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.

Our last game of the day was another closer one with Locked Up beating the Ruffkies and Dre by a score of 58-46. This one remained close throughout until Locked Up stepped up down the stretch moving the ball efficiently to put the Ruffkies away. Definitely some good shooting from them as well making it tough to cover the many shooters. The Ruffkies kept it close though, I think with the right game plan they could definitely be right there with these guys.

For Locked Up they were led by Jorge M who had 18 pts and 16 boards and it felt like this guy was everywhere with some great cutting to go with some great instincts rebounding the ball. He was joined by Michael S who finished with 17 pts 6 boards 3 asts on 5/8 from deep. Very efficient from him making the right play more often than not leading to easy buckets. Additional shoutouts to Nick M with an all around 11 pts 8 asts 6 boards and Lou S with 12 pts 8 boards. 

For the Ruffkies though they lost they had some nice performances in this one starting with Connor  C finishing with a game high 28 pts 4 boards. He was joined by Ruff who finished with 12 pts 6 boards on a couple three balls. Additional shoutout to Andre J who had an absolute monster block to go with a game high 4 steals. He was defensively locked in helping to keep this game close for the majority of the game. Looking to see these guys get some guys back and go strong to the playoffs.

I’m starting to think, “they can’t win” Adrian Pennino voice…

Coming into this game I had Balanced Flow (BF) as a 4 point favorite.  I know they were winless but Locked Up (LU) had lost 3 straight games and were missing a key player and captain Jamil.  Although BF was missing Marra I thought they had enough to get that first win.  Well something had to give.

First half:

Welp things started off poorly for BF as they were down 11-5 with about 13:53 left in the half.  Frustration we’re starting to mount on the BF side and LU now had a 30-19 lead with 5:54 left in the half.  No change in terms of score, momentum or just overall sense of a first win coming, LU went into halftime up 37-26.

Halftime stats:

LU:

Jorge Morel 11 pts, 1 blk, 2 drebs, 2 asts

Nick Mazzeo 15 pts, 1 stl, 5 drebs, 3 ast

Luigi Sanon 6 pts, 1 drebs, 1 ast

Chas Belliveau 2 pts, 1 oreb, 1 dreb

Michael Sydorko 3 pts, 3 stls, 5 drebs

BF:

Steve Rakusin 2 pts, 2 drebs

Cameron Daniels 15 pts, 1 oreb, 2 drebs, 2 asts

Daniel Lyman 2 drebs, 2 fouls

Seun Tayo 4 pts, 2 orebs, 3 drebs, 1 ast

Isak Ivanik 3 pts, 1 oreb, 4 drebs, 2 asts

Player of the half:

Nick Mazzeo 

Second half:

I liked the fact that BF was still battling and kept the game respectful as they still were within single digits down 45-37 with 14:19 left in the game.  At the 8:59 mark the lead got up to double digits 65-55.  Unfortunately from this point on the game just got ugly and out of reach. LU won 88-63.

Player Grades:

Jorge Morel A was unstoppable scoring at the rim and I liked the 2-2 from three.  The scoring is what stood out most but he definitely had a nice balanced game.

Nick Mazzeo A did it all in a pretty efficient way too.  He’s obviously a scorer but it was nice to see him make the effort and be effective on the defensive side of the ball.

Luigi Sanon A scored in double figures and managed to get some other stats.

Chas Belliveau A efficient scoring and lots of dimes

Michael Sydorko A+ didn’t miss a three and had great steals numbers not to mention he held his man to under double digits scoring.

Steve Rakusin C- bad game from the free throw line and three but he did manage to get a few boards.

Cameron Daniels A I rarely give high grades for someone on a losing team but man my guy had a 40 burger and it was efficient.  There actually was a moment in the game it looked like he was going to win it for his team.  I honestly can’t point to one thing he could’ve done more of to help his team win.

Daniel Lyman C played ok he did manage to get some boards and scored in the limited minutes he received.

Seun Tayo C his numbers look ok but it just wasn’t a good game.  Lucky for him we don’t track turnovers.  Overall though my expectation level was higher hence the criticism and grade received.

Isak Ivanik C- someone please tell me he was playing hurt.  He just didn’t have it at all.  His three point shooting was ok and even his numbers in general but he needed to do way more and be aggressive.  He looked kinda out of it on the day which can happen occasionally.

Players of the game:

Had to go with both Jorge and Mazz here.  If either one lacked off on offense Cam might’ve stayed in the game and won it.  Both guys played extremely well and were needed for this victory.