B1 5v5 TUE Week 1 Write-Ups
by Jason on
BY LAMARR BENNETT
Game 1: Terminator 2 (78) - Mens League (38)
Welcome back team! This year's B1 5x5 league looks to be a good one. We started off week 1 off with Terminator 2 absolutely destroying there opponents, The Men's League. Terminator 2 got off to a very fast start, starting the game on a 14 - 2 run, led by leading scorer (21 pts) Julian Manyika. Granted, Men's League started off the game with only 4 players, but that didn't stop T2 from keeping there foot on the gas. The first half was a transition game for T2, as soon as the team got the rebound they were off and running. Guards Thomas Bissell and Samuel Jenson were the engine for T2. Both men were pushing the pace and finding open teammates at ease. By the 12:00 minute mark the score was 7-19 T2 up. Another 11-2 run by T2 put them up 9 - 31 with just under 7 minutes left in the half. But Will Childs-Klein was doing everything in his power to keep the Men's League in striking distance. Childs-Klein had 7 of his team's first 9 points, along with the majority of the rebounds. But that was about it for the Men's League in the first half. Missing all 9 of the 3 pointers the team took in the first half. On the other hand T2 knocked down 7 first half threes, led by Manyika. Now it was Brendt Stephens time to get into the action. After the 7:00 minute mark in the first half, Stephens went off for 7 straight points for T2, grabbing rebounds and playing really solid defense during the stretch. With such a great team effort T2 went into halftime with a nice 38-21 lead. The men's league was outscored from the 3 pointers 7 to 0 which was a big indication of how the game was going.
Second half started off the same as the first half basically. T2 continued pushing the pace, crashing the boards and firing away from the 3 point line. Mens League did start the half better, with Tom Smith getting it going down in the paint and making his presence felt. He made a nice pull up jumper and a few quick lay ups to start the half, giving Mens league some hope. But Manyika and T2 had to shut that down quickly. Another three by Manyika and a couple quick hustle points by Carl Bunge brought the score to 54 - 32 T2 up with 13:00 to go in the half. From that point on, Mens League could only muster up 6 total points for the remainder of the game, which says a lot about the defense T2 was playing. T2 outscored Mens league 40 to 18 in the second half, led by great scoring from Manyika and a great team effort by the rest of the team. T2 outscored mens league from the 3-point line 16 to 1.
Player of the game: Julian Manyika (21 pts, 5 rbs, 3 ast)
GAME 2: Treys 4 Days (62) vs Mid Range Magic (52)
Ok time for the game of the night! Trey 4 days and Mid Range Magic battled it out in a great game where T4Ds ended up getting the win 62 to 52. MRM got off to a hot start with 2 3s to start the game from guard James Smith. A quick 7-0 start was quickly erased by T4D, big man Kevin “Larry” Lefrancis made sure his presence was felt early in the game. Coring 4 quick paint points and grabbing 3 straight offensive rebounds. At that point I think MRM knew they might have their hands full in the paint. But they definitely were not intimidated. Big men Clifford Bouchereau E. Maynard started to really protect the paint and not give up anything easy. A quick transition 3 Dana flood brought the lead to 17 - 14 for T4D with 15:00 to go in the half. This is where T4D made there first little run of the game. Big man Lafrancis continued to dominate the paint and the glass, but got some nice help from fellow big man Wes Schroll who was huge on the glass. The two combined for 16 first half rebounds. As it looked like T4D was about to take control of the game, the Zahner brothers finally got going. Zack, who is more of a point guard of the two, found his Cam brother twice. Once for an open three and the other a nice mid range pull up. This seems to get Cam going as he knocked down another 3 pointer from the wing which brought the game to 30-32. Layups from Lafrancis and forward Luke Davidosn gave T4D a 8 point lead, but a 3 from Zack Zahner cut the lead to 5 and the score was 38 - 33 halftime with T4D up. Lafrancis had 11 rebounds in the first half alone. James Smith led mid range magic with ten first half points.
Second half continued on the same as the first half with both teams trading baskets, going back and forth with nobody taking a sizable lead. Mid range really started to make things difficult in the paint with Bouchereau taking on the challenge of big man Lafrancis. He really held his own on both ends, forcing tough shots and making some key baskets. But thats when an unexpected player started to take over the game and that was S. Issenberg. This man was an absolute beast on the offensive boards and in the paint in the second half. Yes he did miss a lot of free throws, but racking up fouls left and right, taking rebounds against all the big. His energy was infectious for his team. Davidson and Flood were also all over the place, deflecting pases left and right, rebounding and just making the smart winning plays. With 15:00 minutes to go T4D was leading 49 - 42 but knew the game wasn't close to being over. MRM just kept at it slowly but surely keeping the game close with timely 3s and great ball movement led by Zahner (game high 5 assist). Forward Cam Kelly was also huge during the stretch hitting two nice layups and an impressive and-one. A 3 pointer by James Smith cut the lead to 2 with 5:00 to go causing a time out from T4D. With the score close with T4D leading 52-54, guard Devin Santilli might have made the play of the game, coming up with a huge steal and knocking down a big 3 to give T4D a 5 point lead with 1:30 seconds to go. Then comes up with another steal on the next possession that really helped seal the game. Lafrancis finished off the game with two more layups and T4D ended up winning by ten with a score of 62-52 but the game was probably a lot closer than the score shows.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Kevin “Larry” LeFrancis (15 pts, 17 rbs, 4 ast)
Game 3: FCHWPO (75) vs BIg Phil from the hill and team (50)
THe final game of the evening didn't turn out to be the most competitive game with FCHWPO coming out with a very dominant and impressive win Over Big Phil and the squad. FCHW got out to a blazing start, hitting 3 threes and 3 quick lay ups to start the game on a 15 - 2 run. Big man brothers Eric and Chris Sellew were dominant from the jump. Eric, the younger of the two, used his quick speed to get to the rim at ease and Chris with his smooth jumpshot couldn't seem to miss. A quick time out for the Big Phils squad was exactly what they needed to try to get going. Peter Noland and Henry Louis started to get going after the timeout going on a mini 7-0 run, but that didn't last too long because this is when the Man himself began one of the greatest shooting clinics ive ever seen in person. It all started with a smooth jab step three from the corner, which brought the lead to 26-11 FCHWPO. Two more threes from 3s from McCarthy and C. Sellew and we thought the game was over. Not if Big Phils squad had anything to do with it. C. Sellew at one point was outsourcing the other team 13-12 by himself. Quick 3s from Noland and Jonathan Fruend helped cut the lead down some. This is when big man Eric Sellew popped his shoulder out of pocket. Horrible news from a player who was having a great game. After taking a couple minutes the action started back up. The end of the half was a little off because of the injury, as both teams traded baskets until the half. Score of 25 - 42 with FCHWPO up. Eric did not end up continuing to play but the good news is his shoulder seems to be fine ( with the help of his opponent Henry Louis).
Second half continued as both teams decided to continue the game 4 on 4, great sportsmanship from Big Phils Squad who agreed but could have continued the game with 5. Second half was all about John McCarthy. Hitting three 3s in the first half, his man hit SEVEN more in the second half alone. He was absolutely unconscious, hitting step back threes, side steps, 5 feet behind the lie. He was having target practice out there. Even his own teammates seemed to be shocked at the performance. It was definitely something to remember. But Big Phil, led by guard Henry Louis definitely had a better second half than first. Getting to the basket and finding open teammates at ease. He had himself a great second half. Sean Conannon and Hernan Perdomo were also better in the second half making this difficult on the defensive end. It was just a little too late because of the deficit in the first half and McCarthy watching basket for basket with the other team. The threes did start falling for big phil and hopefully it carries to next week because i think this team can do some real damage when the shots are falling. They shot 4 for 17 from three for the game and that's not gonna get the job done. The score ended up 75 - 50 with FCHWPO getting the big win. But let's hope this team can stay healthy if they can. I think they have a chance to win the whole thing.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Johnny McCarthy (38 pts, 8 rbs, 4 ast)