Corporate 5v5 Week 2 Write-Ups
by Jason on
Corporate 5v5 Week 2 Write-Ups
By: JAY SHAH
Big Ballers LLC (31) v. Fast PP (38)
Lack of bench dooms Big Ballers as Fast PP has stamina to finish
The star for Fast PP was Barry Scudder-Davis, who finished with thirteen points to lead Fast PP to victory. He had one of Fast PP’s two three pointers, and dominated defensively, leveraging his strength and athleticism to nab four steals. The biggest difference between the two teams, however, was not Fast PP’s overwhelming talent but rather their deep bench, especially in comparison to Big Ballers, who had to play their five starters for the entirety of the contest. Andrew Zaccardi and Zack Driscoll both posted five points to tie for second-leading scorers for Fast PP, with Zaccardi posting a couple assists and Driscoll with three of his own. Ilya Yudkovich and Garrison Doodlesack led the effort on the boards, grabbing nine boards apiece, including a total of five for the team on the offensive glass. Yudkovich, while not scoring much himself (two points), led the team’s backcourt, barely coming off the court at all as he directed the team’s offense, dribbled the ball up the floor, and set effective plays for Fast PP.
Meanwhile, Mertcan Cokbas led the entire league in scoring on September 18th, putting in twenty points, over sixty-five percent of his team’s total points. He was effective driving down low, grabbing six buckets in the paint as he used his strong left hand to force his way through a thicket of defenders time and again. Cokbas struggled, however, on his efficiency from beyond the three point line, making only two of his twelve attempts. He did have as tough a time making his thoughts known to the referees. Jonathan Fabry was the team’s facilitator, dish five dimes as well as making one of his four three point attempts. Sean Cunningham was the team's second-leading scorer, putting in six points, coming on much stronger and hunting for his own shot in the second half especially. The Big Ballers as a team started to put together a run or two in the latter half, but their eleven point halftime deficit was too much to overcome in the end, as their late scoring burst fell seven points short when the final buzzer sounded.
McBuckets of Nuggets (43) v. Chop Wood (40)
Chop Wood unable to finish out comeback attempt as McBuckets of Nuggets rides Cassel’s shooting to victory
Christopher Cassel did not have an excellent start shooting, but he found his stroke as the game wore on, and it proved to be the difference in the contest. With a final line of four of eleven from deep and just one shot in the paint, it was clear that Cassel knew exactly what his role is on this team and how to execute it. He also went to the charity stripe five times, managing to draw a foul on a three point attempt. Cassel put in work on the boards as well, grabbing seven boards to tie for the team lead with Brett Barclift, with the pair pulling down five on the offensive glass to provide crucial second chance buckets to propel the team to a narrow victory. Barclift and James Latham-Smith closely rounded out the top trio of scorers for McBuckets, scoring six points apiece. Marc Davenport chipped in with four points including a nice buzzer beater to end the first half. Look for McBuckets of Nuggets to score plenty going forward.
Chop Wood kept the game close throughout the matchup, led by Marc Napolitana with thirteen points. Robert Moran dominated the game on the glass, grabbing six boards on each end while chipping in a block and a steal, also leading Wood with two assists. Napolitana and Justin Haskard led the way in steals, nabbing two each. Maloney put up eleven points as the second-leading scorer for Chop Wood. The team never seemed to find a strong enough groove overall, however, scoring points in spurts but never sustaining a run long enough to grab a convincing lead, and as McBuckets of Nuggets heated up down the stretch (especially the aforementioned Cassel), Chop Wood didn’t seem to have the outside shooting to answer. In the end, it was a close call for McBuckets, but Chop Wood will have to be disappointed in their inability to grab the lead and hold on to it.
Vericel (30) v. Baldins (27)
Baldins come close but no cigar as Vericel leaves them hunting for one more bucket
In the lowest scoring contest of the night, Vericel spotted the Baldins an initial three to zero head start (due to wardrobe malfunctions), but the Baldins couldn’t hold the lead as Vericel outscored them thirty to twenty-four in regulation. Mitchell Crossman led Vericel on both ends of the court, scoring eleven points including two of his team’s three threes and stealing the ball three times in addition to a solid block. Crossman was all over the court, hounding Baldins’ ball handlers as soon as they crossed half court without fail throughout the game. Beyond Andrew Dunn (eight points), the rest of the Vericel squad couldn’t get too much going offensively, but they knew how to play the Baldins well enough that they squeaked out a victory. Dunn and Trevor Wells conducted the offense, dishing two assists apiece, while Sean Moose was a physical defensive presence, racking up four fouls along with a block.
The Baldins were led by Luke Lindholm (eight points) and Madison Ryan (seven points), with the latter pulling up without much if any hesitation from behind the arc. She found her stroke near the end of the first half, making a huge triple, and doubled up in the second half with another. She led the team in three point attempts with eight, but for this team to succeed going forward, Ryan will probably need to keep firing with even more regularity. Lindholm was the best athlete on the floor, grabbing four steals to go with his four makes in the paint, as he cut across the court and to the hoop decisively on a number of occasions, with only the strongest of defensive efforts from Vericel putting a stop to his scoring. Sean Ryan starred in his role as the conductor of the offense, though he and the team will rue his missed chances at the charity stripe, as his one of four line from there represents the final deficit. This team was effective on the defensive end, switching constantly and communicating well enough to wall off the paint despite a distinct lack of size, but that did not transfer all that well to the offensive end, where the team struggled to score. The Baldins will need to find more ways to score going forward.
Los Market Baskets (31) v. HRP (32)
J. Flaherty and E. Walko trade buckets as HRP takes last minute lead to victory
Los Market Baskets will be disappointed in the outcome, as HRP took a lead in the final couple minutes which they never relinquished. John Flaherty scored half his team’s total points, making a solid thirty-three percent of his nine attempts from deep. Danny Hincks and Erik Zuk were key for HRP, each chipping in seven points, and John Hincks rounded out the team’s scoring with an inside basket of his own. HRP’s free throw shooting was less than stellar, as they made just two of their seven attempts from the line, but in the end, they had just enough on offense to pull out the win. D. Hincks was stellar for HRP in the other phases of the game, grabbing a steal, two blocks and three offensive boards (of a team-leading eight total) to put Los Market Baskets on their heels.
The Baskets were led in scoring by Ethan and Doug Walko, who poured in eighteen and six points respectively. D. Walko in particular looked like the best athlete on the floor, flying around for two steals and two blocks, as well as a team-high seven boards. E. Walko was a late arrival but immediately made his impact felt, grabbing passes from D. Walko and Nick Perkins and immediately turning downhill with smooth movement that affirmed his equally clean shooting stroke. Ethan put the ball in from around the court, cutting into the paint on dribble drives successfully five times while also making thirty-three percent of his six attempts from beyond the arc. Doug Walko and Jack Howland will feel some regret after their performances at the charity stripe, with each making only one of their combined eight attempts, failing to make more than thirty percent at the line in a one-point game. Look for the Walkos to step up even more going forward, as they were the engines of this team despite a disappointing loss.