Joel Shines on Defense; Geoff's Assists Pace M's

JOEL SHINES ON DEFENSE

JOEL SMITH came off the bench again on Saturday for the University of Washington, but once again he outplayed his replacement in the starting lineup.

Thursday against UCLA it was Justin Dentmon who took Smith’s guard spot. Saturday at USC it was Venoy Overton. Smith ended up with more minutes and more points each time but UW still lost. Saturday the score was 66-51.

Smith played 21 minutes and collected six points, two rebounds, an assist, two blocks and a steal. Overton in 19 minutes scored three points, snagged one rebound, made one assist and one steal. He also turned the ball over four times to Joel’s two.

On defense, Joel sparkled. He drew USC’s superfrosh O.J. Mayo. Here’s what the Seattle Times’ Bob Condotta noticed with 10:55 to play--

HUSKIES TAKE FIRST LEAD --- With O.J. Mayo out for a minute or two, UW shifted to a zone and finally was able to take the lead on a three-pointer by Joel Smith, who’s playing one of his better games of late when you throw in his defense on Mayo. It's 41-40 UW.

Smith and his mates held Mayo to 4-for-13 from the field though he ended up with 15 points.
The Huskies are now 0-3 in Pac-10 play. They host Oregon on Thursday.

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WEST ASSISTS GIVE MARAUDERS WEEKEND SWEEP

Bemidji, MN – Two clutch shots from Eric Erdmann – one at the end of regulation and the other at the end of overtime - lifted the University of Mary to a 71-69 overtime win at Bemidji State
Saturday. The win gave the Marauders their first weekend sweep of the year.

With one second left in overtime, Erdmann scored on a lay up under the basket off a pass from GEOFF WEST to give the Marauders a two point lead. BSU couldn’t convert a desperation shot from half court to seal the U-Mary win.

Erdmann’s overtime winner was a mirror image of his basket that forced the extra session. After the Beavers hit 1-of-2 free throws with 6.1 seconds remaining in regulation to go up 59-57, the Marauders pushed the ball quickly down court. Erdmann, again off a feed from West, nailed the lay up from right under the basket as time expired to force overtime.

In an intense back and forth game featuring and incredible 15 lead changes and 17 ties, the largest lead held by either team was a six-point BSU lead. Trailing Bemidji State 33-29 at intermission, the Marauders opened the second half with a 10-2 run to grab a 39-35 lead.

West led the Marauders with 12 points, dished four assists and made three steals. The victory improves the Marauders' record to 6-10 overall and 3-5 in the Northern Sun. After starting the weekend in 10th place, wins over Bemidji State and Minnesota, Crookston has lifted U-Mary into seventh place. BSU falls to 5-11 overall and 2-5 in the NSIC.