OT Win for OU = Five In A Row

Reading, MA – Origins Unknown reeled off their fifth straight win in exciting fashion Thursday night, nipping a strong Howse team 87-85 in overtime. The game was one of the toughest fought battles of the year, with both teams scratching and clawing on every possession, and could have gone either way. The win splits the season series for the two teams, and also moves them (along with the Muskets) into a tie for the final two playoff spots at 6-4.

The biggest challenge for OU was the play of Howse big man, Chris Pizzotti, who currently spends time off the court as a back-up NFL quarterback for the Green Bay Packers - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Pizzotti

Yep, you read that right. The Harvard star (and a nice kid), goes 6'5" and was the best athlete out there by a bunch. But, it was the last play in overtime where James "Stretch" Hogan IV's out-jumped Pizzotti to steal the ball (and prevent a game-tying attempt) that ended up being the most athletic play of the game.

Howse was playing without a few regulars, but used two of the old Hustlers players to fill the void - including their former big man. OU was without Big Dan again, so it was up to Hogan, Patel and Cap'n Mike to guard both Howse bigs - even though they gave up a ton of size. The first half started out at a frantic pace, with the teams both using effort to score. OU started out a bit slow, as Howse pounded the offensive glass, and contained them defensively. But, Shu-ter Patel landed a couple jumpers, and Hogan found his spots in the paint to keep OU within range. Meanwhile, Danger Dan Fisher and Jonesy were up and down the court at blurring speed - only to be matched by the Howse guards. As the half came to a close, and the teams locked in a two-point battle, it was clear that the game would come down to the wire.

Howse opened the second half with a strong run, and OU's typical second half slide in tight games seemed inevitable. Howse had built a double-digit lead, but with about ten minutes left in the game, OU went on a run of their own, spurred Hogan and Cap'n Mike and the lead for Howse quickly vanished.

As the game wore on, the defense got tougher, and baskets became harder to come by. With under 30 seconds left, a behind the back pass from Cap'n barely found Hogan streaking down the court, and Red found a way to score, giving two-point lead with six seconds remaining. With their defense set, Howse went right to Pizzotti, who came down and missed but followed his own shot for the put-back and foul as the buzzer sounded. He went to the line with a chance to win, but due to the presence of the Creamsicles, he back-rimmed the shot to force OT.

Howse scored the first basket in OT, but OU and Hogan controlled the rest of the three-minute session through tough-nosed D and opportunistic O.

Playoff scenarios are still being determined, and Bloggin' and Ballin' will update you as soon as I have new information.