Cross Conference Play - Week 10 - Court 1 - December 7, 2015

BALL SO HARD 54  VS. SOFA KING GOOD 64

Ball So Hard – Devon 20pts, Michael 8pts, Vic 8pts

Sofa King Good – Pierre 28pts, Bath 12pts, Rassmussen 12pts

In the last games of the crossover “experience”, we find ourselves with a good matchup of top teams.  Two high powered, high energy, action filled teams that attack and score from everywhere on the court!  Ball So Hard seemed to have the advantage in numbers, but Sofa King Good are multi time league champions who fear no one they face on the court!

SKG usually has a smooth but frantic pace to how they attack their opponents, but you could see that a few key players absent like JJ Bath were readily apparent.  Akeem Pierre picked up the slack of the missing players, and then some.  Ball So Hard’s usual team attack was good early on in the game, but the ran into a situation they were not ready for (or baffled by).  One man fast breaks, step back three point shots, missed dunk attempt.  All of this didn’t spell out SKG as a team early on, it conveyed the one man show that Akeem Pierre was putting on!  SKG would hold an 8 point game at halftime, and looked good doing it beyond only having a single digit lead.

Devon Carney continued his hot shooting in the 2nd half for BSH, but it would be exceeded by the 19 2nd half point barrage by Akeem Pierre!  The “Palmer Zone” was in full effect in this matchup.  It not only gave them the interior defense and control of the game, but it let them run out for timely buckets.  BSH would fight like they usually do, but SKG would hold on to win by 10.

HOOP FIENDS 67 VS. DEEP THROWERS 59

Hoop Fiends – Andre 15pts, Jerry 14, Matt 12

Deep Throwers – Donald 21pts, Brian 12pts, Sanjiv 8pts

Both teams have had their ups and downs throughout the season, but seemed to always keep their energy and attitudes positive. The Hoop fiends would use their lack of size but massive quickness, hustle to grab an 8 point lead at halftime.

The second half would see Hoop Fiends Andrew C would exploded for 15 points in the 2nd half to help hold off a strong second half by the deep throwers.  Donald Elliott of the Deep Throwers led all scores with 21.

YMCMB 67 VS. CORE 64

YMCMB – Kelly 19pts, Tony 15pts, Toram 16pts

Core – Brandon 19pts, Karol 15pts

In one of the shocks of the season, YMCMB found themselves in a “Do or Die” situation with Core!  Lose, and they were going fishing for the season!  In other words, lose this game and they miss the playoffs!  YM looked to be in semi bad shape, with a number of factors going against them.  One big factor was the size and talent of Core!  Core has answered the “critics” who pointed out the shortcomings and underachieving performances throughout the year, to put themselves back in the playoff picture late in the season.

The game flipped Core’s way almost right away!  Their size was apparent and imposing to say the least.  15 first half points by Brandon Harder, helped give Core a 6 point halftime lead.

With their backs against the wall, YM showed why they have that “Championship Pedigree”!  Little by little, possession by possession, YM inched their way back into the game.  YM would take a lead late in the game, and staved off a last second three point heave to escape with a punched playoff ticket in their back pocket!

SB BATTLE 78 VS. LIVESTOCK 73

SB Battle – Kadeem 25, Swatoop 12, Andrew 13

Livestock – David 20, Patrick 16, Mannie 12

SB Battle looked to hold on to the #1 seed vs the always game Livestock.  SB Battle was short handed missing a number of usual suspects, but SB Battle has 10 starters on their team!  Livestock would make like hard for SB Battle all game long.  The Chemisty and talent that Livestock possesses is highly underrated!  So much so, they would take a 1 point lead on the top seeded SB.

The 2nd half would look like SB was going to get back to its old ways pushing out to a near double digit lead just past the halfway mark of the game.  Livestock would not let the game slip away from them.  They would go on a 13-2 run to grab a one point lead inside of 4 minutes left in the game.  SB would get some timely buckets from Kadeem Willis and Roopi Singh Clair.

SB would escape by a small margin, but W is a W!

Cross Conference Play - Week 10 - Court 5 - December 7, 2015

STALLIONS 98 VS. METRO MEN 67

Stallions – Elliot 20pts, Jitt 16pts, Darryl 16pts

Metro Men – Vito 16pts, Rob 12pts, Douglas 19pts

It was a tough way to end a season for the Metro Men, meeting up with the #1 ranked Stallions!

The highest scoring team in Metro League vs “The New Guys”.  The Stallions have been showing some “old age” and “mileage” on their performances in the last few months.  Playing down to the competition is the main “reason” I seem to get, but the Shenanigans investigation is still open!

Even though the Stallions got off to a good first half, they gave up six three pointers in the first half.  Five 3s were hit by Douglas Meyers of Metro Men, but the Stallions still held a 19 point lead at halftime.

The 2nd half would see the Stallions take their foot off the throttle again, to score 12 point less than in the first half!  In a comfortable win, The Stallions seem to feel they will have a “cupcake road” to the Title game.  We shall see.

SWAT 71 VS. STILL BALLIN 32

SWAT – Gene 27pts, Richi 14pts, Adam 15pts

Still Ballin – Trey 8pts, Brandon 5pts, Munraj 6pts

SWAT was well aware of the possible playoff implications of this game vs Still Ballin.  Coming off of a last second victory in week 9, Still Ballin looked to cap the season with a win.  The one thing they couldn’t afford was a slow start vs a “back against the wall” veteran team like SWAT.

From start to finish, SWAT jumped all over Still Ballin.  They had no answer for the “Wolf Pack”!  Gene and Richie Wolf!  Gene Wolf continued his most improved campaign in this game, with a game high 27 points!  Richie has shown steady improvement, and help Team Swat hold Still Ballin to 16 points in both halves.

SUICIDE SQUAD 67 VS. SONIC BOOM 90

Suicide Squad – Austin 26, Charles 16, Jhonnel 9

Sonic Boom – Joey 41, Connor 23, Yoni 14

With a playoff berth hanging in the balance, Sonic Boom showed up with their usual 5 players!  Some might say that they brought the “right” players!  You can’t go wrong when you have the league’s leading scorer on your team in Joey Haywood!  Suicide Squad were looking to play spoiler in this matchup, and in the beginning it was anyone’s game!

Both teams started the first half like it was the first round of the playoffs!  With no room for error, both teams attacked with speed but caution.  The first half would end with Sonic Boom holding a slim 3 point lead.

The urgency didn’t seem to hit Sonic Boom until the 2nd half.  Almost like they didn’t know that they may be one step away from being eliminated from the playoffs!  Someone received that message, and that was Connor Rockandel and Joey Haywood!  The two would combine for 40 of Sonic’s 54 second half points!  SS was left standing in the mud, while Sonic Boom raced to see if they had made the playoffs!