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.

Wouldn’t have made any difference…

Coming into this game I saw Can’t Get Wood (CGW) as 5 point favorites.  Yes they were missing Ben but Save the Best For Last (STBFL) was missing Civale.  Civale for STBFL has been probably their most important offensive player (averaging almost 22 points per game).  That didn’t matter, the game still had to be played.

First half

Despite what looked like a potential attendance issue situation for STBFL, (Cameron Daniel was filling in as they only had 3 rostered guys there), neither team held an advantage as the game was deadlocked at 9 with 15 minutes left in the half.  Eventually Josh and Kevin showed up to give STBFL 5 of their 6 rostered guys.  The game was really competitive throughout but CGW was playing slightly better up 34-32 at the half.

Halftime stats:

CGW:

Robert Wood 6 pts, 3 blks, 2 orebs, 5 drebs, 3 asts, 1 foul

Michael “Ghost” Fraher 8 pts, 4 drebs

Alan Orellana 7 pts, 1 oreb, 2 drebs

Joseph Breda 7 pts, 3 stls, 2 orebs, 1 dreb, 5 asts

Alexander Gatter 6 pts, 1 oreb, 3 drebs, 1 ast, 1 foul

STBFL:

Cameron Daniel (fill-in) 1 blk

Christopher Stull 3 pts, 3 drebs, 1 foul

Keith Baranowski 7 pts, 1 stl, 1 oreb, 3 drebs, 4 asts, 1 foul

Uros Kuzmanovic 8 pts, 2 blks, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 1 ast

Joshua Brown 2 pts, 4 drebs, 2 asts

Kevin Ross 12 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb, 1 ast

Player of the half:

Robert Wood

Second half:

I’m not exactly sure of when it occurred or even how to be honest but this game got super ugly unexpectedly and quickly.  At the 14:39 mark CGW was up 53-37.  While STBFL didn’t quit the score got worse as they were down 69-47 with 7:52 left.  Plenty of time for a comeback, right?  No CGW went on to win this one 89-63.

Player Grades:

Robert Wood A didn’t score as much as he’s capable of but still a monster game across all stat categories.  He played well and with the passion and energy I’m use to seeing from him.  This was a good sign for this team going forward.

Michael “Ghost” Fraher B efficient shooting the ball as per usual.  I feel like he sat himself in the second half to just cheer on his teammates who were handling business.  He can obviously do more and play better but I liked his performance today overall.

Alan Orellana A I know he’s had some unofficial phenomenal scoring games this season but in this game it wasn’t necessary.  He didn’t miss a three and managed to stuff stat categories in several areas.  I don’t think you can ask for a better performance in this particular situation.

Joseph Breda A+ hands down the best all-around game I’ve ever seen him play.  If he is able to put up this type of production on a regular basis, teams/league watch out.

Alexander Gatter B+ was really good.  I actually have seen him play better so I can’t go too high on his grade but overall this was an excellent game for him.

Christopher Stull B I can’t ignore the 0-3 from the free throw line (trust me I’ve been there).  Outside of that and the fact that his team got annihilated he actually had a pretty solid game.

Keith Baranowski B the 0fer from three can’t be ignored but he really did stuff the stat sheet.  His effort, energy and play was great but in the grand scheme of things it meant nothing as his team really got manhandled.

Uros Kuzmanovic B I haven’t seen him play much but this by far was his best game of the season.  I feel like in the second half he didn’t get the same opportunities as the first (hence the drop in his stats) but if he can some how manage to play like he did in the first half for an entire game that would help this team immensely.

Joshua Brown C- I heard rumors after that he hurt his ankle and I don’t think he was really able to stretch and get himself ready to play in the game so it makes sense that his production was low.  However with that being said, he did make the effort to play and it just wasn’t a good game for him.  He can and will play better next game.

Kevin Ross B+ I knew he had a midrange game but I’ve never seen him make the three ball like this before.  He also managed to get some other stats to go along with his scorching shooting.  He seemed engaged and wanted to win this one but it just didn’t work out for him and his team this time.

Player of the game:

Joseph Breda easy choice as he was the best player scoring the basketball and had a great all around game (was on triple double watch).  He was definitely feeling himself. I know that ride home in the Porsche felt awesome, great game man.

A double up and some…

Shoutout to Rob for keeping stats in this game.  I believe Chas was helping him out by updating the scoreboard but when I got there it was over.  Coming into this game I had Bully Ball (BB) as 10 point favorite.  I know Can’t Get Wood (CGW) was missing their best player and 6th man Ben but I thought with the 4 they had they could at least make the game respectable (I was obviously wrong).  I don’t see any game notes but I don’t think it was necessary looking at the final score 110-51 BB wins.  So I’ll jump right into the grades and player of the game all of which should be obvious.

Player Grades:

Robert Wood B+ he seemed to score efficiently and stuff the stat sheet but honestly how high of a grade can I go when your team loses by 59 points.

Michael “Ghost” Fraher B awesome rebounding numbers but didn’t score nearly enough to help his team but I didn’t see the game itself so purely off the numbers he looks to have played a pretty good game.

Alan Orellana B- really had a stuffed stat sheet.  The 0fer from three is not good.  Maybe the 3 fouls affected his game?  I like the 2 stls and rebounding numbers but based on the way he’s been filling-in for games this season I don’t think this was a good game for him.

Joseph Breda B doesn’t look to be a completely terrible game.  Scored well just needed higher numbers across all categories to help his team win this game.

Tommy Ng A+ 4-7 from three and 2 rebounds is an excellent game.  I didn’t see it but these stats tell me Tommy was cancelling Christmas on everyone out there.

Djordje Vlajkovic A+ surprised at the low rebounding numbers but the 38 points is impressive to go along with some solid defensive stats.

Casey Tenney A+ missed some shots but who cares look at his total numbers.

Colin Gray A the 0fer from the free throw line is really the only thing I’m nitpicking at.  A solid game but he can actually play better if necessary.

Robert Haas A+ not sure what else he can do for this team.  Played an excellent game and stuffed the stat sheet.

Player of the game:

Casey Tenney pretty easy choice.  Maybe I should start excluding him from this recognition.