Thansk, as usual, MaXx. I only wish we could put strings of 3-4 victories in a row, with only one defeat...maybe two ...intertwined...Oh well...
Anyways, both teams beat two teams at the upper echelon of the SBC...Good job guys!! Here's today's Pete Pelegrin's story in The Miami Herald:
www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/413668.htmlCOLLEGE BASKETBALL FIU MEN 66, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 60
FIU's young guards escape the trap
Freshmen Nick Taylor and Tremayne Russell fought off a pressure defense and triggered a late 14-2 run for FIU.
Posted on Sun, Feb. 10, 2008Digg del.icio.us AIM reprint print email
BY PETE PELEGRIN
ppelegrin@MiamiHerald.com
With Florida International holding a slim lead late in its game against Middle Tennessee at Pharmed Arena on Saturday night, the Blue Raiders attacked the Golden Panthers' weakness: breaking the full-court trap.
Middle Tennessee pressed FIU four times as the game hung in the balance, and in each instance the Golden Panthers shattered the defense.
The newfound success helped FIU hold off Middle Tennessee in the 66-60 victory.
''A lot of it is just repetition and work,'' FIU forward Chris Fuller said. ``We got two young point guards, so they are not used to seeing traps like that. In high school, nobody traps like that. They are progressing, and now I feel like they are sophomores.''
Fuller, who had a game-high 16 points, was referring to freshmen guards Nick Taylor and Tremayne Russell, who were forced into the starting lineup after starting guard Redd White quit the team last month and Michael James was kicked off the team.
With help from Fuller and Alex Galindo bringing the ball up the court, Taylor and Russell got through the late defensive pressure and set up their teammates for a 14-2 run that gave FIU (7-16, 4-9 Sun Belt) a 56-48 lead with fewer than four minutes to play.
''That was by design,'' Fuller said of Galindo and himself helping with the press. ``That takes a lot of pressure off them. [FIU] Coach [Sergio Rouco] put that in there for us to do it, and it helped a lot. We had 13 turnovers; we average 19.''
Said Rouco: ``Nick Taylor had a lot to do with [the win]. He went to the right place. [Taylor and Russell] are getting more comfortable.''
The Blue Raiders (11-12, 8-5) had one last chance when FIU got sloppy with its shooting. Middle Tennessee had a 9-2 run to close the gap to 59-57 with 1:18 remaining.
But then Fuller and Galindo closed out the Blue Raiders.
Fuller drained a three-pointer from the left corner to make it 62-57, and as Middle Tennessee guard Nigel Johnson drove down the lane on the ensuing possession, Galindo blocked his layup to secure the victory.
''When you put in a dagger like a three-pointer, then they go down and try to score and you block the shot, that's another dagger,'' Fuller said. ``That hurts, and I know the feeling because it's happened to us plenty of times.''