MORAGA, Calif. Bills Jerseys Outlet . -- Randy Bennett has a long list of scorers on Saint Marys, so thats the least of his worries. When his Gaels get big leads and the bench comes in, now the challenge is sustaining a defensive tempo that this group had last season in regularly holding teams to 40 percent shooting and below.Saint Marys is making strides on both ends, even gaining some good practice against a zone defense Wednesday night.Jock Landale had 15 points and 13 rebounds and the 20th-ranked Gaels jumped to a quick lead they never relinquished to beat Western Kentucky 73-51.The defense is coming along.As a team, its something we practice every day. Coach, as he said, harps on it quite a lot, Emmett Naar said. If we can just improve a bit each day, hopefully toward the end of the season well be pretty good.Evan Fitzner scored eight of his teams first 12 points as the Gaels took control from the tip. He finished with 11 points and three 3-pointers, while Naar had 14 points and six assists.Landale went 7 for 13 from the field and is shooting 65 of 99 -- 65.6 percent -- on the season for the Gaels (8-1), who used a late 13-2 run in the first half for a 38-24 lead.Justin Johnson and Que Johnson each scored 11 points to lead Western Kentucky (4-6).The one thing this team hasnt been very good at, when we get hit in the mouth or get behind were not very good in those situations, WKU coach Rick Stansbury said. We got ahead at Indiana State and played with a lead, but this was a different animal here.Bennett has challenged his team recently to play with more defensive fire, and the Gaels shut down Pancake Thomas. A graduate transfer in his first season with the Hilltoppers, Thomas shot 2 of 8 for four points and missed his three tries from 3-point range after getting a season-best 22 points in a win over Indiana State on Sunday.The Hilltoppers shot 37.5 percent and 5 of 17 from 3-point range to lose for the fifth time in six games.The last couple games weve been able to play our bench and getting those guys to get some reps and try and be as good defensively and as consistent as the first six or seven guys is a challenge. Weve got to get better, Bennett said. Sometimes we sub, we take a dip down defensively. That cant happen.Saint Marys guard Joe Rahon limped off with a right leg injury with 4:37 left before halftime then returned just before intermission and wound up matching his career high with 10 assists.In the first meeting between the programs, Saint Marys jumped to a 7-0 lead in the opening 2:27 and 12-2 then never looked back.BIG PICTUREWestern Kentucky: The Hilltoppers 24 first-half points matched their season low. ... WKU dropped to 35-97 all-time against ranked opponents and hasnt won a true road game against a Top 25 team since stunning No. 4 Kentucky on Nov. 15, 2001. ... Stansbury still needs three wins for 300 career victories. ... The Hilltoppers will have gone 29 days between home games.Saint Marys: The Hilltoppers were Saint Marys second Conference USA opponent after a win over UAB late last month. ... Top Warriors assistant Mike Brown sat courtside on an off day before Golden State hosts the Knicks on Thursday. Brown played at San Diego for 16th-year Gaels coach Bennett. He got some good seats, took care of him, Bennett said.UP NEXTWestern Kentucky: At Detroit Mercy on Saturday to conclude a stretch of seven games on the road or at neutral sites over nearly a months time covering more than 10,000 miles and hitting six states.Saint Marys: Host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday in the fourth game of a five-game home stand before the start of conference play.---More AP college basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25. Josh Allen Jersey . Tevez, who has had conflicts with coaches in the past, has not been called up since Sabella was named coach in 2011. Argentina boasts Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria. Buy Cheap Bills Jerseys . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. http://www.cheapbillsjerseyschina.com/ . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April.BALTIMORE -- For a while there, it looked as if the Preakness was shaping up to be a runaway victory for Kentucky Derby winner Orb. Then came the post-position draw. Suddenly things got very interesting. Orbs pursuit of the Triple Crown received an unexpected jolt Wednesday when trainer Shug McGaugheys horse drew the rail for Saturdays race. McGaughey tried to brush off the development as a mere inconvenience, but he couldnt entirely mask his disappointment over starting inside eight other horses in the smallest Preakness field since 2007. "Obviously, if I was going to pick it out, I wouldnt have picked the 1," McGaughey said. "But with only nine horses in there to run a mile and three-sixteenths, with a rider like Joel (Rosario), hes going to figure out what to do. Hell have him in the right spot." Thats the plan. Yet, if Orb doesnt get in front early, he risks becoming pinned on the rail or pushed to the back of the field. The inside post is even worse in the Derby, where this year there were 19 horses in the field. "If it had come out the 1 in the Derby, youd almost have felt like you needed to go home," McGaughey said. "But I dont feel that way here." Still, history suggests Orbs advantage in this race has dwindled, even though he was made the even-money favourite in the morning line. Only twice since 1950 has a horse won from the No. 1 post -- Bally Ache in 1960 and Tabasco Cat in 1994. So the rest of the field has a little bit more hope than it did before Orb got stuck on the rail. "Out of the nine numbers, the 1 is probably the one you want the least," said Al Stall Jr., the trainer of Departing. Mylute, who will start from the No. 5 post as the second-favourite at 5-1, trailed Orb for much of the race in Kentucky. This race could develop quite differently with Orb inside. "We need to make up three or four lengths, and that may be one of the factors that helps us," said Todd Quast, general manager of GoldMark Farm, co-owner of the Derbys fifth-place finisher. Soon after thee draw ended, Mylute jockey Rosie Napravnik said on Twitter, "Perfect draw! super excited! Quast said, "Were ecstatic about it. Tremaine Edmunds Jersey. With this horse, it doesnt matter as much, but it sure is nice being inside, a little bit toward the middle, and then having Orb inside us and Departing inside us, the two big threats. Its great to be outside of them." Departing, a bay gelding, won the Grade III Illinois Derby on April 20 and skipped the Kentucky Derby because Stall did not think the horse was ready. The trainer thinks it might be an advantage at the Preakness. "In this day and age, the modern thoroughbred seems to like a little time in-between races. I dont know why," Stall said. "So were fortunate enough to have 28 days between the Illinois Derby and now. It gave us time to improve and he really has improved. You can see it on a day-to-day basis when you train him." Stall is among those who believe the rail wont be a hindrance to Orb. "The post doesnt really matter in this type of race, this type of track with a nine-horse field," he said. "Its just a good party to come to." Orb won the Derby by 2 1/2 lengths and has won five straight races, so hes certainly worth of being the favourite in spite of his starting position. "I dont know that the rails all that bad," said Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas, who has three horses in the race: Oxbow, Will Take Charge and Titletown Five. "Orb is still the one to beat." The field, from the rail, with odds in parenthesis: Orb (1-1), Goldencents (8-1), Titletown Five (30-1), Departing (6-1), Mylute (5-1), Oxbow (15-1), Will Take Charge (12-1), Govenor Charlie (12-1) and Itsmyluckyday (10-1). Lukas was delighted with the post positions drawn by his trio of entrants. "I love mine. I thought it was real good," he said. "Oxbow for a change got inside a little bit. Hell be forwardly placed. We shouldnt have any trouble. Im going to have to come up with a different excuse when we get beat." Cheap Jerseys ThrowbackWholesale NFL Womens JerseysCheap NFL HoodiesChina NFL GearWhite NFL Jerseys CheapCheap Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale NFL Womens Jerseys ' ' '
Pinnwand