I'm hoping the Tigers can start the game tonight with the kind of assertiveness they show at the end of games.  The Marlins are good at takeaways and taking care of the ball has not been a strength of this H-SC squad.  The Tigers also have to deal with Omari Deveaux.  The Tigers have some weapons of their own, so I sure would like to see a crucial win for H-SC.

Can the Generals produce the first Averett conference home game loss? The Cougars have clawed H-SC and RMC among others.

Averett hasn't lost a conference game at home this season.  Their only home loss was the first game of the season.  They shot the ball with a lot of confidence.  The Tigers continue to start slowly and find themselves in a hole early.   Averett held their lead for 39 minutes; they had a 9 point lead with a minute to go.  The Tigers had the chance to win with the last possession in regulation but couldn't get it done.

The Jackets - Marlins game must have been a nerve-racking watch.  The box score says the lead changed hands a remarkable 19 times and the score was tied 11 times.  For reference, the 2 point AU win over RMC had 5 lead changes, the W&L 2 point win over GC had only 2 lead changes (also remarkable with GC having a 10 point lead at the half) and W&L's 1 point win over Noke had 5 lead changes. 

Road games, what can you say?  It looks like Macon played quite well, but the Fish were able to shoot 3s a little more comfortably on their home court.  The Maroons were apparently right at home on LU's court and smoked the Hornets 92-68.  Guilford is getting on a roll and Shenandoah finally picked up a conference win.  I don't think much can be judged by H-SC's win over Randolph, but its good to see hard working William Britt lead the scoring.  He has been a glue guy for the Tigers. 

All of Saturday's ODAC games are now scheduled for Friday. 

BC at Noke added to Friday's games

https://odaconline.com/calendar.aspx?path=mbball

So far, 3 games have been moved to Friday evening:
H-SC at AU
RMC at Randolph
VWU at EMU

Well, I did, and I watched the LU game last night after my return from the annual golf trip.  Uninspiring is not a bad description.  20 turnovers, mostly unforced including 6 illegal screens, kept the Hornets in what should have been an easy game.  There are glimpses of a good basketball team but the consistency is not there.  One can only hope for improvement before the ODAC tournament.

The Tigers had a 1 point lead at 14:57 in the first half.  At 3:18, they had made only 1 basket since and found themselves down 15.  That atrocious stretch pretty much sealed the game.  The Roanoke defense gave H-SC nothing.  Quite a few possessions ended with a forced shot as the shot clock ran out then a layup on the other end.  The Tigers battled back to within 5 in the second half but lack of 3 point shooting (3-23) doomed them. The Tiger defense and rebounding are solid, but the offense has to get better if they are going to compete with top level ODAC teams.  Errors on the offensive end are creating problems on the defensive side.   

I can't sugarcoat this: H-SC's previous 2 road games against strong teams do not inspire a lot of confidence for tonight's game in Salem.  Those games against RMC and Emory had the Tigers in big holes in only 10 minutes, and the games were essentially over at the half.  Roanoke has a stout defense.  If the Maroons see a few shots go down early and get confident on the home court, it could be deja vu all over again.  At a minimum, I'd like to see the Tigers not have a slow start and stay in the ball game.     

You ought to be. The Generals have some young talent (Amorosi, Newkirk, Breeden, Die and Ransom) and should be a top tier ODAC team soon, if not already. 

An air of uneasiness hangs over the ODAC.  Anybody feeling real confident about their team right now?  The Tigers have not defeated any particularly good teams; they are 0-4 against ranked teams with 2 close losses and 2 road blowouts.  RMC just lost a head scratcher against Averett.  Roanoke is in the same boat as H-SC without a signature win and took a loss at home to a W&L squad that is fighting injuries.  VWU, same as H-SC and RC, hasn't got a big win, but did smash W&L in Lexington and hasn't dropped an ODAC game yet.  W&L has a glossy record, but a fairly soft schedule so far.  LU had a rocky start, but they appear to be gaining form.  AU and Coach Doino have to be happy with the start of 2026.

RMC is still in the driver's seat.  A little lapse at Averett, where they let the home team hang around and hit a wild game winner, doesn't change that.  Sadly for the Jackets, I've been wrong so many times this season I wouldn't want my seal of approval.   

What a gutsy win by the undermanned Gennies at Roanoke!  W&L was missing two starters: Newkirk and Loughlin.  Averett was giving VWU a very hard time before the unfortunate necessity to stop the game with 9+ minutes to go.  I don't know who the stoppage favors.  Averett got stopped when they were playing well, but VWU will have quite a bus trip for a 9 minute game unless they hang around Danville tonight.  RMC got the 10 point win; I note Gabe Proctor only played 4 minutes.  Injury?

RMC shouldn't have great difficulty with the Quakers.  The Jacket guards are excellent and should be able to handle the press and attack.  The Jackets will need to be energetic on the boards; they don't want to give Salters and Proctor many second chances.  Its always interesting to see what version of the Tigers shows up.  Roanoke is on a roll.

I have mental whiplash from watching the Tigers play Guilford tonight.  The first half Tigers were passive and tentative. Like they were trying to control the pace and totally uncomfortable. The Quakers were playing with great energy and aggression, as well as dropping a lot of 3s.  It was 49-33 at the half.  If it was a fight, they wouldn't have stopped it, but a standing 8 count would have been given.  Tiger faithful were stunned, and I can't say I was hopeful going into the second half. 

The second half Tigers had the energy and attacked the Quakers at both ends.  Colin Radcliffe scored all 25 of his points in the second half.  The game utterly reversed course with the Tigers winning the second half 59-30 to take a 13 point win.  Guilford's Gabe Proctor was almost unbelievable.  I believe they would have won if he would have taken every Quaker shot in the second half regardless of the defense.  The range of his 8 treys and degree of difficulty on some of them were simply remarkable.  In addition to Radcliffe, notable Tigers included Santana Lynch with 17 pts and 14 boards along with Travis Stickney with 11 assists.