SAN ANTONIO – “You mean ‘just come to campus and look for the red brick building’ didn’t work?”
That’s what Trinity SID Justin Parker asked me a few minutes after I sat down at press row here, about seven and a half minutes into the game with Trinity trailing Millsaps 16-8. Uhh, no, and while I knew how to get here, let’s just say it’s not been the best morning. But I got to see a lot of campus. And red brick buildings.
These Sunday morning games can’t be much easier on the players either. Millsaps’ trip this time hasn’t been too difficult but the second day of a trip including DePauw and Centre or Oglethorpe and Sewanee can’t be easy.
Even more so in the UAA, which plays a similar schedule and has teams going from Atlanta to Cleveland, from St. Louis to Chicago or from New York City to Boston.
Trinity has taken a 20-19 lead. The Tigers have given uniform numbers to 17 players, 11 of them freshmen and sophomores. It’s been a ragged first half, with the times shooting a combined 16-for-53. And seemingly worse than that since I got in the building.
A copy of the Millsaps campus paper just found its way to press row. It’s the one, of course, where Millsaps has won the SCAC football title by beating Trinity.
Something makes me wonder if it might not end up on a bulletin board somewhere.
Rolling my eyes — just got introduced to the crowd at the beginning of the second half by the PA announcer. I would value the publicity but there are only about 100 people in the gym at the moment who aren’t in uniform for one of the four teams or part of the game day staff. 🙂
Reminds me, though, of one of the most surreal moments in my Division III travels. Ray Martel and I concocted a trip off the cuff in February 2000, looking for a way to see Wash U set the record for longest Division III women’s basketball winning streak. As it turned out, the record-setting game landed on the schedule on a Friday night, Feb. 18, at Carnegie Mellon, in Pittsburgh, and Ray and I decided if we were going to drive to Pittsburgh we might as well keep on going west.
We spent the night in Berea, Ohio, and continued west to Bloomington, Ill., where we saw Wheaton play at Illinois Wesleyan on Saturday night. And before the game, Ray and I were talking to Wheaton SID Brett Marhanka, whom we both knew when he was at Gallaudet, when we heard the public address announcer introduce Pat Coleman and Ray Martel from D3hoops.com in front of 3,200 fans at the Shirk Center.
That was about as surreal as it gets.
Since I got in the building: Trinity 28, Millsaps 13.
Final: Trinity men 57, Millsaps 53.
It’s Pat Cunningham’s 300th career win. AD Bob King just presented him with a game ball.
If anyone is following the game on the live stats and is curious about the delay, the shot clocks seem to be having issues. They’re working on them as we speak.
http://www.trinity.edu/departments/athletics/WBasketball/05livestats/xlive.htm
Our Tour de Tejas podcast interview is with Millsaps junior guard Lorenzo Bailey and will be posted shortly.
Podcast posted.
Heh, after almost two years with this laptop I’m finally running out of hard drive space. 🙂 Will have to be more selective with photos and audio until I get a chance to burn some DVDs.
Final here in the women’s game: Trinity 90, Millsaps 51.
Will have a second podcast for the day shortly.
Good interveiw of Trinity Coach Amie Bradley!
Oh shucks! My left hand typed the “e” before the right hand typed the “i”.
Keyboard dyslexics of the world “untie”!