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.

Savages….

Coming into this game I had Locked Up (LU) as 9 point favorites over MonStarrs.  What I didn’t know is that (LU) would be missing Mazz, Sydorko and Luigi.  MonStarrs on the opposite side had their entire team in attendance ready to play.  Had I had this information prior to the game I would’ve definitely made MonStarrs the favorites but hindsight is 20/20.

First half:

Early on it looked as if the game would be a battle until the end and competitive as the MonStarrs were up 12-8 with 15 minutes left in the half.  At the 10 minute mark LU took the lead up 19-18.  Still no clear cut advantage for any team the game was tied at 23 with 6:53 left.  As the half continued the MonStarrs stepped up their defense slightly and also picked up their offense going into the half up 41-35.

Halftime stats:

MonStarrs:

John Harding 9 pts, 1 drebs, 4 asts

Matthew Starr 4 pts, 3 orebs, 4 drebs, 2 fouls 

Charlie Maneval 8 pts, 1 blk, 1 oreb

Musse Kassa 6 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb, 2 asts, 1 foul

Cameron Daniel 4 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 2 fouls

Anthony Melo 10 pts, 2 orebs, 6 drebs

LU:

Jamil Ball 18 pts, 3 stls, 1 blk, 3 orebs, 2 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

Jorge Morel 10 pts, 1 stl, 2 blks, 1 oreb, 5 drebs, 3 fouls

Chas Belliveau 7 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 1 foul

Tommy Ng (fill-in) 1 dreb

Player of the half:

Jamil Ball

Second Half:

The MonStarrs came out with defensive intensity and offensive purpose.  At the 10:22 mark LU took a timeout but they were now down 67-43.  The game wouldn’t get any closer as the MonStarrs went on to win 86-55.

Player Grades:

John Harding A can’t point to anything he did wrong in this one basically played a perfect game.

Matthew Starr B+ did his job on the glass so the scoring just added to his grade.

Charlie Maneval B I liked that he was aggressive and 33% from three isn’t awful. He also managed to get some other stats so overall this was a good game in a blowout team win.

Musse Kassa A a balanced complete game is something I enjoy seeing.  Took advantage of his opportunities and played extremely well.

Cameron Daniel A just a solid game off the bench.  Came close to a double double and played a great game.

Anthony Melo A a double double to go along with some assists and a block.  To me he played great.

Jamil Ball B did all he could to keep his team in the game especially in the first half.  His three ball was inefficient and his free throw shooting left more to be desired but outside of those two things he played well.

Jorge Morel A got in a little bit of foul trouble early on but his shooting percentages from three and the free throw line were great to go along with a bunch of other stats, looks to me like he had a great game.

Chas Belliveau B- his three ball was off and I am used to him getting more dimes.  Not an awful game by any means but he knows he can play better.

Tommy Ng (fill-in) A didn’t miss a three in the second half and he rebounded the hell out of the basketball.  He played the perfect fill-in role just unfortunately for him he was on the losing side.

Player of the game:

John Harding looked unstoppable and shot the ball extremely efficiently.

This was a tough matchup for Can’t Get Wood as they went down to the Monstarrs by a score of 66-48. The Monstarrs came out of the gate firing and really never looked back with great ball movement and some nice individual performances. Credit to Can’t Get Wood for hustling throughout. 

For the Monstarrs they were led by Anthony M who was an absolute force in the post today finishing with a game high 33 pts 20 boards on some crafty moves from all angles down low. He was joined by Musse K who finished with a smooth 17 pts 5 boards 5 asts orchestrating the offense efficiently and running some nice pick and rolls that led to easy buckets. Additional shoutouts to Charlie M who finished with 7 pts 7 boards and Matthew S who finished with 7 pts 11 boards. 

For Can’t Get Wood it was a tough day from a score perspective but they had some bright spots on the court starting with Michael F who finished with a team high 15 pts 7 boards on some sharp shooting from the mid range. He was joined by Alex G who finished with 14 pts 3 boards on 3/8 shooting from deep. Additional shoutouts to Robert W with 9 pts 5 boards and game high 4 blocks and Joe B who finished with 8 pts 4 boards 3 asts.