Heart Breaker

Reading, MA – It wasn’t quite a Valentine’s Day massacre, but the annual battle between Howse Corp and Origins Unknown certainly left OU bruised and heartbroken, suffering a 74-66 loss.

Howse Corp and OU go back years on the court, and several players from both teams actually play together in other leagues and tourneys. This familiarity can be a good thing for both teams, as they tend to know each others strengths and weaknesses. Howse Corp, however, seemed to take better advantage of this last night; as they defended, rebounded, chased and pushed their way to victory. OU didn’t play as bad as the previous week, but they didn’t do quite enough to win either – and still have some work in the gym and on both ends of the floor.

The first half encompassed a good energy from both teams, but Howse was finding their way to most loose balls, as well as several second chance rebounds. Too often, OU was not aggressively boxing out or going towards the ball for rebounds - and against a scrappy team like Howse, that doesn’t work. Offensively, OU was certainly under pressure while trying to create for themselves. Meanwhile, Rich Curran from Howse was having a stellar game from the inside and outside, and proved to be a tough match-up for any of the OU bunch.

After a quick Howse run, a Cap’n Mike technical (that makes two this session for folks counting at home), and the subsequent free throws, OU was down 14 points quickly. Chris “Big” Johnson arrived a little late, but came into the game to stop the bleeding before even getting a chance to stretch out. But, the point spread didn’t change much as the half wound down, and OU went into the break down double digits.

Clearly frustrated, OU made a medium run to open the second half. Slippery James “Stretch” Hogan IV made back to back post moves, and Dr. J Greg Robinson made a runner to cut the lead to eight. Howse held their ground however, and kept the lead through some more great play by Curran. With time running out, OU made one final push. It was a typical OU effort – as they refused to give up even though it was clearly not their night. Cap’n Mike knocked down two three pointers, but then blew a drive that would have chopped the lead to four. From there, Howse made their free throws and OU flat ran out of steam.

The loss drops OU to 2-1 on the session, with an upcoming match up against league newcomer Basket Brawlers.