Gutsy win…

Coming into this game it was do or die.  The loser would most likely be the first team out of the playoffs.  With The Personnel Department (TPD) only having 4 rostered guys and the Court Crushers (CC) having 5 guys I picked them to win this game by 7 points.

First half:

This was an exciting back and forth affair.  At the 10 minute mark CC was up 10-9.  It honestly looked like CC was seizing the moment and knew the implications of this game and were not looking to lose.  With 7:13 left in the half their lead was now 17-12.  At the 3:05 mark CC was still up but now by just a single possession 24-21.  Although Phil started his dominance (Nikko was balling too), TPD got great balance from everyone and had a 34-31 lead at the half.

Halftime stats:

CC:

Christopher Stull 3 pts, 2 drebs, 2 asts

Charlie Maneval 5 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 3 dreb, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Rob Lunder 4 pts, 2 drebs, 1 ast

Nikko Atanasoff 17 pts, 2 orebs, 2 drebs, 2 asts, 3 fouls

Craig Baranowski 2 pts, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 2 drebs, 2 fouls

TPD:

Nate Mendes 11 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb

Steve Rakusin 5 pts, 3 orebs, 2 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Sami Hameid 2 pts, 1 stl, 3 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Philip Caleb 16 pts, 1 oreb, 10 drebs, 3 asts

Player of the half:

Phil Caleb

Second half:

At the 11:11 mark TPD was up 49-44.  With 4:03 left TPD still had a two possession lead up 60-56.  After some great defense the game ended up being tied at 60 with 2:20 left.  Sami ended up making a smart inbound play under the basket and got fouled then connected on both free throws. 62-60 TPD.  While CC had connected on some free throws to keep it close and tie the game at one point, they were unable to make some open looks and TPD would go on to secure the win from the free throw line and their defense final score TOD wins 68-63.  To see the game in it’s entirety go here Court Crushers v.s. The Personal Department

Grades:

Christopher Stull C while he had a nice first half going unfortunately his three ball was off slightly in the second to go along with no other stats.  Not an awful game but he can play better.

Charlie Maneval B- I liked seeing him get stats in many categories, he missed some crucial shots that he is more than capable of making.  Not an awful game by any means but I know he would like an opportunity to shoot this open shots again.

Rob Lunder C I would’ve like to see him force the issue a bit especially since his team needed a spark.  His stats are nowhere near what he is capable of producing.

Nikko Atanasoff A- tough turnover and his three ball was off but overall he did a lot of positive things out there to keep his team in the game.  I hope he does return to the league next season.

Craig Baranowski C 4 pts, 0-1 from three, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 4 drebs, 5 fouls this was his worst game that I’ve seen from him on the season.  He had no answer for Phil and just didn’t produce enough on the opposite side to help his team win.

Nate Mendes A- I can’t ignore his free throw shooting but ultimately made a cluth steal to go along with some good overall scoring in a much needed victory for his team.

Steve Rakusin A his free throw shooting was clutch and he did enough good to help his team win

Sami Hameid A played smart, made clutch free throws, and rebounded well.  This might’ve been his best overall game in a much needed win

Philip Caleb A he did miss some free throws but he was too dominant for me to go much lower with his grade.

Player of the game:

Philip Caleb I could tell early on he was going to do everything in his power to help his team win and that’s exactly what happened.

Easy bake oven…

Coming into this game I had Girls Go Wild (GGW) as a 10 point favorite over Court Crushers (CC).  Although CC was the more desperate team, GGW was the better team and I really didn’t see an upset as possible.

First half:

GGW controlled the entire half.  Up 16-5 with 11:17 left and never looked back leading 36-25 at the half.

Halftime stats:

CC:

Christopher Stull 1 dreb, 1 ast

Charles Maneval 6 pts, 4 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Rob Lunder 2 pts, 1 dreb, 1 ast

Josh France 5 pts, 1 stl, 3 drebs, 1 foul

Nikko Atanasoff 8 pts, 2 fouls

Craig Baranowski 4 pts, 2 orebs, 4 drebs

GGW:

Brain Civale 7 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 4 drebs

John Harding 12 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 6 drebs

Chas Belliveau 5 pts, 2 drebs, 3 asts, 1 foul

Michael “Ghost” Fraher 6 pts, 1 oreb

Alan Orellana 6 pts, 1 stl, 4 drebs, 3 asts

Player of the half:

John Harding 

Second half:

Game really took a turn for the worst for CC.  At the 15 minute mark GGW was up 48-30.  While CC tried like hell to keep the game competitive the closest it would become in this half would be the final score 78-62 GGW wins.

Grades:

Christopher Stull C his three ball was off but he did manage to get some good rebounding and an assist.

Charles Maneval B he played pretty good but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to help his team win.

Rob Lunder C+ I can’t go too high on his grade especially considering the numbers he was putting up in the beginning of the season.  Is he APR tanking for next season?  No clue but Rob can play better and do much more.

Josh France B I liked his defensive stats a lot but his three point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage left more to be desired.  

Nikko Atanasoff B not his typical dominant scoring output but he still did some nice things out there.

Craig Baranowski B+ a nice double double and even a steal to go along with it.

Brain Civale A his second half shooting (went 4-4 from three) really opened the game up for GGW.  He also contributed positively in other areas.

John Harding A I could add a + to his grade but I’ve seen him play better so for now he’ll have to settle for an A.

Chas Belliveau B his three ball was off and a missed free throw but still led the team in assists, got a steal and had great rebounding numbers.

Michael “Ghost” Fraher B a quiet game but still productive.  He definitely helped his team secure the win.

Alan Orellana A this was by far his best game on the season.  It wasn’t just his scoring either, his rebounding and assist numbers were impressive.

Player of the game:

Brian Civale had a solid all-around game, got out of his shooting slump and was the leading scorer on the day

They finally got one…

I unfortunately was unable to do lines this week but if I were picking a team to win this game it would’ve been 3 Dimensional (3D).  Although they were missing Erik Euler again and Pat Blaike, they had their two top picks in Keith and Isak.  Also Andrew Marra has improved immensely and Andre Jones seems to be completely healthy and usually plays solid.  On the Court Crushers (CC) side, they were only missing Josh France who provides positive contributions on both ends of the court for this team but they also were still winless on the season and this wasn’t the team I envisioned them beating,  In retrospect though I’d have 3D as a 5-6 point favorite

First half:

Early on the offensive was somewhat of a struggle for both teams.  With 15 minutes left in the half though CC was up 11-5.  As the game continued the dominance of CC continued as they were up 25-10 with 10:55 left in the half.  While 3D did a decent job of continuing to fight CC was playing too well so much so that a Craig Baranowski 3 at the buzzer to close the half resulted in a 48-35 lead for CC.

Halftime stats:

CC:

Christopher Stull 3 pts, 1 dreb

Charlie Maneval 9 pts, 1 stl, 1 dreb, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Rob Lunder 3 stls, 1 oreb, 5 drebs, 2 asts

Nikko Atanasoff 29 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 3 drebs, 2 asts

Craig Baranowski 7 pts, 3 orebs, 2 drebs, 2 asts, 1 foul

3D:

Andrew Jones 3 pts, 1 blk, 2 orebs, 3 drebs, 2 asts

Keith Baranowski 9 pts, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 4 drebs, 2 asts

Andrew Marra 8 pts, 2 orebs, 1 dreb, 2 asts

Isak Ivanic 15 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 5 drebs, 2 asts, 2 fouls

Player of the half:

Nikko Atanasoff

Second half:

While 3D never gave up the closest they would get at any point in this half was 2 possessions.  Here are the different scores 52-44 CC up 15 minutes left in the half.  12:05 left in the half CC was up 54-45.  With 7 minutes left in the half, CC was up 60-49.  At the 3:41 mark left in the half CC was up 61-55.  CC would go on to win 65-57.

Player Grades:

Christopher Stull B played decent in limited minutes.  Without his production his team doesn’t get their first win on the season.

Charlie Maneval B his three ball percentage wasn’t what I’ve grown accustomed to seeing but I will say that his defensive prowess wasn’t completely captured on the stat sheet so I actually think he played a good game.

Rob Lunder B he said this was the worst game he ever played.  I disagree because first and foremost your team won second you actually contributed in other areas outside of scoring.  Basketball is more than just scoring.  

Nikko Atanasoff A+ this was the best game I ever seen from him.  His shooting was lights out from three but he also contributed in every statistical category.  If his team is to win another game he has to play like this and maybe even better.

Craig Baranowski B+ was solid 10 pts, 1-3 from three, 1-2 from the free throw line, 2 stls, 3 orebs, 8 drebs, 3 asts.  Has pretty much played well all season.

Andrew Jones B honestly he did the most that he could.  I got a bunch of stats just unfortunately for him his team lost.

Keith Baranowski B he played pretty good.  I didn’t like his three point shooting percentage but outside of that he did some positive good things out there.

Andrew Marra B+ to me he was the most efficient player on his team.  I liked that he got some other stats too

Isak Ivanic B his numbers look like he played good which he actually did but he’s capable of playing better.

Player of the game:

Nikko Atanasoff I don’t really need to see much just look at the stats or better yet just go watch the video Court Crushers v.s. 3 Dimensional 

Impressive comeback win…

Coming into this game I had Court Crushers (CC) as one point favorites.  This was prior to me knowing that Perfect Strangers (PS) would only have 3 rostered guys.  I probably would’ve made CC a higher favorite had I known about the PS attendance situation prior.  CC was missing Stull who is actually having a really good season thus far.

First half:

With about 10:13 left in the half it was a close game with CC up 24-22.  It really looked like CC was going to pull away and give Dave a win in his coaching debut.  CC was up 34-26 with 5:54 left in the half.  Just as the celebration started they were quickly halted as PS fought back and only trailed 44-42 at the half.

Halftime stats:

PS:

Chris Hanks 13 pts, 1 blk, 5 drebs, 1 ast

John Reilly 12 pts, 2 orebs, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Greg Talbout 13 pts, 2 orebs, 4 asts, 1 foul

Andrew Marra (Fill-in) 4 pts, 3 asts, 1 foul

CC:

Charlie Maneval 14 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb

Rob Lunder 11 pts, 5 drebs, 3 asts, 2 fouls

Josh France 2 pts

Nikko Atanasoff 11 pts, 1 stl, 1 reb, 2 asts

Craig Baranowski  6 pts, 4 orebs, 3 drebs, 1 asts

Player of the half:

Rob Lunder

Second half:

CC looked to pull away again up 58-52 with 14:42 left in the half.  Things were still looking good for CC up 72-63 with 8:10 left in the half.  A few minutes later with 5:52 left PS trailed 74-71.  While both teams continued to battle in reality this game just turned into the Greg Talbout show as he continuously scored tough bucket after tough bucket.  PS win 87-83.

Player Grades:

Chris Hanks A+ an efficient well balanced double double game.

John Reilly A made his first career three and had it going offensively in the first half.  He did miss a couple of free throws but the good outweighed the bad here.

Greg Talbout A+ was the best player on the floor and was essentially unguardable.  I heard good things about him before he joined the league but this performance was special.

Andrew Marra (Fill-in) A was solid all-around in helping this team win.

Charlie Maneval A was super efficient at scoring the basketball.  I’m definitely use to him getting more defensive stats but overall he played a good game despite the loss.

Rob Lunder A was a solid game. I can't really pinpoint what he did except going scoreless in the second half.  I thought he played well but unfortunately for him his team lost.

Josh France B he came basically in the second half and played well.

Nikko Atanasoff A- had a solid game overall just his three ball was slightly off.  I love that he gives max effort for every minute he’s on the court on both ends.

Craig Baranowski  B 12 pts, 0-1 from three, 7 orebs, 11 drebs and 4 asts.  I’ve seen him get higher numbers which is why I couldn’t go too high on his grade but overall he played well and was solid.

Player of the game:

Greg Talbout pretty much played a perfect game.  Everything he gave was needed especially with so many key guys missing.  I admittedly didn’t know Greg was capable of a game like this but now I know.