Overtime(s)

Reading, MA - It's been a string of games unlike any other in the 10-year history of Origins Unknown... 3 straight overtime games to end the regular season, and start the playoffs. OU went 2-1 in the 3 games, and now finds themselves in the semi-finals of the Reading YMCA Men's Pro League.

It all started nearly a month ago, when OU took on the always-dangerous Muskets. The Muskets had been comfortably atop the league standings for the session, while OU continued to play good, but not great, in the middle of the pack. From the start, the Muskets controlled the game. Doug and Tim proved to be a handful on the block, as they went for 33 and 27 respectively. OU found themselves down 9 late in the game, but two huge 3 pointers from "Pistol" Pete Gray and Kevin "Bombs Away" Bekier brought OU to within 3 points as time wound down. Following a couple missed Musket free throws, OU found themselves with the ball and 1 second left in the game and Shu-ter Patel in-bounding the ball from the side, Cap'n Mike was able to cut across the court and catch-and-shoot while falling towards the sidelines. The ball hit the front of the rim, and bounced up, around, and in to send the game into overtime. Unfortunately, the Muskets bounced back in overtime to take down the gritty OU crew, sending them to a 5-4 record.

The second OT-thrilla was the season finale against Howse Corp. Neither team was interested in defense during this game, and the pace was frantic and reckless. Neither team was able to establish much of a choke hold on the momentum. Pistol Pete and Cap'n Mike led the scoring for OU (Scorekeeper Pete again slighted Cap'n about 10 points in the score book, but who's counting). On the other side of the ball, Danny was hard to guard as he found the bucket and kept Howse close the entire game. In the end, the teams went to overtime, where OU eventually made the final shots to win. The victory gave OU a final season record of 6-4 and 3rd place in the standings.

And, finally this week, where OU took on Midnight Express in the first round of the playoffs. Midnight Express brought a 6'7" guy to the game who had seen limited or no action all session. He certainly made ME a much better team overall, as he facilitated the offense well from the high post, and had a nice mid range game. OU played well at times, and used some solid defense in the second half to keep the game close. Pistol Pete and Bekier once again made big shots down the stretch, but it was a lucky (for OU) missed free throw by ME which allowed the game to go to overtime for the third straight game. In this match-up, OU scraped together a couple great shots, including a fantastic reverse-layup from Danger Dan Fisher, plus some shaky free throws to seal the deal.

Next up, OU will take on Stiffler's Mom in the Final 4 next Thursday.