Fall 2009: A1 League Champs: New Evil Empire

New Evil Empire Begins its Reign
New Evil Empire 51 6 For the Wall 48

Brian Fabry can now add his name to the exclusive list of A1 captains that won the BRICK in thier first season at the helm.

Ken Schneid - Fall '00

O'Cal - Summer '01

Tibbs - Summer '06

Dorey - Fall '08

TSpin - Winter '09

That's the entire list, it's my story and I'm sticking to it.  The New Evil Empire can have exclusive rights to the ugliest A1 Championship game ever played as well.  Iím just praying that the Hitman has enough footage to make a 3 minute long video.

But howíd they pull this one out? Although the game was ugly, it was hard fought, intense and not decided until the final 30 seconds of the game.  To start out, we had a 4-4 game with 13 minutes to go in the first half.  Yea, 4 total buckets scored in 7 minutes. To say everyone had a case of the hiccups is an understatement.  Donít get me wrong, both teams were playing good defense, but at some point, itís also bad offense!

Without Phil Lord (and Mike D!), 6 For the Wall knew theyíd have to establish Mike Krug as an outside threat early and often. So whatíd they do, but set a sh!t ton of screens for him of course.  As a result, he led all scorers at the half with 10 points in a 26-24 barn burner. 

The only reason that New Evil Empire was anywhere close to the lead was because Mike Fraher, aka The Ghost, stepped his game up in a big way.  MacGregor calls him the Ghost because teams just donít see him, he slides in and out of the paint without drawing any attention.  His 8 points in the first half sure got the attention of the Wall defense though and were huge in keeping NEE close. 

Also helpful was SMul taking out KO halfway through the first frame.  Dude doesnít care if heís right next to the wall, heís going to draw a charge if the opportunity presents itself.  Well it did and KO came down awkwardly on his knee.  As you can see by the final stat line, the D and knee prevented him from having his normal game.

It also forced the Wolverine to switch onto the Playboy very early in the game.  Now Iíve got to say, I watched Billy eat up the rapidly aging Filosa in pickup this weekend, but Matty really stepped up his game for the Finals.  Everything the Playboy threw up was short. Maybe it was because Billy was sleep walking, maybe it was because of the sneaky, ìIím a veteran, I can get away with theseî shoves that Matty likes to give on turnarounds, but whatever it was, it was effective.

In the second half, well the offenses got worse.  I didnít think that would be possible, but it was.  Krug and Wilson couldnít quite find the range, and every time they drove to the hoop a gaggle of defenders were waiting for them.  But if you had told me that at the 13 minute mark, KO and Filosa would have combined for 3 field goals and the team would be up 5, I wouldnít have bought it.  Every time it looked like 6 was going to close it out, MacGregor stepped up.  Ok, so he had 8 total points in the second half, but that led ALL scorers.  It worked.  They found themselves up 1 with a minute to go.  Look it was already 9 pm, I didnít want OT, but I didnít expect the game to end the way it did.  KO dumped the ball to Filosa for the go-ahead layup with 28 seconds left, then Filosa picks up his fifth foul on SMul driving to the hoop.  Who would have thought it would be Scott getting the ball at that point??  Anyway, he nails both free throws, cool as the other side of the pillow, and weíve got NEE back up 1. 

Of course 6 For the Wall answers quickly. I canít believe how much scoring is going on in this last minute, where was that all game?!  Now, when you donít have subs, you donít foul out on your fifth foul, but you KNOW not to give up the 6^th, itís a T.  But in the heat of battle, you donít want to let a guy score an uncontested lay-up with 10 second left.  The Wolverine gave the quick foul, but it meant 4 shots AND the ball for NEE in a one point game.  After being oh-so clutch, Scott misses the first 2 free throws.  BFab makes the tough coaches call to put BMul on the line for the T and it pays off.  On the inbound, Brad gets fouled again and hits his next 2.  3 point game, 7 seconds left, and Wilsonís desperation, game tying 3 is off the mark. 

BMul and BFab have won titles together before, but this was a first for everyone else on the roster.  After dropping the first game of the season, the New Evil Empire ripped off 12 wins a row and for the second straight A1 season, the best team won the title!

Scores, Box Scores & Write-Ups

Playoff: week 13

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A1 Fall 2009 Basketball League