Turkoglu and The Gang Get W

Reading, MA - Maybe it was Shu-ter Patel doing his best Eddie House impersonation when he scored seven straight points off the bench in the second half. Maybe it was Jay Wandtke putting in a Hedo Turkoglu-ish performance that saw him handle the ball at the high post, dish assists and score from the mid-range and in close. Danger Dan Fisher certainly showed up, and fired off some second-half daggers of his own against their Anderson opponents, as well. Whatever it was, it worked as OU battled, and then cruised, to an 81-65 win to get back above .500 on the season.

OU started the game on fire, as their passing and floor spacing was on full display. They kicked the game off with a ball-reversal to James "Stretch" Hogan IV for a slashing deuce. It was Hogan's first game back after missing a couple weeks with back spasms.

Anderson kept the game fairly close throughout the first half. After OU made their initial run to open the game, they then proceeded to turn the ball over like a bunch of 3rd graders on the playground and let Anderson back in. There were missed connections on ally-oops, 3 on 2's, and everything in between. But OU also sprinkled in some open three pointers and fast breaks to maintain a small lead.

Anderson wasn't able to sustain the second half offensive pressure, and Patel and Fisher helped catapult OU to the double digit lead, which they never relinquished.

OU moves to 3-2 on the season, with an upcoming match up with The Hustlers.

Howse of Pain

Reading, MA - Howse Corp. joked coming out to the tip that the Origins Unknown players were 'licking their chops' when they saw only four out-sized players suited up in gold. But, when the game ended with OU losing 85-84 in overtime, OU was simply licking their wounds.

Howse played a great game, and withstood every run that OU was able to put together. The height advantage worked for OU at certain points, but the Howse team also scrapped together some nice defense and outworked OU on many possessions. The game was a tight affair throughout, with both teams building 5-point leads in the last 10 minutes and neither team seeming to be able to take control.

OU had a chance to seal the win with 13 seconds left and Cap'n Mike shooting a one and one, but the Cap'n didn't come through - and 2 free throws later from the younger Howse sent the game into OT. In overtime, the teams traded punches and when Jay Wandtke made an 'and-one' to give OU the lead with only six seconds left - things were looking good.

Unfortunately for OU, the Howse point guard made quick work of pushing it up the court and when he got near the basket, OU was forced to commit. When the defenders collapsed, he kicked it out to Young Howse - who calmly sunk a 12-footer for the win.

OU drops to 2-2 on the season, with an upcoming match-up with Anderson.

Round Two Goes To OU

Reading, MA – For the third time in the past four games, Origins Unknown and The Muskets tangled like Kobe and Ron Artest in a battle for supremacy at the Reading YMCA. In this latest installment of their rivalry, OU outplayed their nemesis' and held on for an impressive five-point victory.

OU was without the services of James “Stretch” Hogan IV, who proved to be less stretchy than usual when he threw out his back a day earlier. Without the fiery red-head, OU went to battle with the rest of the regulars – but faced a 7-man-deep Muskets team with plenty of size and speed.

The Muskets came out on a mission, and with their bigger lineup opened up a quick lead on OU. The game had plenty of energy, as the Muskets seemed to be on point with their drives and posts ups. Their big-bodied small forward worked his way around the hoop for hard-earned baskets, and OU was forced to weather a storm that saw the Muskets start out nearly perfect from the field. OU was hanging tough, through excellent post-play by Jay “WhateverIlike” Wandtke (Cause he can do whatever he likes) and Nick “Downlow”-Swain, as well as some timely long range bombs by Cap’n Mike. As the game progressed, the teams proved to be an even match. OU eventually caught up to take a six point lead – only to lose the lead in the final 3 minutes of the half. With the clock down to 8 seconds in the half, Wandtke made a strong move to his left from the three point line and finished a sweeping drive with only seconds left. The Muskets turned and pushed the ball up quickly though, and hit a lay-up to respond and keep it a one-point game.

There were several highlight plays for the OU bunch in the second half. Danger Dan Fisher making some tough pull-up jumpers in the thick of the defense. Shu-ter Patel finishing off a tough fast-break over a defender. Cap’n Mike getting to show off some post and mid-range skills (not to mention a soaring rebound in the paint where he looked a little like Rajon Rondo – ok, maybe not). Dutton-Swain punishing whoever guarded him on the block and going 4-4 from the line in the process. Or, Wandtke directing traffic on defense and hitting turnarounds/jumpers all over the place. It all added up to a 5-8 point lead that the Muskets could never quite penetrate.

As the game came down to the wire, the Muskets tightened the clamps – but OU responded with deft passing and stellar team defense. Even with the Cap’n missing three straight free throws - an event that is about as likely as Manny Ramirez being a steroid user… um… never mind – OU refused to give up open looks and kept the Muskets at bay.

The win, and a blowout win last week which didn’t warrant a write-up, pushes OU to 2-1 on the season.