Thor and the Thunderbolts beat No. 7 Finish Line Tuesday night when the two evenly-matched, physical teams kept it close throughout the game."We were able to get a few more breaks on offense," Travis Leitko of the Thunderbolts said. "We found some holes in their defense and were able to maintain the lead."Sloppy play and too many turnovers caused the demise of Finish Line."We lost it in the end," said a disappointed Adam Giezeman.Derelict 21, HP 18As the teams last night can contest, playing in howling wind and pouring rain is what Bookstore Basketball is all about.Derelict kicked the night off with its win over HP after fast transitions allowed them to beat their opponents down the court."We started off pretty strong and jumped off to an early lead," Brian MacKinnon of Derelict said. Then, the team "got complacent" and HP looked to make a comeback by hitting some outside shots, especially impressive considering the conditions.In the end, Derelict said it was its strong defense and rebounding that finished its opponent off and allowed them to advance to the Sweet 16.Platinum Fubu All-Stars 21, Cleveland Rollers 15After a long, hard-fought, physical game, the Platinum Fubu All-Stars finally overcame the zone defense that was plaguing them and soared to a victory over the Cleveland Rollers. The Rollers' early foul trouble gave the All-Stars an early edge and they went into halftime up 11-8."Their zone [in the] second half took our offense out for awhile," Will Fayen of the All-Stars said. "We were lucky enough to overcome it and hit some shots."John Cronin of the Rollers was a huge presence down low all game, but "Shags" and "Skillz" of the All-Stars made several big shots to get the momentum rolling.With their well-rounded attack, the All-Stars hope to make some noise in the next round of the tournament.You Got a Bad Draw 21, Blazers 12Although replacements had to fill in for two of their six-foot post players who were out with injury, You Got a Bad Draw sailed to a 21-12 victory over the Blazers.The Blazers started out well, but their outside shots weren't falling, and Bad Draw's size advantage allowed them to dominate the post.The conditions made for sloppy play, but as Bad Draw's captain, Chris Murphy, said, "We got the job done and that's all that matters."John Stevens was one of the scrappy defenders who was called to fill in for the Blazers."Everyone tried pretty hard on the team, but I was the go-to guy," he said. "I actually heard one girl say I was hotter than Brady [Quinn]."
