Thomas Godoj Thread » ecutive game with a sprained left big toe.TOUGH TIM

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- On Selection Sunday last March, two of the biggest story lines involved the Syracuse Orange (in) and the Monmouth Hawks (out).Syracuse, a middle-of-the-pack Atlantic Coast Conference team, justified the NCAA Tournament selection committees decision to make the Orange a No. 10 seed by reaching the Final Four.Monmouth, meanwhile, received a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament and is back to the drawing board this season as the Hawks seek their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2006.In an early-season matchup that recalls the committees controversial decision, Monmouth (1-1) will visit 18th-ranked Syracuse (2-0) on Friday night in a Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational game at the Carrier Dome. The five-team, round-robin tournament also includes South Carolina, South Carolina State and Holy Cross.Syracuse thumped Holy Cross 90-46 Tuesday at the Dome after routing Colgate 83-55 to open the season.After defeating Drexel 78-65 in its opener Nov. 11, Monmouth overcame an 18-point deficit against South Carolina to send the game into overtime Tuesday before losing 70-69 on a buzzer-beater.Last season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference regular-season champ Hawks became a mid-major media darling by playing 17 road games and 23 games away from home and beating Power Five teams Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown, UCLA and Rutgers. Ultimately, the selection committee couldnt ignore Monmouths eye-popping losses to Canisius, Army and Manhattan.Led by reigning MAAC Player of the Year Justin Robinson, Monmouth was selected to finish first in the MAAC this season in a poll of the leagues coaches.Against South Carolina, the Hawks trailed 40-22 before mounting a 27-8 run to briefly take the lead. In overtime, the Gamecocks Duane Notice blocked Robinsons layup with eight seconds left, and PJ Doziers 15-footer at the buzzer won it for South Carolina.We were in the right place, they got a lucky shot, Monmouth coach King Rice said immediately after the game. All you have to do is watch (South Carolinas) reaction. They knew they were in a big-time fight. Their kids are tired, they all hugged me and said, Man, coach, your guys. Whoo!While they struggled offensively for three-quarters of the game, the Hawks stayed close by making 23 of 27 foul shots and holding South Carolina to 33.8 percent shooting from the floor. Senior center Chris Brady recorded the second double-double of his career with 17 points and 10 rebounds.The Orange steamrolled Holy Cross behind a 13-for-25 shooting effort from 3-point range. Fifth-year graduate senior transfer Andrew White sank all four of his shots from beyond the arc and led Syracuse with 19 points.The Syracuse offense is directed by point guards Frank Howard and John Gillon, who have combined for 46 points, 27 assists and just five turnovers in two games.There is no answer if we are all hitting jumpers. and when you go to man-(to-man) you will get beaten that way, too, said Gillon, a fifth-year graduate senior transfer from Colorado State. With our depth, our smarts and our athleticism, it is really hard to stop us.Lebron 16 Shoes On Sale .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. Lebron 16 Shoes Wholesale . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. http://www.lebronjamessneakerswholesale.com/lebron-james-on-sale/lebron-16-wholesale.html . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Lebron James Shoes For Cheap .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Lebron Shoes Online . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night.SALT LAKE CITY -- The Utah Jazz challenged Gordon Hayward to push his game even further last summer and become a more versatile scorer. The Jazz are seeing those results on a nightly basis through the first quarter of the season.Hayward matched his season high with 32 points and the Jazz beat the Denver Nuggets 105-98 on Saturday night.We talked about this early in the season. We felt like hed expanded his game, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. He added a comfort-level in the post. ... And hes shooting off screens. Hes able to score in multiple ways.When someone takes something away, hes able to have another option. The biggest thing Gordons been doing is defending and, as a result, hes getting some easy baskets.The Jazz used a 31-8 stretch in the third quarter to blow open the game. Hayward took over, scoring both inside and on the perimeter, with 21 points in the quarter. It was the third consecutive 30-point game for the seven-year veteran, who is averaging a career-high 22.8 points and has scored 20-plus points in 11 of 14 games this season. This is the first three-game, 30-point stretch of Haywards career.Its a lot of work that I put in this summer, for sure, Hayward said. But, also, were running some good sets for me. ... Just continuing to see the floor a lot better. Seeing where my shots are coming. Taking advantage of how the defense is guarding me. ... Just trusting the work that I did.When Im active and play with a little bounce on the defensive end, Im definitely more confident offensively because of that. Its all about staying active and getting myself involved in the game.Rodney Hood chipped in 15 for the Jazz.Wilson Chandler and Will Barton each scored 20 for Denver.Denver knocked down seven 3-pointers trying to rally in the fourth quarter, but couldnt complete the comeback. The Nuggets matched a season high with 13 3-pointers.The Jazz took a 49-47 lead into halftime after a back-and-forth opening 24 minutes in which neither team was able to string together a significant run.dddddddddddd. Neither team shot the ball well from distance in the first half as the two teams were a combined 4 for 15 from behind the arc.Im happy we showed a lot of fight and heart getting back in the game, not dropping our heads and feeling sorry for ourselves, Nuggets coach Michael Malone said. Hopefully, that can give us a little juice going forward.Im just really happy with the fact we competed tonight. Thats step No. 1 in our recovery.TIP-INSNuggets: Nikola Jokic missed his second straight game with a left wrist sprain. ... Denver is now 0-8 when trailing after the third quarter. ... The Nuggets have won just one road game since Nov. 6.Jazz: Hood returned to the starting lineup after missing the last game with a hamstring injury. He went down hard in the third quarter and limped to the bench, but stayed in the game. ... George Hill missed his second consecutive game with a sprained left big toe.TOUGH TIMESThe Nuggets have lost five of six with a lengthy road trip ahead. Malone is not thrilled with the state of his team.Right now, I am living minute-by-minute, day-by-day, Malone said. We arent playing good basketball right now. Its no secret. Our defense is evaporating rapidly.QUOTABLEWe started out in the first half doing all the right things, Chandler said. It was in the third quarter we kind of got away from that. Everybody, not just one person. We had to climb uphill and exert so much energy. Its hard to fight back from a 20-point deficit and get the win.UP NEXTNuggets: Denver visits Philadelphia on Monday for the second game of a six-game trip.Jazz: Utah travels to face the Los Angeles Lakers and No. 2 overall pick Brandon Ingram on Monday. ' ' '