Game 57 1/4: Monmouth-Roseville @ Abingdon (Boy's Basketball)

Game 57+
(1/12/10)
Monmouth-Roseville @ Abingdon (Boy's Basketball)

Scratching your head on the reasoning behind 57.25? Okay, so this is officially just the 57th broadcast, but I put in a little overtime on this Tuesday by calling half of the first half (the first 10 minutes) of the Monmouth College/Knox College women's basketball game.

John Ring had to work close to the time of tipoff for our Monmouth/Knox doubleheader on AM 1330 WRAM. Since my game was just down the road in Abingdon, I went to Glennie Gymnasium at Monmouth College to set up the equipment and start the pregame show. John said he would arrive right around tipoff, so I put in zero preparation to this partial broadcast.

With our pregame show about running into the tipoff, I started to panic with my play-by-play man yet to arrive to take over. Adam Frankhauser had the color commentary duties on the night. Fortunately, by covering both teams very closely at the radio station the names were all familiar, and for the most part all of the faces were familiar too.

Before our broadcast, had a chance to talk with Monmouth S.I.D. Dan Nolan for a minute. He jokingly asked me why the station engineer wasn't setting the equipment up. Of course, engineers haven't set up broadcast equipment since WKRP in Cincinatti was a top rated television show. My former intern, Mike Diamond, at WMOI/WRAM in the sports department also dropped by. He also serves as Dan's intern in the Sports Information office at the school.

Tipoff is set, and I am winging the broadcast. I was actually quite impressed with myself (patting myself on the back), with how crisp the broadcast went, with zero time spent preparing. Monmouth jumped out to a slight lead during the first 10 minutes. As I was clock watching, John walked in with around 10 minutes left to play in the first half.

It was 5:48 p.m. and I raced out to the car to head out to Abingdon. I was doing the math, and also realized I had not filled my book out yet either. When I pulled up to the gym, there was just under three minutes to play before halftime. Going upstairs onto the balcony at Abingdon High School, I set the equipment up. During halftime, I went down to talk with coach Chuck Grant and get his thoughts on the game and the pregame interview. We also talked about the Monmouth/Knox game. His son, Eric, is the starting point guard for the Fighting Scots. He said he has missed two of the four Monmouth/Knox games in his son's career.

After our chat, I ran into Abingdon Athletic Director and baseball coach Joe Nichols. He asked what broadcast number I was at, and replied 57. He remarked, "you better get goin". Of course, I had to start figuring out the math in my head.

As expected, the game started out pretty evenly matched. Commandoes coach Jeremy Anderson always gets the best out of his players. Despite going 0-2 at the Macomb-Western Holiday Tournament, I was very impressed by his team and how hard they played, never giving up.

Monmouth-Roseville led 13-11 after the first quarter. Alex Bresnahan scored eight points in that frame, including knocking down a pair of three-pointers, that barely even hit the nets as they went through.

It was a rough second quarter for the host Commandoes, only scoring two points. The Titans took a 24-14 lead into the locker room at the half. The visitors forced 15 turnovers in the first half, while committing just five.

More of the same in the second half for Monmouth-Roseville, outscoring Abingdon 18-10 in the third quarter, and winning the game 48-33. The Titans did deal with a loss late in the second quarter with 6'4" post player Cody Crouse going to the floor writhing in pain. He would be helped back onto the floor at halftime by assistant coaches Jim Simpson and Jimmy Jordan. His right ankle was wrapped up and iced down.

In the end, the Titans forced 29 turnovers. Cory Link and Clifford Moshier each scored 11 points for Abingdon. Alex Bresnahan scored a game-high 17 points for Monmouth-Roseville. Markus Hunter also hit double-figures, scoring 10 points.

Driving home, two restaurants I need to try sometime. Quinn's Corner in Abingdon and Milano's Pizza in Avon. One restaurant I desperately need to take in again is Club 41 in St. Augustine. It's been much too long since taking in those delicious onion rings. And I would also like to stop in at Crossroad's near St. Augustine. The nightspot sits at the intersection of Route 41 and Route 116.

The Quest File Notes
Game 57
Date: 1/12/10
Result: Titans use stifling defense to beat Abingdon, 48-33
Miles: 90