B1 5v5 East

Commentary by BEN BARON...

Mid-Range Magicians 69  Eastie Hoops 51

Have a Little Faith, There’s Magic in the Night

The Mid-Range Magicians recorded a statement win over Eastie Hoops Tuesday night, with a 69-51 complete team performance. Cliff Bouchereau led the Magicians in scoring with 21, while adding 9 rebounds. Jack Albanese has been a huge addition for this team, as he has completely controlled the paint on drives, altering shots when he doesn’t block them. Jack finished with 6(!!!) blocks to go with 8 points. Jack’s ability to guard up in size will be key as they face longer teams throughout the season. Giannis Valoumas finished with 6 assists (all in the first half) and led the Magicians ball movement which has been the best over the last 2 seasons. Zach Zahner is regaining his form post holdout and added 6 points for the Magicians. The Andrews each had 9 points, and ABK had a beautiful over the head assist to Cliff for a layup, which is the assist of the year so far.

Eastie Hoops continues to search for scoring. Last week it was Leo Nolan, this week Ryan Willis. Ryan had 17 points this week to pace Eastie, and Nolan added 11, but this team will need more consistent contributors moving forward. Eastie rebounded well, but struggled from three all night.

Big Tuna 65  B2 GODS 57

Gods Don’t Scare Big Tuna

Big Tuna scored their most impressive win over the last two seasons, coming back in the second half to beat the B2 Gods 65-57. Tuna played the majority of the second half without star Brady Murphy, and the entire game without All-League G/F Chris Lipscomb, adding to the impressiveness of their win. Without Lipscomb, Tuna’s offense struggled mightily in the first half. The Gods took a 7 point lead into halftime, behind Mike Gelineau’s barrage of threes .

Joey Lisella, Brendan Sullivan, and Pat Kearney scored down the stretch for Tuna to help lead the comeback, but Mike Akers, Kevin Rewinski, and Matt Connolly helped spark the turn as well. Lisella finished with 26 points, including a clutch 8 of 8 from the line. Brendan had has best offensive performance possibly ever, going 2 of 2 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line. Kearney finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds, including 2 clutch free throws when he was absolutely gassed. Akers had a few key assists and rebounds, and Rewinski was the vocal leader while hitting big threes. Connolly finished with a team high 7 assists and 4 steals.

The Gods looked like they belonged in B1 last week, and were proving that again during the majority of the game. They ran out of gas in the second half though, as Tuna scored 39 second half points. Aidan Fite added 14 and 9 for the Gods, Gelineau finished with 21 for his second straight 20+ game, and Jake Mitchell finished with 8 points, 4 assists, and 3 steals. Look for this team to bounce back next week.

Maine Award Winners 60  Ronin Blood Warriors 62

Blood Warriors Take OT Thriller Behind Smith and Cooper

The Ronin Blood Warriors moved to 2-0 behind a complete team victory over the Maine Award Winners 62-60. Alonzo Cooper led the Warriors with 18 points on 4 of 6 shooting from deep, and 2 of 2 from the line. Jikhalil Smith added 10 and 7 rebounds, including a clutch 6 of 8 from the line, and two thunderous dunks. Parris Massey added 7 points and 16 rebounds, dominating the inside all game and essentially forcing the Mainers to shoot only threes. Chris Flores added a big 15 points. The Warriors finished 11 of 13 from the line, with Smith hitting them down the stretch.

James Morse once again led the Award Winners with 29 points and 10 rebounds, going 6 of 7 from the line. He did take 20 threes, but hit at a 35% rate so he’ll keep on shooting, and his team needs it. Morse had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but good defense led to his shot not falling. Matt McDonough added 13 points and 6 boards, and Nate Koslof added 10 points. Lucas Lints finished with 8 boards, while Caleb Jordan added 12. This team will need subs if they want to make a run.

Intramural Heroes 73  Men's League 64

Intramural Heroes Look Unbeatable, Men’s League Makes Big Jump

The nightcap featured the best basketball of the season, with the Intramural Heroes beating Men’s League 73-64. The Heroes led by 43-27 at the half, and Men’s League closed on the lead throughout the second. The Farley brothers played a fantastic game for the Heroes, finishing 6 of 6 from the line, and contributing 28 points. Shane Farley looked confident since being added full time to the roster, going 3 of 3 from deep and stuffing the stat sheet. Brendan Farley finished with 6 assists and looked like one of the best shooters in the league. The Gallivan brothers finished with a combined 32 points, led by Tim’s 22 points and 12 rebounds. Ian MacLean finished with 8 points and 11 rebounds. The ball movement was incredible all game for the Heroes, who look to be nearly unbeatable if they play as they did Tuesday.

Men’s League looked like contenders with their second half play. Tyler Seibring, Jack Anton, and Will Childs-Klein had impressive games, and the ball movement was much improved over week 1 and the first half of week 2. Tom Smith got his shot going, Josh Salter was aggressive, and George Schultz needs to shoot more. I love the look of this team though, and they are officially contenders for the title this year.