Undeniable……

Coming into this game I had One For The Road (OFTR) as 1 point favorites over MonStarrs.  With OFTR I pretty much expected them to be in this game.  While I was surprised that the MonStarrs made it here they definitely earned their spot and deserved to be playing in this game.  They were missing Matthew Starr but OFTR had their entire team in attendance ready to play.  Which team would win?

First half:

Early on it looked like the moment might be too big for the MonStarrs.  With 14 minutes left in the half they trailed 10-2.  As the half continued the MoStarrs did manage to score more points but that weren’t able to make the game any closer as they trailed 35-20 at the half.

Halftime stats:

OFTR:

Harry Demakes 0-1 from three

Matt Kaplan 9 pts (2-7 from three, 1-1 from the free throw line) 1 oreb, 7 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Erik Johnson N/A

Ian Murphy 1 blk, 2 drebs, 1 ast, 3 fouls

Jaime Cummins 6 pts (1-2 from three, 1-1 from the free throw line), 4 drebs

Dan Barbour 20 pts (2-4 from three) 1 blk, 2 orebs, 2 drebs, 1 ast

MonStarrs:

John Harding 14 pts (1-1 from three, 2-4 from the free throw line) 2 stls, 1 blk, 5 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Charlie Maneval 0-2 from three, 1 stl, 1 dreb, 2 fouls

Musse Kassa 1 pt (1-2 from the free throw line) 3 drebs, 2 fouls

Cameron Daniel 0-1 from three, 2 fouls

Anthony Melo 6 pts (2-2 from the free throw line), 3 drebs

Player of the half:

Dan Barbour

Second half:

Early on in the half the OFTR lead ballooned to 46-26 with 15 minutes left in the half.  I was hoping for an epic comeback or the game to become more competitive but unfortunately did not happen.  The MonStarrs definitely fought and did what they could but they were just up against a juggernaut and couldn’t overcome their deficit.  OFTR wins the championship 70-54.

Player Grades:

Harry Demakes B although he didn’t score and went 0-3 from the three point line he did have a great assist.  He barely played but still contributed positively for his team.

Matt Kaplan A- I have to deduct from his grade due to his three point shooting percentage but outside of that he played extremely well.

Erik Johnson A+ both his threes were back breaking and he didn’t miss.  Was strategic with his playing time and it was perfect.

Ian Murphy B turned it on in the second half after having some foul trouble in the first.  I’ve seen him play better but he was solid in this game and gave his team the lift they needed.

Jaime Cummins A+ was amazing from three and played excellent defense to go along with some other stats.  This was definitely his best all-around game of the season.

Dan Barbour A+ easily the best player on the court and was so efficient.  He was really good all-around as per usual.

John Harding A- if he makes all his free throws he gets a higher grade.  I also thought his three ball was slightly off and I would’ve liked to see him guard Barbour from the onset.  He was really good though easily the 2nd best player on the court.

Charlie Maneval C played tough just couldn’t get any threes to fall.  Obviously he’s capable of playing better but he didn’t play well in this game.

Musse Kassa C+ had some decent moments but overall this wasn’t a good game for him.  Anytime your foul count is higher than most of your stat categories you probably didn’t have a great game.

Cameron Daniel C+ played limited minutes and did score but I honestly didn’t like the position his team put him in which resulted in him fouling out.

Anthony Melo B- a double double game but it just didn’t feel that impactful and I think he was capable of playing better.

Player of the game:

Dan Barbour he gets his second championship in as many seasons and looks pretty much unbeatable at this point.  He was so good in this game as per usual.  Will he three peat?

They had a good run……

Coming into this game I had the MonStarrs as 9 point favorites.  Although Save the Best for Last (STBFL) was missing Stull they were the # 1 seed and seemed confident.  MonStarrs had their entire team kinda (Musse was dealing with a foot injury) but were ready to play.

First half:

This was a close game to start things off.  With 14:30 left in the half, MonStarrs were up 10-7.  At the 11:45 mark it was now a two possession game but the lead was still reachable 14-9 MonStarrs.  A quick 7-0 run by the MonStarrs resulted in a timeout by STBFL with 8:02 left and now they were down 22-9. The bleeding just couldn’t be stopped as the MonStarrs were now up 33-14 with 2:42 left in the half.  No real surprises now as the MonStarrs went into halftime up 37-19.

Halftime stats:

STBFL:

Brian Civale 11 pts, 1 foul

Keith Baranowski 1 oreb, 8 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Uros Kuzmanovic 2 orebs, 2 fouls 

Joshua Brown 6 pts, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Kevin Ross 2 pts, 2 asts, 1 foul

MonStarrs:

John Harding 22 pts, 3 orebs, 6 drebs, 2 asts

Matthew Starr 1 stl, 2 orebs, 3 drebs, 2 fouls

Charlie Maneval 1 stl, 1 dreb

Musse Kassa DNP

Cameron Daniel 3 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Anthony Melo 12 pts, 2 stls, 3 orebs, 2 drebs

Player of the half:

John Harding

Second half:

Although there was still plenty of time for STBFL to fight and try to at least make this game competitive, they just didn’t have it.  At the 8:03 mark MonStarrs were up 59-36.  They went on to win easily 73-53.

Player Grades:

Brian Civale B shot really efficient and grabbed some rebounds.  Although I would’ve liked to see him do more in other areas as his team needed it, he played well under the circumstances.

Keith Baranowski C+ the effort and energy was there but scoring wise he just didn’t have it.  I can’t even pinpoint what went wrong but this was by far his worst game of the season and unfortunately for him and his team it came at the worst time.

Uros Kuzmanovic C+ did end up scoring and grabbing some boards to go with a block but I would’ve liked to see more from him.  That could’ve been a result of his team not using him properly but still he is more than capable of playing better than he did.

Joshua Brown B- the offensive aggressiveness and scoring was there but as the PG for this team I would’ve liked to see him do more to help set his teammates up for success.  I don’t blame him for his teams overall play however more was needed in other areas from him.

Kevin Ross C+ the 3 assists were good but I didn’t like his three point shooting percentage.  Maybe he needed to be more vocal or come with the same energy as the prior week.

MonStarrs:

John Harding A I’m being picky here but I’m use to him getting at least 1 steal regardless he was amazing and just the best player in this game without question.

Matthew Starr A got stats in basically every statistical category.  Although his numbers aren’t anything crazy the fact that he made his first career three in this game warrants my grade.

Charlie Maneval B his shooting in the second half was better than the first and he also got some other stats.

Musse Kassa C+ gave it a go in the second half and got some assists.  I really just think he wanted to get some cardio since the game was basically over when he decided to play.

Cameron Daniel A shot 50% from three and pretty much filled the stat sheet.

Anthony Melo A 1 assist gets him a higher grade but he really did dominate the other team.  I was impressed with the game high 3 steals.

Player of the game:

John Harding he could’ve probably had 40+ if he wasn’t pulled by Musse (hater).  Was just too good for the other team and easily the best most dominant player on the floor.

They survived the overtime thriller and now advance to the championship….

Coming into this game I had One For the Road (OFTR) as 5 point favorites over Bully Ball (BB).  In their regular season match-up, BB dominated OFTR by 18 points.  They were missing Colin Gray but on the OFTR side they were missing Dan Barbour and Ian Murphy so BB clearly took advantage.  No attendance excuses on either side today as both teams were at full strength.

First half:

When I noticed the score at 7-5 BB up with 14 minutes left in the half I knew this would be a really competitive game.  A few minutes later the score was tied at 11.  As the half continued it looked like BB was going to start pulling away, up 28-24 with 1:03 left but to close the half the score ended up being only a 30-29 BB lead.

Halftime stats:

BB:

Djordje Vlajkovic (DJ) 12 pts, 2 stls, 3 drebs, 1 foul

Casey Tenney 6 pts, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 5 asts, 1 foul

David Ter-Ovanesyan (DTO) 3 pts, 2 stls, 2 drebs, 2 asts, 1 foul 

Colin Gray 1 stl

Robert Haas 9 pts, 2 stls, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Tommy Ng DNP

OFTR:

Harry Demakes 1 stl

Matt Kaplan 5 pts, 2 stls, 2 drebs, 2 asts

Erik Johnson 1 oreb, 2 drebs

Ian Murphy 5 pts, 3 orebs, 3 drebs, 1 ast

Jamie Cummins 2 pts, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Dan Barbour 17 pts, 2 orebs, 4 drebs, 1 ast

Player of the half:

Robert Haas

Second half:

Again the competitiveness of this game can’t truly be expressed by words alone.  BB did their best to hang on though up 54-51 with about 9:41 left in the half.  Fast forward a bit to the 3:20 mark of the half and the game was tied at 63.  Now BB at one point took the lead back and was up with an opportunity to hold the ball and force OFTR to foul.  They chose to take the wide open back breaking three to completely seal the game but it was off the mark.  With the game now tied at 67 BB had a wide open three for the win that also was off the mark so we were headed to overtime.

Overtime:

While the competitiveness wasn’t there anymore the game was still great here’s the breakdown of the stats each player accumulated:

Dan Barbour scored 11 points (1-1 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line).

Matt Kaplan 1 steal and a great assist to Jamie for three and a foul.

Jaimie Cummins 3 points (1-1 from three) and 2 fouls (ended up fouling out but did his job)

DTO 3 points (1-2 from three) 2 fouls

Casey Tenney 6 points (1-1 from three) (1-4 from the free throw line) and 1 assist 

DJ 1 offensive rebound and 1 assist 

OFTR wins this game 81-76.

Player Grades:

DJ B he scored well but I would’ve like to see him get a double double and attempt some free throws.  Overall he was solid but I just expected more from him.

Casey Tenney A- another triple double but I just cannot ignore his free throw shooting percentage.  He gave it his all like always so I don’t fault him just unfortunately for him he falls victim to Barbour again.

DTO C the three point percentage and missing the free throw hurt his grade here.  He was solid on defense though and picked up some other stats.  I thought for sure he was going to have a day when he knocked down his first three all net but unfortunately he just didn’t play that well offensively and his team desperately needed him.

Colin Gray B played limited minutes and was able to pick up a steal.  He did miss a three but it wasn’t a bad shot at all.

Robert Haas B was amazing in the first half but then slowly started to disappear as the game continued.  Not sure if it was fatigue or his team failing to utilize him properly but I would’ve like to see him get or take more shots.  Ultimately he had a solid overall return to SDL and I look forward to seeing him return next season.

Tommy Ng A didn’t but he held his head high and supported his teammates efforts from the bench.  I would’ve liked to see him play a little bit but maybe that’s just me.

Harry Demakes B got in got a steal and got out 😂.  It didn’t go exactly like that but he barely played so to gain his team a possession in this tightly contested contest was great.

Matt Kaplan B- the three point and free throw shooting percentages left more to be desired but he did his typical stat sheet stuffing helping his team secure the win.

Erik Johnson B got a couple of rebounds but barely played and when he did made sure he was a net positive.

Ian Murphy A wasn’t a factor in OT but outside of that this was by far his best game of the season.  An easy double double and was all over the court you can tell he wanted to win this one.

Jamie Cummins B- I cannot ignore his three point shooting percentage but the one he did make sealed the game.  He did get some other stats too and was obviously a key reason this team is going to the championship.

Dan Barbour A+ was just on another level.  Stuffed the stat sheet in an extremely efficient way too.  I don’t know who is going stop him from repeating.

Player of the game:

Dan Barbour guy was playing chess and they were playing checkers he’s too good.

Playoff action between veteran Ruff and proven champion DTO was set to be a battle. JB made his return to SDL from Peru but that didn't stop DTO from selecting Ruffskies for their first round matchup. It was clear from the jump that Tenney was going to push the pace and put the Reuffskies in pick and roll action with DJ. DTO was getting driving the ball well and making tough angles shots which led to an early big lead by Bully. DJ was husling and gettign O boards and second shot opportunities for Bully Ball and this led to a couple Casey threes which dug Ruffskies into a 15 point deficit at half. Connor connor was stuggling from deep with only one first half three and Ruff did not look like himself stilll recovering from illess and had to even sub out a bit to catch his wind. JB wasn't as agressive as I thought he should be and this was lookign liek a blowout. Second half pace would slow down a but and Bully kind of took their foot off the gas. Connor knowcked down 2 threes in the second half and JB started gettign more agressive and they were able to make a little tun to cut the lead to single digits at the end but it was too much Bully ball for Ruffskies and Dre. I thought Dre played good defense when he was in but the dynamic offense and pace of Tenney and squad proved to be too much for the last seeded Ruffskies.