Howse No Match For New OU

Reading, MA - Two teams with contrasting styles got together for another friendly (but exhausting) game of hoops Thursday night at the Burbank Metrodome. Howse Corp, with their fiery effort and endless energy took the court against the slightly out of shape, but long and gritty Origins Unknown squad. In the end, the much improved OU team led wire to wire and pulled off the double-digit victory.

OU again used a spread out attack to take the early lead. After Cap'n Mike airmailed his first three off of the tip, he settled in to drop two quick threes with a little help from his friends. With a decent size advantage, OUr's J-Dub Wandtke and James "Stretch" Hogan IV controlled the post play early and often. Hogan with his traditional slashing game, and J-Dub with his post-face-destroy moves helped OU build a quick 10-point lead to which Howse could never quite dent. Once Chris "Big Country" Johnson got in the game, there were times when Howse had a hard time seeing the basket over OU's outstretched arms. As the clock ticked down towards halftime, OU worked the ball around for a last shot which resulted in an open jumper for Danger Dan Fisher (which he calmly drained to send the teams to the half).

Howse somehow kept the game competitive through sheer will and scrappiness. Even with a 12 point lead at the half, the game felt much closer. Howse may have only had 2 players in double figures, but they never seem to give an inch even when the game's outcome is clear. OU continued to work through the second half, and even as their shooting percentage dropped a bit - a post move here - another three there - kept OU in control.

The win improves OU's record to 5-4 as they head into their final regular season game against China Cuisine. Another win will likely lead to a 4 or 5 seed in the upcoming playoffs, which they are much better positioned for with the new rotation.