Griz lose to NAU 80-76
This game never felt right. From about Friday afternoon on, it never felt like we were definitely going to win. The buzz wasn't there. I walked in about a half hour before the game and was close to the first student there. Then the game started and the almost-numb feeling stayed. In the early stages the Jacks lead varied but stayed within five points. There was no fire, no attitude.
The Griz made a few runs and even led by as much as 7 (48-41 15:41 left in the second) but they could not get legitimate separation. After the game, coach Tinkle spoke about the Griz's inability to get any momentum.
"It seemed like anytime we got momentum going, it was somehow taken away from us," Wayne Tinkle said.
I hate to do this and I don't want this to be one of those instances where I blame the officiating —the referees did not shoot 71 percent in the second half—but it was definitely a factor. The goal of any officiating crew should be to go unnoticed. If the game is well officiated, no one says anything about it. No one remembers it. Tonight, it lingers.
There were several instances when I thought they controlled the game when they didn't need to, almost as if they felt they needed to be a part of it. After a past game, I asked one player about the officiating and he echoed the same thing, saying "I know he was just trying to control the game."
Even without the poor officiating, the Griz would not have won this game. They were 19-28 from the line (3-11 in the first half) and were out-rebounded 35-24.
Tinkle said the loss of center Brian Qvale hurt on both ends of the floor. "When guys get to the rim, he's there to block shots and we really miss that presence underneath."
Besides Qvale's presence underneath, there was another key barometer for a win missing from tonight's game: Ryan Staudacher's outside touch.
For those who made it to the game, his 2-7 from beyond the arc isn't very telling. He wasn't forcing up shots and he wasn't missing badly. Every time he shot it seemed like there was a piece of plexi-glass about four inches beneath the rim. I counted three or four shots that seemed like they were almost all the way down before popping out. Ryan spoke about it after the game.
"Sometimes you just have those nights, but it was frustrating. They all felt good, I thought they were all in but they just rattled in and out. There's nothing you can do about it."
Just not a very enjoyable game all-around. Weber State on Thursday. One game at a time.
The Griz made a few runs and even led by as much as 7 (48-41 15:41 left in the second) but they could not get legitimate separation. After the game, coach Tinkle spoke about the Griz's inability to get any momentum.
"It seemed like anytime we got momentum going, it was somehow taken away from us," Wayne Tinkle said.
I hate to do this and I don't want this to be one of those instances where I blame the officiating —the referees did not shoot 71 percent in the second half—but it was definitely a factor. The goal of any officiating crew should be to go unnoticed. If the game is well officiated, no one says anything about it. No one remembers it. Tonight, it lingers.
There were several instances when I thought they controlled the game when they didn't need to, almost as if they felt they needed to be a part of it. After a past game, I asked one player about the officiating and he echoed the same thing, saying "I know he was just trying to control the game."
Even without the poor officiating, the Griz would not have won this game. They were 19-28 from the line (3-11 in the first half) and were out-rebounded 35-24.
Tinkle said the loss of center Brian Qvale hurt on both ends of the floor. "When guys get to the rim, he's there to block shots and we really miss that presence underneath."
Besides Qvale's presence underneath, there was another key barometer for a win missing from tonight's game: Ryan Staudacher's outside touch.
For those who made it to the game, his 2-7 from beyond the arc isn't very telling. He wasn't forcing up shots and he wasn't missing badly. Every time he shot it seemed like there was a piece of plexi-glass about four inches beneath the rim. I counted three or four shots that seemed like they were almost all the way down before popping out. Ryan spoke about it after the game.
"Sometimes you just have those nights, but it was frustrating. They all felt good, I thought they were all in but they just rattled in and out. There's nothing you can do about it."
Just not a very enjoyable game all-around. Weber State on Thursday. One game at a time.
