BELOIT—Josh Hinz admitted that he’s been chasing a spot in the Midwestern Conference tournament since he arrived on the campus of Beloit College back as a player in 2002.
It only took 22 years but the Buccaneers’ all-time leading scorer finally has the program back fighting for a MWC championship.
And all the longtime assistant turned head coach had to do was take down a uber fast-paced and hot-shooting second-place Grinnell College squad to officially clinch a spot in the tourney.
Beloit out-hustled and outsmarted the Pioneers in a 117-97 victory on Wednesday night at Flood Arena. With Monmouth College’s 67-58 loss to Cornell, the Bucs locked up the third spot and Ripon the fourth.
“This is everything,” Hinz said. “It’s all on the guys. It's nothing with us coaches, we're just along for the ride. These guys have made a committed effort over the last couple of years, and they really wanted to change the success of the program.
“It definitely means a lot to me, but I’m just living vicariously through these guys. They're the ones doing the work.”
It is Beloit’s first appearance in the MWC Tournament since the 2000-01 season.
Grinnell (17-6, 11-4) has long been successful because of how speedy it plays on both ends of the courts, the frequent rotations it makes and the absurd amount of 3-pointers it tries.
The Bucs (16-8, 9-6) were able to match the pace and its bench had a huge night to keep the legs on the court fresh. But where Beloit found its advantage was in the post.
“We knew that they don’t guard well in long spurts,” aid Azeez Ganiyu, who finished with 14 points and 11 boards. “We were moving the ball around, getting the ball in transition and scoring quick buckets.”
Beloit drove the lane time and time again as it outscored the Pioneers 66-32 in the paint, and it took threes sparingly as it finished 4-for-9.
“It starts with the guards in the backcourt,” Hinz said. “It's really hard to get through that press. If you're bobbling it or they're getting a hand on it, it can really mess up your advantage. Our guards just did a really good job of facing that pressure.
“We did a better job not worrying so much about the body that was in front of us, but just getting our eyes on the rim and watching the ball.”
Beloit held a close 14-13 lead through the first six minutes before junior Semaj Roy sank a bucket that started a 15-2 run from the Bucs.
Roy scored six of those points and Anthony Carter hit a three and scored five as Beloit took a 14-point advantage. The two stayed around there and Ganiyu’s layup made it 56-43 going into intermission.
“Semaj handled the game really well,” Hinz said. “We moved him all over the floor. Sometimes we had him up as one of the top guards, sometimes he's at half court, sometimes he's the finisher, sometimes he's the middle guy where he's trying to distribute more than anything. Credit to him because we threw a lot at him."
Beloit limited Grinnell to just a 34.1 shooting percentage and only allowed it to go 7-for-26 on treys in the first half. The Pioneers ended 38.6% from the field and just 16-for-50 on 3-pointers.
“They still scored quite a bit, but we made them tougher shots than what we did at their place (when Beloit fell 108-93),” Hinz said.
Balanced scoring and its work in the post helped Beloit hold a 20-point lead early in the second half but the Pioneers started to see some success from the perimeter and cut it to 84-72 with nine minutes left.
But Lathan Lewis threw down a dunk that sparked another big run from the Bucs, who surged ahead for the 97-75 lead that Grinnell found itself unable to erase.
“We were making sure we stayed at the same pace and played steady,” Roy said. “We didn't want to play into their hands and play fast, so we were just trying to play steady.”
Seven different players reached double-figures for the Bucs with Roy leading the way with 25 and Dae’Quan Davis next with 18. Carter scored 14, Clayton Jenny added 11 and Ethan Bozzo and Lewis each contributed 10.
“We have a good team,” Roy said. “Everyone contributes to every win and everyone is good in their own way. Guys did an excellent job coming off the bench, giving us points or stops on defense, whatever it was.”
Kai Te Huki, who went 3-for-12 on 3-pointers, paced the Pioneers with 21 points while Jordan Lee added 20 and Gabe Garcia finished with 19.
Beloit also had a nice 49-37 advantage on the boards that limited Grinnell’s chance at additional treys.
For Ganiyu, it means a chance to finish out and compete on a winning squad. Something he has never done before.
“It’s something that I can’t describe with words,” he said. “I came from a losing program and coming here, we still struggled to start with. But it felt different coming here. I knew it was something we could build, something we could actually make it to something. And knowing that I could be somebody to help? I take pride in that.”
The Bucs finish at Lake Forest on Saturday before the MWC Tournament starts on Feb. 23 on the campus of Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill.
• BOXSCORE:
BELOIT 117, GRINNELL 97
Grinnell 43 54 — 97
Beloit 56 61— 97
GRINNELL (fg-fga ft-fta pts) — Te Huki 6-16 6-6 21, Lee 6-13 2-2 20, Garcia 7-14 5-10 19, Tarighi 4-12 1-2 13, Lundy 3-8 1-1 8, Murphy 1-2 0-0 3, DeBruhl 1-4 0-0 3, Walser 1-1 1-2 3, Rosen 1-4 0-0 2, Bluder 1-4 0-0 2, Vincent 1-2 0-1 2, Ruhanen 0-0 1-2 1, Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, DeGeorge 0-1 0-0 0, Priest 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 32-83 17-26 97.
BELOIT (fg-fga ft-fta pts) — Roy 10-15 4-5 25, Davis 9-13 0-0 18, Ganiyu 5-8 4-6 14, Carter 5-8 2-2 14, Jenny 3-6 5-6 11, Lewis 5-8 0-0 10, Bozzo 5-7 0-0 10, Scuefield 2-3 2-2 6, Myles 1-3 3-4 5, Rusch 1-3 1-2 4, Nixon 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 46-76 21-27 117.
3-pt. Goals: GC 16-50 (Lee 6-13, Tarighi 4-11, Te Huki 3-12, Lundy 1-4, DeBruhl 1-4, Murphy 1-2, Rosen 0-1, Bluder 0-1, DeGeorge 0-1, Priest 0-1), BC 4-9 (Carter 2-3, Rusch 1-3, Roy 1-1, Jenny 0-1, Myles 0-1). Fouled out: Johnson. Total fouls: GC 19, BC 22. Rebounds: GC 37 (Lundy 7), BC 49 (Roy, Ganiyu 11). Assists: GC 15 (Lee 5), BC 30 (Nixon 9). Turnovers: GC 19, BC 20.
Most Popular
Comments / 0