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NCAA Greatest Game: Allen Iverson vs. Stephon Marbury (1996) *Georgetown vs. Georgia Tech
It was last night's best bet on Broadway -- Allen Iverson of Georgetown against Stephon Marbury of Georgia Tech. The scene was Madison Square Garden. The occasion was a semifinal game in the 11th annual Preseason National Invitation Tournament. The war between the precocious college basketball stars was more or less a draw. Iverson had the better numbers, but he also had a better team behind him. A noisy and appreciative crowd of 15,249 watched Iverson and Georgetown pull away in the second half to a 94-72 victory. That was no surprise because the Hoyas are ranked fifth and Georgia Tech 25th in the latest Associated Press poll. The triumph sent Georgetown into tomorrow night's final against Arizona. In the first game of the semifinal doubleheader, Arizona held off Michigan, 86-79. With little more than three minutes left in the game, Georgetown got a scare when Iverson jammed his left thumb. He left and did not return, but later, in the locker room, Iverson said the thumb was fine and he would be ready for the final. Still, as a precaution, he was taken to a hospital for X-rays. Iverson shot 9 for 16 from the floor, 1 for 6 from the 3-point line. He finished with 23 points, 6 assists and 2 steals. Marbury (4 for 14, 0 for 4 on 3-pointers) ended with 13 points, 8 assists and 7 steals. Before they are nominated for the Hall of Fame, it should be pointed out that Iverson made eight turnovers and Marbury six. But as point guards, they handle the ball more than others, and it also should be remembered that Iverson is a 19-year-old sophomore, Marbury an 18-year-old freshman. Here are their assessments of the game: Iverson on Iverson: "I think I played all right. But I made a lot of mistakes." Iverson on Marbury: "He's a great player, but he's a freshman. He's got a lot to learn, just as I've got a lot to learn. He'll get better." Marbury on Marbury: "I think I did a pretty good job. But I don't think I'm playing my normal game. I'm not shooting well." Marbury on Iverson: "You can only try to contain him. He'll get his points, regardless." Marbury was the more spectacular player. The Coney Island youngster played with the peripheral vision and magic of a Magic Johnson or Isiah Thomas. Once, on the run, he bounced a perfect long pass to a teammate sandwiched between two defenders. Several times, he drove to the basket and jumped and, when a defender would double-team him, he dished off the ball to an open teammate. But Marbury did not have the help that Iverson did. Victor Page, Georgetown's freshman shooting guard, was the high scorer with 25 points. Othella Harrington, the 6-foot-9-inch senior center, was held to 2 points in the first half but finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Georgetown's bang-the-boards defense outrebounded Georgia Tech, 45 to 24. John Thompson, in his 24th year as Georgetown coach, likes his team. "They've got a lot to learn," he said, "but it's a team I can drive. You don't drive people who aren't talented." Georgia Tech Coach Bobby Cremins said he knew why his team was beaten badly. "I think it was too much, too soon," he said. "We were not ready for that type of game. We're young, we hung in there, but it's tough on a young team." The first semifinal matched Arizona's speed, defense and experience against Michigan's youth and bulk. Arizona broke open a tie game in the last 13 minutes. The Wildcats, ranked No. 19, made fewer errors than 16th-ranked Michigan. Much of the time, it kept the ball from Michigan's post players and forced the Wolverines into bad shots from the outside. When Michigan closed to 79-77, Arizona tried to freeze the ball, Michigan double-teamed it and Joseph Blair, the Arizona center, got loose under the basket and sank the game-clinching field goal and free throw. "Their post players beat us to death," Michigan Coach Steve Fisher said. "It seems like every shot they made in the second half was a result of our defense. But eight of our players are freshmen and sophomores, and you know it's going to happen some. I'm mad. I told our team they should be mad we didn't play better. You can't be afraid to make mistakes. Maybe I made them afraid to make mistakes." Coach Lute Olson was pleased with the way his Arizona team played. "The difference down the stretch," he said, "was probably that we had a lot more experience. But the only way to get experience is playing. You have to go through it with game pressure." Reggie Geary, Arizona's point guard, scored only 8 points but also had 7 assists and 2 steals. Once, trying to keep a ball inbounds, he crashed into the press table and knocked over a telephone. He picked up the phone and put the receiver to his ear. It worked. He nodded and went back to business.
Allen Iverson Georgetown High 40 pts FULL Highlights vs Arizona ! (1996)
Georgetown Coach John Thompson, whose team had just lost its first game of the season, was smiling. Georgetown point guard Allen Iverson, who had just scored a career-high 40 points, was not. Those exemplified the Hoyas' mixed reaction to their 91-81 loss to No. 19 Arizona Friday night in the Preseason NIT championship. If the fifth-ranked Hoyas (3-1) thought they would achieve greatness in November, they were wrong. With no teams in the current Associated Press top 25 on the schedule until January, the Hoyas will have something to keep them humble during the next month. "I feel like the guy in the shaving commercial: Thanks, I needed that,' " Thompson said, giving himself a slap in the face. "That's the way I feel about this game: Thanks, I needed that." If Thompson wanted an excuse to "fuss" at his team, he got it. He says he only gets on players when they have talent and don't use it, and that was the case with several players Friday. Center Othella Harrington had four points and no rebounds in 16 foul-plagued minutes. Jerome Williams had nine rebounds, but only seven points, and Victor Page, Georgetown's leading scorer entering the game, had six points. There's not much Thompson can say to Iverson, other than "get well soon." Iverson got knocked all over the court and picked up a bruised right elbow to go with the jammed left thumb he received Wednesday night -- in addition to the eight stitches over his left eye he received last week. He also kept the Hoyas in the game almost single-handedly, which earned him the tournament most valuable player award. "I'd rather have the victory than the MVP," Iverson said. "We're just going to go back to practice and listen to Coach Thompson and the rest of the coaching staff and I think we'll be all right." When the Hoyas return to practice for Wednesday's home game against Southern University, they will likely go back to basics: defense. Arizona shot 60 percent against a Georgetown team that had held opponents to 39 percent shooting in the first half. Arizona's intelligent offense kept working the ball inside, and fired only nine three-pointers. "We weren't helping each other out on defense," Iverson said. "We weren't talking like we usually do." Iverson did plenty of talking during the game, however. "He was pumping up his teammates, telling them they could come back and {saying}, I've seen it happen before with these guys,' " said Arizona guard Miles Simon, who scored 17 points. "But this is a different team." The Wildcats (4-0) came to New York seeking respect. Even though they have the nation's best winning percentage since 1988 (.830), they are notorious for their first-round NCAA exits: three in the past four years. Last season's loss to Miami of Ohio in the opening round quickly made people forget Arizona's trip to the Final Four in 1994. The Wildcats took it as an insult when they weren't included in the preseason AP rankings after owning a spot in 141 straight polls. They also played their second game at Arkansas, while all of the other Preseason NIT semifinalists got to play two games at home. Arizona entered at No. 19 after beating the Razorbacks and will climb even higher following its victories over Georgetown and No. 16 Michigan in New York.
Saginaw Spirit @ London Knights 10/30/10
The Saginaw Spirit battled back from an early three goal deficit to force extra time, losing 6-5 after a seven round shootout. Saginaw earns a point despite the loss, moving their point total to 26 and their record to 12-2-1-1. Newly acquired center Mathew Sisca tallied two goals in his Spirit debut, while former Knight Matt Ashman netted two assists against his former teammates. The Spirit opened scoring in the first period, with center Mathew Sisca scoring at the 5:19 mark from defenseman Alex Lepkowski. The goal marked Sisca's first in Spirit uniform since arriving via trade earlier in the day. The Knights quickly answered with four consecutive goals giving them a 4-1 lead over the Spirit. Winger Stephen Sanza tallied a goal at 17:15 in the first from winger Tyler J. Brown and winger Chris DeSousa. Winger Andreas Athanasiou scored less than a minute later at 17:50 to give the Knights the lead, courtesy assists from center Daniel Erlich and winger Vladislav Namestnikov. The Knights momentum would carry into the second period, where Erlich scored his sixth of the season at the 2:52 mark from Namestnikov and Athanasiou. A power play goal tallied by defenseman Michael D'Orazio from Erlich and winger Colin Martin at 7:38 in the second would cap off the Knights' scoring spree and give them a three goal advantage over the Spirit. The Spirit would rally moments later however, fighting their way back into the game with three straight goals. Defenseman Ryan O'Connor would score at 9:29 in the second from center Ivan Telegin to reduce the deficit, then moments later winger Josh Shalla tallied his tenth of the season from center Brandon Saad and defenseman Matt Ashman at 12:13 to move the score to 4-3. Sisca would notch his second goal of the night at the 15:58 mark courtesy assists from Ashman and Telegin to tie up the game at four apiece. Sisca's second goal would drive London goalie Igor Bobkov from net, to be replaced by Michael Houser. The change temporarily stymied Saginaw's momentum, and the Knights would tally a goal in the final seconds of the frame to retake their lead. D'Orazio notched his second goal of the night at 19:24, a power play marker from defenseman Scott Harrington and Erlich to move the score to 5-4. The Spirit would tie up the game in the opening minutes of the third period, thanks to a goal from center Vincent Trocheck from Saad and O'Connor at the 3:07 mark. The two teams would continue to battle in the third period, but neither team was able to secure the lead and the game moved through a 5:00 minute 4-on-4 overtime and into a shootout. The shootout saw seven rounds before a final decision could be reached, but in the end it was the Knights that squeaked out the victory and secured the two points. London's Namestnikov tallied the game winning goal in the shootout. Spirit goalie Mavric Parks turned aside 42 of 47 shots, while starting Knights goaltender Igor Bobkov posted 14 saves on 18 shots. Michael Houser tallied 17 saves on 18 shots in relief of Bobkov.
03 Neath V Pontypridd - KONICA MINOLTA CUP 2006
Team line-ups and views from the dressing room Ponty vow to upset Neath and win the cup for sidelined 'Chief' May 6 2006 Andy Howell, Western Mail Kick-off 6pm THE "CHIEF" sits out today's Konica-Minolta Cup final at the Millennium Stadium after failing to recover from injury. Pontypridd captain and talisman Dale McIntosh conceded defeat in his fight to recover from damaged ribs. He had been stretchered off after colliding with Cardiff flanker Gareth Gravell during last month's semi-final at Newport's Rodney Parade. And 36-year-old, New Zealand-born McIntosh, below, who was capped twice by Wales, lost his fight to face Neath in what could have been his swansong at the home of Welsh rugby. Fellow lock Chris Martenko has also been ruled out, by a long-standing shoulder problem. That means Chris Dicomidis and Grant Harrington have been picked at lock by Pontypridd coach Simon King. They also have other problems with star scrum-half Wayne Evans (back operation) and hooker Duane Goodfield, on duty with the Blues at Ulster last night, both missing. Stand-in Ponty skipper Nathan Strong is adamant they want to win it for the "Chief" after being denied late on by Llanelli a year ago. "All the boys enjoy playing alongside him because he's a good leader and I'm sure we all step up a bit to compensate for him not being there," said Wales rugby league international Strong. He played for Wales against Ireland and Scotland in the 13-a-side code but admits, "This is bigger. "The people of Ponty will turn out in droves and our team spirit is second to none. It's a massive game and everybody will be giving 100% for Pontypridd." King chipped in, "Neath have done extremely well throughout this season to have suffered only one defeat and, while they have got great strength in depth, it gives us confidence that we were the only team to beat them in the Premiership." Wales Under-21 star and Commonwealth Games sevens player James Hook wins the outside-half vote for Neath, with former Wales No 10 Arwel Thomas likely to join a strong bench with ex-Swansea back-rower and Wales A cap Hywel Jenkins. Former Cardiff blockbuster Dan McShane keeps Jenkins out of the side at No 8. Ed Shervington is preferred to Gerwyn Price at hooker, while Steve Martin captains the side at lock despite nursing a calf strain. Neath coach Rowland Phillips played down his side's tag as hot favourites. "We have got a strong squad, but I don't think there is as much between us and the rest of the pack as people might think," said the coach who has led his side to successive Welsh Premier titles. "The fact that Pontypridd and we have played each other twice with a win each shows the type of close game we can expect on Saturday. "We are a tight squad and we won't be worrying about any favourites' tag. We'll just get on with doing what we do best. It should be a cracker." Neath G Morris; S. Thomas, W Mitchell, A Bevan, R. Johnston; J Hook, P Horgan/M Roberts; C Griffiths, E Shervington, C Mitchell, M Morgan, S Martin (capt), A Llewellyn, D McShane, J McPhail. Player to watch - James Hook: The highly-rated outside-half has shone for Wales Under-21s and the Wales Sevens team this season. Pontypridd M Stoddart; C Clayton, T Riley, D Lockyer, M Nuthall; D Flanagan, G Jones; S Williams, B Phillips, S Roberts, C Dicomidis, G Harrington, L Evans, N Strong (capt), R Shellard. Player to watch - Rhys Shellard: The robust flanker is another youngster with seemingly a big future ahead of him. Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales). Form guide: Neath have lost just once in the Welsh Premiership - against Pontypridd - as they held on to their crown in style. Andy Howell verdict: Pontypridd have been Neath's closest challengers this season but the form-book suggests they'll be edged out in a potential thriller.