A10 Champs - Again

You knew this one was going to be intense. The Cryers even broke out snazzy new black uniforms which was very appropriate since they got buried 76-59. I was there an hour before tipoff and got to witness the little halfcourt exchange between the teams. I would assume it started while X was doing their normal routine of jogging from under the basket to midcourt and turning back around. I have seen us do that all year. Clearly some 'woofing' was going on and UD took exception. London Warren and Stephen Thomas are little girls. Warren stood behind everybody on his team and then Thomas thought he should take his aggression out on X fans in the stands. The little chump bumped his gums hard but had little to say once the ball went up. I was proud of Dante' because the UD fan base I communicate with have stated over and over he is a bust. Yeah he busted all right. How about the first 11 points of the game and he probably would have done more damage if not for two quick fouls. Dante' is a class act and he told Byron and Joe afterwards he wanted to keep the seniors 'legacy' in tact. To me that is a clear indication of a winning program.

Jackson finished the game with 14 points and a career high 8 rebounds. UD hasn't won here since the Jimmy Carter administration. That is 24 occassions for those keeping score at home. We hit 9 threes and I have stated previously if we hit 8 or more we can play with anybody. 13-17 from the free throw line was huge too. Derrick Brown finished with 11 points and 12 boards and did not participate in senior night ceremonies even though he is graduating this year. I think he is back unless he tears it up in the A10 and NCAA tournaments. BJ Raymond picked up his 1000th point and set the new gold standard for wins by a player. You couldn't have asked for a better 'senior night' for him. Burrell and Duncan shared it with 99 but last night marked the 100th win BJ has had in a X uniform.

Jamel McLean deserves mention as he went baseline and flushed three times around Luke 'Flagpole' Fabrizius who had no business being on the floor. McLean finished with 10 point and five rebounds in a very productive 14 minutes. UD fans also like to bang on Kenny Frease and the big fella responded with 8 points and 7 boards.

Finally for my man Swampy: Redford finished with 9 points in 16 minutes. Your boy Paul Williams was 0fer in 12 minutes. Once again the fine people in the state of Michigan got it right last year. And Swamp you can call him anything you want just make sure you include the word 'champion' when you talk about him.

Up next is a road game at Richmond this Saturday. We are guaranteed the #1 seed but a win against the Spiders gives us sole possession of the regular season championship. If we lose and Rhody wins they will also be 12-4.