Intramurals Week 8 (Tourney Day 2): February 26, 2012
Green goes down fighting, 3rd time no charm for Orange, Black takes long road to victory
Final day summary: A short-handed Faculty-Staff squad, playing without their top shooting and point guards, dominated inside but couldn’t keep pace with Orange’s lightning attack in the opener. Orange, with one tournament loss, then advances to meet tourney-undefeated Black and survives to earn a decisive “rubber match” with a one-point overtime win. Playing their third game in as many hours, Orange then falls victim to an unstoppable inside Black attack, their own fatigue, and ultimately a loss of nerves and cool down the stretch: although Orange finishes with a 2-2 record against Black and a better overall season record (7-2 versus 6-3), Carl Darcus and his squad come through when it counts and emerge as 2012 Intramural Champs!
Game 1: 4.Orange versus 3.Green
After giving up the first 9 points to Orange’s lightning full-court offense, Green was able to blunt both the fast break and the outside shooting of the league’s highest scoring offense and “hang around” for much of the contest. Drawing as close as 6 late in the second quarter, they eventually fell victim to their opponent’s much quicker hands and feet (18 steals for the game, most resulting in fast-break layups) and faded to the final 71-45 margin of defeat.
The Faculty-Staff’s “big men” had undoubtedly their best overall performance of the season, as Benga Adekunle (19 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal), Devon Genus (18 points, a remarkable 17 rebounds, 1 steal), and Lowell Roberson (6 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block) dominated their opposite numbers inside all afternoon. That wasn’t enough, however, as Jenny Harvey’s lone basket was the only back-court scoring contribution from the Green squad. (Harvey also hauled down 3 rebounds, had one assist, and one steal.)
And although a hustling defense did an admirable job of slowing down the Orange attack, the leagues fastest overall team took full advantage of Green’s ball-handling troubles to create numerous fast breaks without rebounds as they pulled away to the decisive win, their 6th against only one loss for the season.
Also contributing to the determined, but doomed, effort of the Green squad were Ruth Hulvey (2 assists), Captain Frank Moran (1 rebound, 2 assists), and Emily Staubus (1 rebound, 2 assists).
Orange’s Kevin Jackson dropped in 33 to lead Orange, and was joined in double figures by his captain Monteria Peyton, with 18, and Mitchell Harris, with 12. Charles Durette’s 6 (on 2 threes) and Cody Persinger’s 2 completed the scoring for the winners. Jackson did his part on the boards with 10, but the most telling statistic was the turnover margin: accounting for Orange’s deadly 18 take-aways (versus only 4 for Green) were Durette, Jackson, Harris, Peyton, and Persinger with 6,5,4,2, and 1. Oluwatosin Adesanya-Olaleye contributed 2 rebounds; Michelle Duenas one rebound and one assist.
Game 2: 6.Black versus 4.Orange
With 2 wins and no losses in the previous two tournament Sundays, including one over Orange, Black had the luxury of being fully rested as they hosted Orange, exactly 10 minutes after their opponents had put away Green.
It did not show.
This well-played match-up of two talent-laden squads fittingly went to overtime before being decided by a single foul shot. And equally fittingly, Orange avenged their only tournament loss to force a third and final match up for the trophy.
Black is bigger and stronger, and as expected got most of their points near the rim, with captain Carl Darcus (31 points, 14 rebounds, 1 blocked shot) and Steven Washington (14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 blocked shot) leading the way. Lemarcus Price, though scoreless, also added inside muscle with 7 rebounds. Darius Woodson, who generally makes a living from outside the arc also focused his game inside the lane, with 6 rebounds to balance a modest (for him..) 6 points. And Cameron Williams and Jason Eubanks each added 2 points and two rebounds, the Black squad dominating the boards to the tune of 34-26.
Orange was able to balance Black’s inside muscle with their quicker hands and feet, however, with their standard fast-strike-full-court offensive attack led by Kevin Jackson’s 22, captain Monteria Peyton’s 19, and Mitch Harris’s 10; Charles Durette and Cody Persinger added 3 and 2, respectively.
The biggest first half lead by either team was 4, and Orange held a 23-22 edge at intermission. The second half “more of the same”: numerous ties and lead changes, with one short cold streak by Orange leading to the largest lead of either team, 7 points (49-42), held oh so briefly by Black in mid third quarter. Orange promptly scores 7 straight for yet another tie.
Both teams had their chances to end it in regulation time. Black clung to a 53-52 edge with 48 seconds left; Durette then banged in a three for a 55-53 Orange lead. Darcus answers with a put-back of his team’s missed shot in heavy traffic, beating the buzzer to notch the score at 55-all.
Overtime is equally exciting: Monteria Peyton’s ultimately winning free throw comes early, and Orange regains possession on another of their 6 steals. But Jason Eubank’s key rebound of an Orange miss with 20 seconds left (we’re not sure why they even shot..) put the ball in the hands of their inside ace Darcus. Darcus fights through traffic for one close, but hotly contested, last chance. Rims off, no foul, Orange survives to the final-final 10 minutes later.
Game 3: 6.Black versus 4 Orange, re-match for championship
The third time was not “the charm” for Orange. Nor was it particularly charming.
After getting past Green quite handily, then getting past Black by the slimmest of “barely”, an understandably heavy-legged and obviously frustrated Orange squad was no match for the unrelenting inside attack and backboard muscle of Black. Racking up 17 team fouls, including one technical and one player ejection, Orange contributed to the rout by the same team they had played head-to-head in 3 earlier meetings with a second half “implosion”, falling behind as far as 31 points before a late rally made the final score…74-57…almost respectable.
An ugly end to an otherwise impressive season.
Relying almost exclusively on their inside game, Carl Darcus and company pounded the ball inside time and time again and Orange had no answer, falling behind 18-7 in the first 5 minutes before captain Monteria Peyton and top scorer Kevin Jackson began to match baskets to keep it within reach, 40-26, at halftime.
Orange’s remaining energy was needed to hold that margin throughout most of the third period, but from an almost manageable 50-33 edge Black..mostly Darcus, Washington, and Darius Woodson… ran off 14 consecutive points to put the contest out of reach at 64-33 with 8 minutes remaining. Black coasted in, Darcus and Washington doing just enough down the stretch to keep the suddenly, and finally, hot outside guns of Orange from creating a genuine threat.
Peyton’s 14-point final period barrage game him 28 for the game, with Jackson adding 25 for Orange. Their only other scorer was Mitch Harris, held well below his average at 4. All 6 contributed to the rebounding effort, Jackson leading with 8, Peyton and Oluwatosin Adesanya-Olaleye adding 6, Michelle Duenas and Harris accounting for 3 each, and Charles Durette adding one.
Orange’s total of 27 boards was dwarfed by 40 from the taller Black squad however, with both Darcus, at 14, and Washington, at 12, leading the way. Both had double-doubles as well; Darcus leading all scorers with 34 and Washington adding 18. Woodson finished right behind with 17, and Jason Eubanks totaled 5. Woodson, Eubanks, and Williams were also prominent on the boards with 7, 4, and 3.
Black emerges with a hard-earned championship; congrats to all 5 teams for a very competitive, and exciting, season.
Season stats, both team and individual will be posted on the web-site, and the top three teams awarded personalized t-shirts along with pictures and names on the plaque in the fitness center.
Thanks, and congrats, all!
Intramurals Week 7 (Tourney Day 2): February 19, 2012
Purple out, Orange and Black advance, Green still alive
Game 1: 5.Purple versus 2.Red
Purple needed, and got, just 2 “monster” quarters. Which accounted for an eventual 73-48 pounding of Red. They also needed, and did not get, their one female player to show up, and with the official “default” became the first team to drop out of the double-elimination championship tourney.
With their outside shooting aces nearly perfect in the first period (John Myrah dropped in 10points including 2 threes,) and actually perfect (Justin Collins nailed 4 threes in 4 tries and did not miss a shot until the second half) Purple appeared in total command at 26-6.
That barrage served only to wake up a consistently scrappy, but still winless Red squad, however, which closed the gap quickly with a 9-0 run. That surge was powered largely by their top inside man William Buchanan, whose 10 second-period points helped close the gap to 33-27 by halftime.
Captain Justin Sly and Maurice Yates provided nearly all of Purple’s offense in the third quarter with 8 points each, but that, and a hustling defense, were enough to hold off Red and extend the lead to a 50-38 edge going into the final 10 minutes.
That final period saw a close contest turn into a route, however, with Purple’s Brandon Sweet catching fire…2 three’s and 2 two’s accounting for all but 2 of his season-high 12 for the game…and Maurice Yates doing damage closer to the rim (one 3, two 2’s). Contributing to that final onslaught was an obvious wearing-down of Red, which brought only 6 players to the contest.
Final score: Purple 73, Red 48. A misleading score on two accounts: 1. Take away the first and last 9 minutes, and Red wins. Big. And 2. Get the ladies to the game, Purple; Red advances to the 4PM game with Orange.
Stats looked like this: Purple’s Myrah, Yates, Collins, Sweet, and Sly all managed double figures with 18, 14, 14, 12, and 11; Wesley Fleek and Yonnie Getachew each added 2. Bobby Snell went scoreless but made a major contribution to Purple’s 45-35 rebounding edge with 6 grabs.
Red was led in scoring by Michael Strazzella’s 14 and William Buchanan’s 12, with Randall Hopper, Heather Baker, Captain Andrew Kipps, and Jonathan Middleton contributing 7, 7, 6, and 2. Red’s loss was in no way due to lack of a team effort, as all 6 scored and all 6 rebounded, led by Buchanan’s 10 and Strazzella’s 9.
Game 2: 3.Green versus 6 Black
The resurgent Faculty-Staff team somehow found a way to nullify nearly all of Black’s lethal weapons: They controlled the running game of one of the league’s fastest teams, shackled the deadly outside game of one of the league’s leading scorers, and survived the quick hands and stifling defense of one of the leagues most aggressive teams.
Black was left almost exclusively with a single offensive weapon, but in the end that turned out to be enough. Captain Carl Darcus was unstoppable on short jump-shots, accounting for 26 of Black’s 40 total…and single-handedly outscoring Green’s team by 2.
In a low scoring game highlighting defense and hustle from both sides, Darius Woodson, who’s topped 30 on two occasions, was Darcus’s only teammate in double figures at 10, and the final 40 point production represented a fraction of Black’s 67 point per game average. Even more remarkable was the half-time score of 12-12, reflective less of cold shooting than of smothering defensive play.
The final score was deceptive as well, with Green hanging within 6 through most of the third period before falling behind by 11, 30-19, going into the final 10 minutes. However they truly could find no answer for Darcus, who managed to consistently drive inside Green’s tight 3-2 zone and drop the ball over and around Green’s much taller inside men from 2-8 feet out. Black eventually had it all but put-away at 40-20 with 4 minutes remaining, then coasted in for their 5th win against only 2 losses. And they look like a good shot to continue through the tournament, with at least one win over every opponent and those two losses coming by a combined total of 7 points.
Darcus also led his team in rebounding with 14 in what was easily his best overall performance of the season. Although Steve Washington, with 7 points, was only the third Black player to score, his 6 rebounds, as well as 4 from Woodson and 1 from Jason Eubanks, were instrumental in nullifying Green’s height advantage as they actually out-rebounded the Faculty-Staff squad 25-23.
Green certainly enjoyed a team effort, with 8 of 9 making the books with either points, rebounds, assists, or steals…there just weren’t quite enough of the first. Benga Olugbemiga led in both points (9) and rebounds (11); “Dr. John” Downey added 6 and 1. Tim Nicely dropped in 4 of his 6 free throw attempts; also contributed 2 assists and 2 rebounds. Faison Dana made both of her free throw attempts and one field goal, grabbed 2 rebounds as well. Lowell Roberson added 1 point and 2 rebounds, and helped out additionally with Green’s only 2 steals of the day. Jenny Harvey pulled down 4 rebounds and Frank Moran 1. Emily Staubus contributed 1 assist. Ruth Hulvey didn’t “get ink” this round but was worth at least 2 points, managing to stop a Black fast break that was headed for a certain bucket.
Game 3: 4.Orange versus 2.Red
Orange rebounded from their lone defeat of the season (60-53 to Black last week) with a 75-51 win over Red that might be a step to a rematch with Orange in the championship game this Sunday.
Red managed to get only 5 of their players to the event, none of which was their top rebounder and one of their top scorers, William Buchanan. And since they were solidly beaten two weeks earlier by Orange when they had a full squad, this had all the makings of a “wood-shed whoopin’ ”.
Andrew Kipp’s scrappy 5 failed to get that message, however, pushing their once-beaten opponents until deep in the final period when Orange’s speed and Red’s fatigue led to a 23-8 run resulting in a deceptively close 24 point margin of victory.
Red actually led through the first few minutes, in fact, with long-range bomber Heather Baker nearly perfect from the floor with 9 first quarter and 5 second period points for 14 of Red’s total 24 first half production.
Orange more than kept pace, however, once again featuring an attack that has everyone capable of scoring from everywhere, and quickly: Captain Monteria Peyton notched 15 of his 19 in the first half and Kevin Jackson 17 of his 30, Mitchell Harris dropped in 12 of his 17 in the second half, Charles Durette hit a 3-pointer in the first and in the last period; Oluwatosin Adesanya-Olaleye got a 3 to drop late. Orange went to intermission on top 40-24, and extended that to 49-29 five minutes later.
But Red’s Randall Hopper, Mike Strazzella, and Kipps picked up where Baker left off with a balance of 3’s and 2’s (they would finish with 17, 12, and 8), matched Orange on the boards, and fiercely contested all shots to remain within striking distance at 50-37 going into the final period, and actually threaten at 52-43 minutes later.
“Too little too late”, and/or “too much, late” by Orange, however, resulted in a lopsided 75-51 final score to a mostly-evenly-played match.
Michelle Duenas was the only Orange player without points but was not without stats, hauling down 4 rebounds; Jackson and Harris led in that category with 12 and 9.
Red also got a team effort in the rebounding department: Kipps and Hopper with 11 and 10, followed by Jonathan Middleton’s 6, 4 from Strazzella, and 2 from Baker.
Next Games: Sunday, February 26, Final Tournament Day
Orange and Green, each with one tournament loss, face off at 2PM. The loser satisfies itself with a 3rd place tournament finish. The winner faces Black at 3PM. A win by Black earns them the championship. A win by the Green-Orange winner produces a “rubber match” at 4PM. As always, games are played at Clymore Elementary School gym at Ford Defiance, all are free, all are open to the public.
Intramurals Week 6 (Tourney Day 1): February 12, 2012
Black torches Red, then hands Orange first loss; Green “gets nod” over Purple in tight contest
Game 1: 2.Red versus 6.Black
This one was close for a while, Red actually leading most of the first period. Then Darius Woodson happened….