Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

It was the first day of heavy lifting in the first round of the Grown Up Sports Saturday Afternoon Men’s Basketball League. Let’s take a look at how the games shook out.

#2 Goal Breakers v. #7 Barberians

When these two teams squared off in week 1, the rosters looked a bit different. Barberians have since added big men Khalid and Todd (and lost big man Christian) while the Goal Breakers have added super star Jeremy Dean and super athlete Brian Sanders. While Barber tore up the Goal Breakers defense last time, the Goal Breakers were going to have none of that this time, starting off the game with physical play (and surprising non-fouls) on a few of the Barberians drives. But the Barberians have always played with extreme heart, and that was never more evident than the play of standout guard Marlon Trujillo, whose tenacity and never give up spirit willed the Barberians to stay even with the Goal Breakers through 30 minutes of play. However, it was at this point that the Goal Breakers began to turn it up, including a couple of huge threes by the dynamic Darrell.

GUS Player of the Game: Brian Sanders (Goal Breakers): 15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 4 blocks

Goal Breakers win 57 – 46

Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

#1 New Creation v. #8 Wax On, Whacks Off

Coming into this game, nobody expected Wax On to win… except Paul Brewer and boy did he come out firing like he wanted to win. Brewer got off to a scorching hot start, nailing 11 points to start out the game with a flurry. Complimenting him was Rob, whose dead eye shooting had Coach Ledesma in a frenzy. But Marquise Christian was not about to have an upset happen. Scorching through the Wax On defense, Marquise showed why he is considered one of the most versatile players in the league. Unfortunately, Marquise’s Achilles Heel has always been foul trouble, and after picking up four in the first half and his team tied, it was looking bleak for New Creation. That’s when Victor Scales came alive, eating the interior of the Wax On defense alive, keeping the game manageable with 21 hard earned points in the paint. When Victor wasn’t big body-ing the Wax On defense, Chris Gonzales was lighting them up from down town. Once Marquise checked back into the game, the writing was on the walls, as he continued his assault on the Wax on defense, pushing the game out of reach leaving Wax On with one lesson. If you go to learn karate from an old guy, and all he has you do is paint his garage and wax his car – you might want to reconsider your choice.

GUS Player of the Game: Victor Scales (New Creation): 21 points, 5 rebounds; Marquise Christian (New Creation): 24 points (10/14) 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals, 1 block

New Creation wins 80-66 (see Box Score)

Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

#3 Those Guys v. #6 LetsGetIt

This was primed to be a great match-up and it didn’t disappoint. Last year these teams met in the playoffs in a classic battle in which Claude Cox scored the first 40 point game. Since that game, Those Guys had become a veritable powerhouse with the additions of Earl Robertson and Jason Joseph as well as the savvy play of Jacob Harris and Josh Davis. LetsGetIt was missing its fire starter Claude Cox and looked to rely heavily on Tony Jones to provide its offensive attack. To begin the game, Those Guys looked unstoppable. With Josh scoring on the inside, and Earl nailing shots from the outside, Those Guys took a 9 point lead into half time and looked to be too much for LetsGetIt to handle. That’s when a key defensive adjustment by LetsGetIt was made to counteract their lack of size. Switching to a 2-3 zone, LetsGetIt confounded Those Guys’ offense, with Tony Jones playing the top of the zone to perfection, intercepting numerous passes (6 steals) leading to easy fast break buckets. Stephon Davis also began to show signs of life, as he pulled in an impressive 9 rebounds. Now down, Those Guys began scrambling to make a comeback with time running out. Zain Hussein got fouled on a three point attempt, and nailed all three. With the game in flux, Simmie Colson nailed the biggest shot of his life, and his only on on the day, absorbing contact and putting in a huge two pointer to put LetsGetIt in the drivers seat. Those Guys had one last effort to take the game back, but a controversial play (was there a foul? Ron and Curtis said no) resulted in a missed shot and a quick trip out of the post season.

GUS Player of the Game: Tony Jones (LetsGetIt): 31 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 6 steals

LetsGetIt Again wins 65-64 (see Box Score)

Grown Up Sports Spring 2012 Men's Basketball

#4 Los Blancos Guapos v. #5 Trail Mix

This looked to be the match-up of the day. Last time these two teams met, Andrew Gonzalez went off for 51 points and the Guapos won in double OT. This time around, Trail Mix looked to slow up Andrew. The Guapos jumped out to a quick start, but like always Trail Mix began hitting threes and tied the game back up. That’s when the most prolific shooting performance ever given began, as Chris M nailed mid range J after mid range J. With Adam Gonzalez directing the offense, Chris caught the ball in all the right spots and converted every single time. Nailing 16/20 for 38 points. Its hard to overcome that. Good season to Trail Mix, but the Guapos were just too much on this day.

GUS Player of the Game: Chris M (Guapos): 38 points (16/20 fgs) 6 rebounds, 2 steals

Guapos win 71-47 (see Box Score)

Don’t forget to sign up for next season if you haven’t already. We have several leagues available, including bringing back the Tuesday league and an all new Thursday Rec League (less competitive), as detailed below.

-Favor

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