Rec League Wrap Up
The annual Rec League Basketball season has come to a close with a Cinderella story of redemption and triumph.
March 25, 2016
Nine weeks of hard work and trash talk were capitalized by a monumental tournament. Tens of fans gathered to watch the probably too hyped up matches.
A Cross Boys-Tate wildcard game was highlighted by Tate’s explosive offense. The Cross Boys were unable to answer and lost.
“It’s sad to see our season end like this,” Jarren Lucas ‘17 said. “But we had a lot of fun.”
Tate followed its big win against the Cross Boys with a battle against the number one seed Reapers. After a close first half, the Reapers changed their game plan and ran a zone defense, shutting down Tate and continuing to the semi-finals.
The highlight of the opening round of the tournament was a matchup between 4th placed H1aNd1 and 5th placed TLC. The teams traded baskets throughout the entire game. With seconds left the game appeared to be going into overtime, but then H1aNd1’s Collin O’Meara ‘16 pulled up from 40 feet out and banked a deep 2-point jumper, sending his team into the semifinals.
“When the game is on the line just know I’ll be taking the shot,” O’Meara stated with pride.
On the opposite court, the number two Swishers took on 7th placed Ballaholics. A close first half was busted open by team captain Bennett Yeo and his Swishers. Yeo dropped 32 of his team’s 56 points. The Swishers handedly finished the game 56-38.
Following the Swishers-Ballaholics matchup, 5th placed Guala Bears took on 6th placed Slime Time. Guala Bears started the game on a 12 point run, but Slime Time quickly caught up. Controversial calls from the league’s referees resulted in multiple technicals on both teams. The Guala Bears seemed unable to make their free throws while Slime Time continuously took full advantage of the easy buckets, resulting in a Slime Time lead. Their lead continued to grow, until the clock ran out. The final score was Slime Time 52, Guala Bears 34.
The semifinals were set. An H1aNd1-Swishers matchup and a Reapers-Slime Time matchup. Winners would battle for the championship. Tragically, soccer season had arrived for H1aNd1, not permitting any of their original players to participate in the final games. Instead of forfeiting their spot in the semifinals, H1aNd1 controversially obtained a new roster full of skilled players.
Newly formed H1aNd1 and Swishers, who lost team star Bennet Yeo to tennis season, battled for a spot in the championship game. H1aNd1 routed the Yeo-less Swishers with very little sportsmanship, shooting half-court shots as the game wound down. The final score was 78-50.
On the other side of the gym, Slime Time and the Reapers fought for their place in the championship game. After a close first half, the Reapers’ coach came out with a new game plan, which consisted of shooting Steph Curry-esque shots and rebounding consistently. Despite having a low shooting percentage, the raining of the Reapers’ shots were too much for Slime Time, resulting in the 54-39 Reapers win.
With wins by H1aNd1 and Reapers, the championship game was set. On the final Monday night of Rec League both winning teams played a double header. Fatigue seemed to faze neither H1aNd1 or the Reapers. The Reapers were able to consistently sub in fresh athletes while H1aNd1 lacked bench depth. H1aNd1’s pure athleticism led them to a 12 point lead at the half.
The Reapers rebounded scoring 10 unanswered points after their team meeting in the makeshift locker room, bringing the score to 32-30. The nail biting minutes that followed, consisted of stagnant defenses and occasional fouls. The score gap grew in H1aNd1’s favor as tension from the competition brewed resulting in technical fouls called against the Reapers as the championship game drew to a close.
Newly added H1aNd1 player Cole Cotton ‘17 consistently made free throws throughout the game, while coming in clutch with his unique free throw form, often shooting with blind, backward, and hooked technique free throws. The Reapers seemed to give up after Cotton’s free throws finished. The defeated Reapers stripped off their jerseys in disgust and left the court in protest against controversial calls against their team. Adding insult to injury, Cotton topped the 2016 rec league season, with an attempted dunk, resulting in a technical foul despite the ball never going through the hoop.
H1aNd1 players celebrated their victorious season as family and fans stormed the court, congratulating them on their success. Rec league officials distributed the highly coveted championship medals, honoring H1aNd1’s successful season.
