It was another great week of basketball at the D-Spot in Southwest Houston at the Grown Up Sports Thursday Men’s Basketball League. Lets take a look at a recap of this weeks action.
But first, here is a brief look at last weeks action:
6PM: Persepolis v. J-Crew
Close game. Passionate Pete hits a big three to go to OT. Passion takes over Pete and gets ejected (note no elbows were thrown). Persepolis with no answer to Earl Robertson.
J-Crew Wins: 58-53 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Earl Robertson (J-Crew): 27 points, 6 rebounds
7PM: Crazy Pirates v. Afro Boys
Afro Boys start up. Afro Boys go down. Afro Boys comeback. Big plays from Pete and Jimmy. Pete pulls hamstring. Afro Boys pull out victory.
Afro Boys Win: 54-51 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Jimmy McClure (Afro Boys): 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
8PM Game: Blue Chips v. Block Party (BP)
BP gets out early and often. Blue Chips can’t stop leak on defense. Blue Chips rapidly improving and primed to make playoff run. BP says that can start next week.
Block Party wins 57-25 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Jason Belovich (BP): 12 points (4/5 3′s); early buckets deflated Blue Chips
9PM Game: LetsGetIt v. Blazers
LetsGetIt gets solid scoring performances from Claude Cox and Byron Shelton. Tootie Ortega, Tim Hammond and Bryan Shelton chip in. Blazers woes from the field continue.
LetsGetIt wins 78 – 55 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Claude Cox (LetsGetIt): 25 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
Now onto this weeks action!
6PM: Persepolis v. Blue Chips
Forfeit for Blue Chips. If you have seen the team of players above, please report to missing persons bureau.
Persepolis wins 10-0 via forfeit
GUS Player of the Game: Outside Commitments (Blue Chips)
7PM Game: Blazers v. Team SWAG
The pit two teams searching for a victory against each other. Team SWAG hadn’t won a game since week one against BP, while Blazers were still searching for their first victory since last season’s playoffs. Blazers jumped out to an early lead thanks to the impeccable play of finally returning Darren Fulton. Darren was a key cog in last years playoff run, and proved to be exactly what the team needed, netting himself bucket after bucket, including a rare pair of threes. Helping out on the defensive end was Russell Shipley, whose three blocks helped lock up the normally potent Brad McAfee. Team SWAG wasn’t out of it though, as the consistently stellar play of Blake Meyers was turned up to another level, as he dashed around the court for another 7 steals (he’s averaging a ridiculous 6.3 on the season) and 5 assists to go along with his game high 28 points. Playing Robin to his Batman was Lee Hoang, whose quiet 18 points kept SWAG on par with Blazers. But the second half, the Blazers really turned up, going up by double digits thanks to sharp shooting Paul Brewer. Brewer has struggled with his 3 point shot this season, and is finally embracing the long mid range jumper. With his added fire power, the Blazers will be dangerous. SWAG looked to mount one final run, but were unable to get the key second chance points needed to win the close games, as Dave Bottcher snagged every rebound in sight, falling one rebounds short of the GUS record with 22 boards. Big win for Blazers in the world of playoff positioning!
Blazers win 79-70 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Dave Boettcher (Blazers): 15 points, 22 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block
8PM Game: Block Party (BP) v. LetsGetIt
BP, coming of the big victory against Blue Chips, looked to keep the momentum going and stick their nose right in the middle of the battle for playoff positioning. LetsGetIt, on the other hand, were looking to establish themselves atop the league with a victory. This game was a back and forth affair, with neither team able to separate itself from the other. BP played an extremely smart and efficient game, utilizing the mismatches on the floor and feeding newly added big man (in the David West mold) Ralph Charles who would either attack the defense or kick to the open player. Setting the team into their offensive sets was Jamyle Michael, whose quick feet and hot shooting set the tone for the game. LetsGetIt honed in on defense in the first half, with Byron Shelton blocking every shot in his purview (8 in total). The story on offense for LetsGetIt was the same it had been all season, efficient play by Byron Shelton and a scoring barrage from Claude Cox. Unfortunately for LetsGetIt, there was little else in the way of scoring. The keen mind of BP recognized this and honed in on stopping the two power horses of LetsGetIt, with the aforementioned Charles playing some of the best man up, post defense we have seen in the GUS Leagues to date.
With the game coming down to the wire in regulation, BP took the lead thanks to big buckets from Alex Tripp off great ball movement by BP and a swag jumper Jamyle. Down two in the waning moments of the game however, Cox took the ball at the top of the key and drove past the BP defense for the two, sending the game into OT. In OT, Alex Tripp kicked things off with a bank three ball (no word if glass was called) and Jamyle followed with a long two of his own. Down, LetsGetIt looked frustrated but fought back with valor. With a chance to win the game, the LetsGetIt lay up attempt was blocked in the final moments of the game, netting the green team its second consecutive victory and an inside track to the playoffs.
Block Party (BP) wins 57 – 56 (see Box Score)
GUS Player of the Game: Ralph Charles (BP): 21 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block
9PM Game: Afro Boys v. Team VA G-Ballers
Two of the most raucous teams in the league faced off to end the night. This one was shaping up to be a close battle, vital to the playoff positioning of both teams. The Afro Boys got out to the early double digit advantage, nearly bringing down the house with their celebratory chants after every bucket. In search of guidance, Maurice Stringfellow, utilizing his cagey veteran defense, sparked a comeback. Though you wouldn’t know it from the stat sheet, his wily tricks on defense solidified the front line of the G-Ballers, and ignited a fire inside his team, specifically Nick Brannon, who seemed like he couldn’t miss. Nailing four threes, Brannon shredded the defense from afar. Complementing his long bombs was the ground attack of Kevin “The Tank” Charles and Bassey “Blitzkrieg” Ekong, taking turns slashing to the basket, shredding the token defense of the Afro Boys like a gang of rag dolls. Afro Boys point guard Jason Snow and Jimmy McClure battled to bring the team back in the second half with a series of drives, but in the end, it was just too much to overcome.
Team VA G-Ballers win 70-46
GUS Player of the Game: Nick Brannon (VA G-Ballers) – 19 points (6/10 fgs, 4/5 3s), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
And that’s that. Remember everyone to be ON TIME this week. We are running everything on an extremely tight schedule. Also, recall the top eight teams make playoffs, so be in control of your own destiny and win the games!
-Favor