THE OCCASIONAL ORBITER Wednesday September 18, 2002 Vol.89 Hi, hello and welcome fellow Cowboys of the Space variety to this, the most timely edtion of you occasional reading, in qutie some time. **** Cowboys Win!!! **** The Space Cowboys tied a franchise high with their sixth win Tuesday night taking down the "thuggy thuggs" of the Cov Cats seventy-six (76) to forty-one (41). This was the best performance of theyear for the home team and it came right when they needed it. The win snapped a season high three (3) game losing streak and brings them to the postseason with a littel more confidence and momentum. After a shakly first few minutes the 'boys started to focus in and take control of the game. Back to back three pointers by Lance Schickling really got them rolling. THe home team stretched the lead up to twelve points early on, but then began to slack off a bit. The 'thuggs would make a small run to end the half, but the 'boys still led twenty-seven (27) to nineteen (19). The second half was all Space Cowboys. They came out firing on all of the proverbial "cylinders" and began to stretch the lead quickly. They were dropping in three after three and before they knew it the lead had grown back up to fifteen (15), then twenty (20), and reamrkably all the way up to thirty (30). The Cowboys outscored their opponents a "fabular" and spectaculously", not to mention "incredulously" forty-nine (49) to twenty-two (22). This second half scoring barrage was the effort of the entire team. For the first time in weeks everyone is a bright spot. To start with though, James Boyer. This young fellow just continues to impress everyone involved with the Space Cowboys. Mr. Boyer poured in a career high and team high for the season twenty-five (25) points on eleven of eighteen shooting. Talks are currently underway to negatiate a long term deal. A couple other bright spots couldn't be missed. Michael Ash and Jeremy Jeffries lit up the entire "big arean by the highway" scoring eleven (11) and thirteen (13) points respectively. Even "BMBK", although scoring just one (1) point was a bright spot. After missing three consecutive games earlier in the season Mr. Keene is finnally starting to get back into his groove. He committed three (3) fouls quickly and was somewhat of a "monster" on the glass. This win is a big one for the organization and hopefully the team can build on it. They played their best ball of the season and to carry that over into the postseason would be a huge lift. The 'boys will be looking for their first ever "S.O.A.S.T.N.L.C." (Sports of All Sorts Tuesday Night League Championship). The only team the feel taht they should have trouble with is the always feared Smokies. They finished the season a perfect ten and zero. Luckily this will be the matchup next Tuesday night when the Champion is decided. All times will be posted on the web site upon the anouncment. So keep checking to be sure you're there when it all goes down. **** Box Score September 17, 2002 **** Name No. Fgm Fga 3ptm 3pta Ftm Fta TP K.Lubbers 10 - - - - - - - N.Lubbers 23 6 12 2 5 3 3 17 Jeffries 24 5 10 3 6 0 0 13 Ash 30 4 7 3 4 0 1 11 Boyer 33 11 18 3 4 0 1 25 Schickling 34 3 8 3 6 0 0 9 Keene 44 0 3 0 0 1 2 1 Totals 198 29 56 14 25 4 7 76 52% 56% 57% Attendance: 5 (Batsche, Goetz, K.Lubbers, Sears, Thomas) Final Season Attendance: 54 Special Thanks to Scorekeeper Christina Batsche **** Keith Lubbers Out Indefinitely **** What was thoughtto be just a simple "hurt wrist" turned out ot be much more Wednesday morning when Keith Lubbers visted with team doctors. It turns out that when tripped in a soccer game last Wednesday he suffered a right distal radial fracture. In other words, he broke his arm. He has been scheduled to see a specialist and the details of his absence will not be known until then. Right now all we can do is pray for a swift recovery. **** Schickling Status Unknown **** Although he did not finish the season as strongly as he started, Lance Schickling has been a vital part of the Space Cowboys record tying wins this season. That being said, Mr. Schickling's contract will expire at the conclusion of the post season leaving his status for the Fall Season up in the air. The organization would most defintly like to ahve Mr. Schickling back, but it all coems down to the monetary numbers. The Cowboys are looking for a sort of "home town" discount, with most of the money coming deferred. Talks between the Cowboys and Mr. Schickling's agent have been informal up until this point, but they are scheduled to begin the long hard grind to a contract extension at the completion of the season. **** Percentages **** It is a well known fact that the Space Cowboys are a three point shooting team. It could be said that they "live and die by the three". With that being said, we here at the Occasional Orbiter have figured out the percentage of shots for each team member over their career that are three pointers: Brinkman: 93/116 80% Ash: 358/495 72% Jeffries: 414/606 68% N.Lubbers: 453/839 54% K.Lubbers: 98/210 47% Boyer: 26/58 45% Schickling: 51/115 44% Keene: 3/226 1% Team: 1688/3178 53% **** News and Notes **** Injury Report: It was a rough night for the Lubbers Brothers. With Keith out with a broken wrist it seems after being thrown to the floor that Nick Lubbers has checked out O.K. He does not have a broken anything and will be ready to play come tournament time....Michael Ash's double digit output is the first one he has had in six games and just the third of the season....Jeremy Jeffries also recorded his third double digit game of the season....James Boyer failed once more to connect on the "And 1" opportunity. He finished the season a dreadful two (2) for nine (9) from the free throw line....Ben Keene made a free throw....it has just been announced that tKevin Brinkman, a member of the Louisville affiliate Earch Cowboys will participate in the Arizona Fall League to attempt to regain his old form....Michael Brinkman's lack of attendace streak has reached seven (7)....This season's final attendance numbers are in, and it's the second lowest in team history. The fifty-four (54) taht attended games this Summer is higher only than the forty-two (42) that made the trip when the games were at 10 and 11 P.M. only. **** Final Season Averages **** N. Lubbers - Fg. 63/117 *54% 3pt. 28/64 44% Ft. 16/20 80% Ppg. 16.9 Schickling - Fg. 51/115 *44% 3pt. 19/51 *37% Ft. 18/23*78% Ppg. *13.2 Boyer - Fg. 29/58 *50% 3pt. 12/26 *46% Ft. 2/9 *22% Ppg. *9.2 Ash - Fg. 26/56 *46% 3pt. 21/44 *48% Ft. 1/3 33% Ppg. 8.2 Jeffries - Fg. 23/75 31% 3pt. 18/58 31% Ft. 4/6 67% Ppg. 7.7 Keene - Fg. 11/29 38% 3pt. 0/0 0% Ft. 7/19 37% Ppg. 4.2 Brinkman - Fg. 4/19 21% 3pt. 4/16 25% Ft. 0/0 0% Ppg. 2.4 K.Lubbers - Fg. 4/18 22% 3pt. 2/8 25% Ft. 0/2 0% Ppg. 2.0 Iles - Fg. 0/1 0% 3Pt. 0/0 0% Ft. 0/0 0% Ppg. 0.0 Totals - Fg. 212/478 3pt.104/268 Ft.48/82 Ppg. 56.6 **44% **39% 58% ** = team record * = personal best That will be all for this edition of the Occasional Orbiter. Anyy question comments or suggestions? Email us at occasionalorbiter@hotmail.com. Also dont forget to check the website for the latest on the tournament times. http://www.geocities.com/spaceranch2001 Editor-in-Chief Nick "Stud" Lubbers ...and this one belongs to the Cowboys