Saturday at the Mabee Center

Just a few observations from the Mabee Center this afternoon:

1 In the early going, every time Valpo tried to get the ball into the low post, the ORU defender was able to deny and steal the pass. VU stopped trying it after awhile, but did use it towards the end of the first half with slightly better results. Still it was hard to escape the reality that ORU is much too athletic for this Crusader team.

2. It was surprising to hear that Calum Mcleod scored 17 points. He did get loose down low several times in the 2nd half and was pretty much unstoppable. Unfortunately, on the defensive end, he and Skogland - both of whom are trying their best - just do not have enough bulk to hold their own against post players like those ORU has.

3. The turnovers may have slightly improved, I don't know. We still lost quite a few passes from our own carelessness.

4 The crowd would have been considered deeply disappointing had it not been an afternoon game (THe Harlem Globetrotters were scheduled for the evening). Still, the crowd seemed to give ORU plenty to feed off in this game.

5. VU was content to let Yemi Ogunye shoot from behind the arc, which he rarely did, but Adam Liberty burned Valpo numerous times. VU did play some man-to-man, but also resorted to zone defense, which still left ORU shooters wide open at times.

6. Scott Sutton remarked in the postgame that team chemistry seems to be coming together for the Golden Eagles.

In the earlier tilt, once again, the Lady Crusaders and the Lady Golden Eagles played a barn-burner, a real titanic battle that went down to the wire, with the Lady Crusaders prevailing by 3. The lead must have changed hands at least 15 times during the game.