up super late on the weekends…. Nah, sounds too risky. The rest of my night consisted of some IPA’s, leftover Chinese food, “Friends”, “This Is Us” t.v. show, finishing the UCF vs Houston game, watching some of the Saint Mary’s vs Gonzaga game and a little bit of the UFC fights. So, yeah I didn’t go to sleep until 2:30 a.m.!

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 4

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 4

American vs UMBC

Sam Iorio game winner against UMBC

The Life of a Freelance Basketball Scout – Game 4 

November 24 – American @ UMBC

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The next day after my trip to College park to see Marshall vs Maryland, I made the short trip to see American University vs UMBC. UMBC was coming off a successful trip to the Bahamas, where they went 2-1. They had wins over High Point and Air Force. There loss was against South Dakota. UMBC was 4-2 on the season. American was 2-1 on the season, with wins over George Mason and New Hampshire. Their only loss was to Northwestern.

This game was a back and forth affair. UMBC led most of the way but faltered to execute on defense down the stretch. Sa’eed Nelson, the quick and craft point guard for American consistently shredded the defense. He got to the rim at will and also found his teammates regularly. He found teammate Sam Iorio for the eventual game winning 3, with under 2 seconds left.

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Nelson is a problem at the college level. If he can hit the three consistently, he will have a shot in the NBA G-League and for sure a legit chance to be a solid pro overseas. The junior point guard had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Iorio does a little bit of everything for the Eagles. He is the leading rebounder on the team and provides a 3 point threat, as well as playing solid defense. He had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Stacy Beckton Jr. had a solid game also. He chipped in 14 points and 4 three-pointers.

For UMBC it was a disappointing finish. They had the game in hand, but let American score 46 points in the second half. Max Curran had a nice game. The slender built junior, had 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks and a highlight dunk over Marvin Bragg. Sometimes the skinny tall guys can extend and yam over the broader shoulder fellas.

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This dunk is a different one. This is actually the game tying one late in the second half.

Senior Joe Sherburne did his normal thing contributing a steady presence on offense and defense. He could still be more aggressive at times though. He had 11 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals. Arkel Lamar also was not as aggressive as he may need to be. Junior point guard K.J. Jackson filled the stat sheet with 6 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists and 6 steals. Problem is he shot only 1-10 from the field. Brandon Horvath the other slender man on the team(see what I did there?), who also yams on people from time to time, had 14 points and 8 rebounds.

Overall the issue was UMBC could not stop the penetration from Nelson. He carved them up and American passed the ball very well in the second half. They could be more of a factor in the Patriot league than people originally thought.

Food for thought – UMBC had breakfast food in the media room. I chose to pass. I ate a muffin and had some water….. Very basic I know…… But I did get carryout Indian food for dinner from Tandoori Kabob in Pasadena. Spicy ginger chicken with garlic naan. Well worth the price.