Early wake up time over here in Asia for the 2:00 pm tip time on the West Coast. Great game to watch. Before I start going in to the details of Banchero's performance, I think it is important to note that DII basketball in the US is usually a guard-oriented game. Many of the players have high skill levels, but for one reason or another they were not recruited by the bigger schools. Both teams showed great basketball abilities today, with Western Oregon getting the upset in the end with an 88-85 victory over the Seattle Pacific Falcons.

Banchero had an up and down performance. He had his lowest scoring half of the season in the first half with only two points on 1-7 shooting, but then exploded for 24 points after the break. His coach has some interesting comments on Banchero's performance.

Despite his poor shooting, Banchero had some gorgeous assists early as he penetrated into the key and then dropped off to his bigs. On a few occasions Banchero forced his offense and took ill-advised long distance shots. In the second half he did not shoot off the dribble, instead waiting patiently for the ball to find him open on the perimeter. When he has his feet set and is in rhythm it seems like he does not miss.

Anytime you score 26 and have 10 assists you should feel proud of your performance. Unfortunately he is probably still kicking himself after making a dumb play at the very end of the game. Down by three with just seconds remaining he broke free from the press and took it all the way to the hoop instead of pulling up for the 3-pointer to tie the game. SPU thus was still down by 1 with only 1.6 seconds remaining. It is a small thing to fault a player on, but it is the kind of mistake a senior should not be making.

Next up is Saint Martin's from down the road in Olympia. The game will be streamed online, so follow me on twitter (asiabballupdate) to get a time and place reminder.