Monday, April 13, 2009

Champions Again




Reading, MA – Weeeee are the Champions, my friends (my 5 loyal readers). That’s right, after 10 regular season games, and 2 playoff games, Origins Unknown is once again back on top of the ever-competitive YMCA Thursday Night Men’s Basketball League. It took a well-rounded effort by the OU crew to take down the Crusty Muskets, but when the game was finished – OU stood victorious with a 76-63 victory that brought them a 4th (I think) overall championship.

The MVP of the game? Could have been Danger Dan Fisher, who battled through foul trouble to have a near-perfect shooting game from the floor and free throw line. Might have been Nick Dominator-Swaggernator, with his bruising low post offensive display. Jay “The Difference” Wandtke certainly changed the game on the defensive end, stymieing the Crusty Mustket bigs all over the court. James “Stretch” Hogan IV and his well rounded game (and 17 foot jumper?) were on display and worthy of inclusion. Heck, even Cap’n Mike and Shu-ter Patel had their moments in the sun, when guarded by the right CM defender!

This was one of those classic all-around team wins. Let’s leave it at that…

As for the game, the first half was the OU team vs. the Muskets one-man show. The solid CM guard was a load to handle on the drive, while he also gave Cap’n Mike fits defensively. When you have 6 players (out of 8) on the floor at 6’3”-6’7”, there isn’t much room to create – and it took the Cap’n a little time to figure this out. Meanwhile, the rest of the OU bunch was doing all the right things offensively and defensively. The CM big guys had their hands full with Wandtke, Dutton-Swain and Hogan on the blocks. And Fisher, Patel and Nolan did enough spreading the court and locking down defensively to help OU to a 36-30 lead at the end of the half.

The second half started with some quick whistles against OU on some ticky-tack fouls, but it was clear the referees wanted to maintain control of the game. As play settled down, OU extended the lead and maintained their cushion – as everyone was making the right plays. Cap’n Mike got to the hole for a hoop and harm, and then Patel drove with a purpose to score over a smaller Muskets guard. Meanwhile, every time OU needed a bucket, they were able to dump the ball into Dutton-Swain or Wandtke in the post, and get one. As time ticked down, CM started to foul, but OU made most of their free-throws down the stretch and started to pull away. The game was called with under a minute left, as both teams congratulated each other and then made their way to Chili’s for post game munchies and tall boys.

OU finishes the season 10-2 overall, winning both playoff games by double digits. They will take a one-week hiatus, and then start their “Drive for 5” the following week. The next session will see some changes and instability as both Hogan and Dutton-Swain will miss some time due to other obligations (This might call for another article).

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home