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.

Exactly how I predicted 🙂

Coming into this game I had Golden Fleece (GF) as 7 point favorites.  Someone said that the spread was too low.  I assume that person figured with The Personnel Department (TPD) only having 4 guys in attendance and GF having their full roster that the spread should be 10+.  Well the game had to be played.  Probably most important factor of this game though is Nana Adu was making his SDL debut.

First half:

It looked like with 8:43 left in the half that GF would begin their run to pull away up 21-15.  However, TPD would not be deterred and take the lead back with 4:43 left in the half 25-22.  Fast forward to the end of the half GF was now back up 39-37.

Halftime stats:

GF:

Jorge Morel 7 pts, 3 stls, 2 blks, 2 orebs, 2 drebs, 1 ast

Luigi Sanon 2 pts, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Casey Tenney 16 pts, 4 orebs, 5 drebs, 4 asts, 2 fouls

Cameron Daniel 6 pts, 1 oreb, 2 fouls

Colin Gray 1 dreb

Chris Lynch 8 pts, 1 dreb, 1 ast, 1 foul

TPD:

Jamil Ball 6 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 5 drebs, 4 asts, 2 fouls

Steve Rakusin 9 pts, 1 oreb, 4 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Philip Caleb 22 pts, 1 stl, 1 blk, 3 oreb, 2 drebs, 1 ast

Nana Adu 2 stls, 1 ast

Player of the half:

Philip Caleb

Second half:

More of the same battling and fighting and TPD kept the game close down 47-46 with about 15 minutes left.  At the 11:40 mark the game was tied at 49.  Still within reach for TPD as they trailed 57-55 with 7:46 left.  Slightly more than a minute later GF upped their lead to 63-57.  They never looked back and went on to win 74-67.

Grades:

Jorge Morel A completely stuffed the stat sheet while shooting efficiently.

Luigi Sanon B was solid all around doing most of his damage in the second half.

Casey Tenney A+ just a perfect game aside from his off the court spread prediction 😂 

Cameron Daniel B contributed to the team win.

Colin Gray C+ made solid contributions with the limited opportunities presented.

Chris Lynch B considering he’s still not 100% this was a really solid game.

Jamil Ball B- outside of his three point shooting percentage and free throw shooting percentage he had a decent game.

Steve Rakusin B a double double and shot pretty efficient I’m not mad at the game he played

Philip Caleb A- his three point shooting and free throw shooting percentages left more to be desired however he was pretty much unstoppable at the rim leading the game in scoring.

Nana Adu C+ finished with 5 pts, 1-6 from three, 3 stls, 1 oreb, 1 dreb and 1 ast and 1 foul.  Definitely a disappointing SDL debut but I know he can play better and did manage to get some stats.  I look forward to seeing him officially join the league and play better.

Player of the game:

Casey Tenney was good and stuffed that stat as per usual.

That’s 4 straight…

Coming into this game EJ was on a bit of a winning streak while The Personnel Department (TPD) was on a bit of a losing streak.  Both teams had a sub and was only missing 1 player.

First half:

EJ lead for the duration of the half but the game was far from being decided.  At the 15 minute mark they were up 11-7.  6:51 mark they were up 24-22.  To close the half they led 33-31.  Was an upset coming?

Halftime stats:

EJ:

Erik Johnson 4 pts, 1 blk, 1 dreb, 3 asts

Robert Wood 15 pts, 1 blk, 1 ast, 3 fouls

Matthew Starr 2 pts, 4 orebs, 1 foul

Angelo Cerbone 8 pts, 2 stls, 1 blk, 1 oreb, 4 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Daniel Barbour 4 pts, 1 stl, 4 drebs, 3 asts, 1 foul

TPD:

Jamil Ball 10 pts, 1 blk, 1 dreb, 3 asts

Nate Mendes 1 dreb

Steve Rakusin 4 pts, 1 stl, 2 orebs, 4 drebs, 1 ast

Sami Hameid 3 pts, 1 blk, 1 dreb, 2 fouls

Philip Caleb 14 pts, 1 oreb, 3 drebs

Player of the half:

Robert Wood

Second half:

While TPD did a great job of keeping the game respectable, they just were never really able to take the lead or get closer than a two possession game.  EJ was up 46-42 with 14 minutes left in the half.  Then 54-48 with 11 minutes left in the half.  Essentially EJ went on to win 76-65.

Grades:

Erik Johnson A- can’t ignore his three point shooting percentage but he did have 2 blks to go along with other positive stats that impacted the game and helped his team win.

Robert Wood A I’m use to him doing more than just score and this was the first I saw him foul out.  He was super efficient though and played well. 

Matthew Starr C+ he’s definitely had better games during this season and I have high expectations of him especially on the rebounding front.  I don’t think he played bad by any means but I also can’t warrant giving him a higher grade.

Angelo Cerbone A- had to add the negative to his grade for his three point shooting.  Outside of that he played a damn near perfect game.

Daniel Barbour A he arrived late but still played extremely well.  Just a great all-around impressive performance.

Jamil Ball B he actually played well, I guess I’m just use to him doing a lot more and his team lost so I can only go but so high on his grade.

Nate Mendes C+ he was ok.  He has yet to have a signature game but he did what he could in the minimal opportunities presented to him.

Steve Rakusin B overall a solid game.  Completely stuffed the stat sheet.

Sami Hameid B made the one three he attempted and managed to contribute with other stats.

Philip Caleb A- I have to knock his grade down slightly for his three point shooting percentage.  Arguably the best player on the fooor but his team lost.

Player of the game:

Dan Barbour another smooth game for the purple sneaker killer.  

Dominant OT performance results in a double digit victory…

Coming into this game I had #KeepTheChange (#KTC) as 4 point favorites.  Surprisingly, KTC allowed Pat to fill-in with The Personnel Department (TPD) as they only had 3 rostered guys but he did just play a full game.

First half:

Early on #KTC just looked like the more hungry team up 17-11 with 13 minutes left in the half.  Not sure exactly what happened with TPD.  Maybe Phil realized his dad was there and wasn’t going out like that but he was the major reason why we had a tied game at 23 with 7 minutes left in the half.  While both teams just continued to battle, TPD battled a little harder and was up 33-31 at the half.

Halftime stats:

#KTC:

Tommy Ng 1 dreb

Cameron Daniels 5 pts, 1 oreb, 4 drebs, 4 asts

Musse Kassa 11 pts, 1 dreb, 1 foul

Xavier “Stat” Holland 11 pts, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 5 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Jay Branch 4 pts, 2 stls, 3 drebs, 2 asts 

TPD:

Sami Hameid 2 pts, 2 drebs, 2 fouls

Josh Baines 9 pts, 3 drebs, 2 asts

Philip Caleb 19 pts, 1 blk, 2 orebs, 6 drebs, 1 ast, 2 fouls

Patrick Blaikie (fill-in) 3 pts, 1 blk, 2 drebs, 2 fouls

Player of the half:

Philip Caleb

Second half:

Neither team was giving me, we are about to win this game vibes.  At the 10 minute mark, TPD was still up 47-46.  As the half continued #KTC finally took the lead back but it was still a one possession game 50-47 with 6:33 left in the half.  Again more back and forth as the game was tied at 54 with 3 minutes left.  With 10.2 seconds left in the half and the game tied at 58, #KTC took a timeout.  The guy who should get the last shot in that moment did (Cam) just unfortunately for him (and the teams waiting) it was off the mark and we were headed to overtime

Overtime:

Usually in overtime the game itself is pretty boring as it’s only 3 minutes and not much scoring occurs.  Well TPC was unable to score but for #KTC Musse hit not one, not two but three threes in a row.  On the third make the entire crowd (might’ve been like 3 people) went absolutely nuts and almost rushed the court.  Great moment for Musse and win for #KTC 68-58.

Player Grades:

Tommy Ng A got a couple rebounds and shot 50% from three.  What I liked most about him today was his teammates were saying that they needed to get him more playing time and shots but his response was I just wanna win championships.  I love that mentality.

Cameron Daniels B- admittedly if he hits the game winner he gets a higher grade.  His free throw shooting was great and he actually rebounded and assisted well but he just wasn’t the Cam that I have seen in the past and I know he’s capable of playing better just hopefully not next week 😉

Musse Kassa A shot the shit outta the basketball and had some elite trash talking that I will not repeat 😂.  His team put him in an excellent position to just make shots because let's be honest this old ass dude ain’t doing nothing else 🤣.

Xavier “Stat” Holland B- I just can’t ignore the free throw shooting.  Another game like this from the free throw line and I might have to change his nickname to Shaq.  Overall though a solid game contributing in several areas on the Shaq I mean stat sheet.

Jay Branch B+ played a really solid controlled game.  Led the game in steals, shot efficiently and played at his own pace.  I would’ve liked to see him make at least 1 more free thrown but overall I can’t complain about the game he had.

Sami Hameid B- was solid rebounding and took advantage of his minimal scoring opportunities. I just unfortunately have to knock his grade slightly for losing the trash talking battle.  No but seriously I thought Sami played a good game.

Josh Baines B he was actually pretty solid in this game.  Usually he’s more aggressive which I think his team actually needed today but as is the case basically every week the effort was there.

Philip Caleb A- only knocking his grade for his free throw shooting percentage which was probably due to fatigue.  Overall though he was dominant and his grade is higher if his team wins.

Patrick Blaikie (fill-in) A can’t ask for much more from a fill-in 11 pts 3-8 from three, 1 blk, 2 drebs and 1 ast.

Player of the game:

Musse Kassa is it really 2018?  Someone please wake me up from this dream 😂.  Nah it’s always good to see my friend play well which he did in this game.  The Beacons are proud of you 😢.