Bowing OUt

The annual power struggle between Origins Unknown and the Crusty Muskets was once again settled last night in the semi-finals of the Reading YMCA league. This time, the Crusty Muskets used their veteran smarts (i.e. holding and hand-checking), and excellent shooting to dismantle the out of sync OU squad 67-53.

OU, playing without two of their cornerstones James “Stretch” Hogan IV and Shu-ter Patel, put together a line up that hadn’t played together in months. Meanwhile, CM came out blazing – looking every bit like a team that has played together for 39 years. Leroy Johnson and Lil’ Ralphie shot CM to an early 10 point lead in the first half, as OU struggled to get into a flow offensively. Many trips down the court turned into a one on one battle, with little ball movement and poor spacing. OU clearly had the athletic advantage, but were unable to capitalize on drives as shots seemed to just miss, or passing lanes that were usually opened were closed. In addition, CM was doing just enough “Bruce Bowening” to disrupt the flow and concentration of OU. Cap’n Mike was clearly frustrated as he felt the hand-checking and grabbing was going un-noticed.

But, in typical OU fashion, they put together a run at the end of the half through hard work, and actually brought the game back to even before the buzzer sounded.

Second halves are typically when OU creates separation from their opponents. Without Hogan and Patel, however, the Muskets actually seemed to be the fresher team with their 4 bench players. They stuck to their game plan, and even with Johnson slowing offensively, were able to spread the offense around to build a 7 point lead. The OU shots seemed to be clanging off the rim, while nearly every CM shot was bouncing around the rim and falling through. In addition, OU had another horrid game from the free throw line, while CM was cool under pressure. In the end, the game was decided with 2 minutes left, as OU was unable to mount any type of comeback.

The loss caps the worst season in OU’s 3 year run. Much of the disappointment is easily dismissed to injuries, forfeits, and missed games by key personnel. OU agrees that, while the competition seems to have improved as of late, when the squad shows up - they are still the team to beat.