Thanks to Elbows Deep, a quick search for the teams that comprise the round of 256 will find no Weapons of Mass Destruction. The dozens of fans who saw Elbows Deep defeat Weapons of Mass Destruction 21-14 in a makeup game from last Sunday witnessed a scrappy display of sweat and blood, intermingled with light bantering between players and fans and a drop of player bickering over fouls - all the traditional elements of a classic Bookstore Basketball game.
WMD was led by a forward donning a Juwan Howard Denver Nuggets jersey with a matching old school game - featuring a sky hook that evoked memories of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
But it was not enough to counter Elbow Deep's relentless ball pressure.
Elbows Deep used its tenacious defense throughout the entire game to take away scoring opportunities from WMD and create chances of its own. The unit was sparked by the play of Dave George, who threw his body all around the court en route to scoring a game-high eight points and netting eight steals. He hit the pavement hard after being fouled on an early layup attempt, and shortly after, blood dripped from his nose, causing a short stoppage of play.
Tournament trainers attended to him with pieces of tissue to clog up his nose, but his intensity level was not affected - a level maintained by the entire Elbows Deep team. At any given moment, one of the players would be seen outrunning the opponent to an errant pass, or flopping onto the hard surface to grab a loose ball.
George's drives to the hoop were complimented by the dominant inside presence of senior offensive lineman Jeff Thompson, who scored several baskets inside and showed a soft touch nailing a smooth mid-range jumper. Guard Pat Brady's jump shots also helped balance the team's offensive attack and weaken WMD's 2-3 zone.
"We had to penetrate the zone," George said after the game. "It was windy, and the shots weren't falling, so we were able to slip inside the creases to get some opportunities."
Elbows Deep will take on The Knights of Leisure Thursday at 8:30 p.m. at McGlinn Courts for a chance to advance to the round of 128.
March Badness 21,
Iceland 16
In one of the closest games of the night, March Badness continued its run of April success by finding a late groove against Iceland. After being down 10-11 at halftime, March Badness tied the game up at 13, 14, 15 and 16 before forward Eddie O'Brien scored the next two buckets to ride that momentum to Badness's third win of the tournament (including a play-in game) and into the field of 128.
Badness had to play without captain Dave Sena, whom teammates reported was "ill."
"His girlfriend won't let him play," quipped Craig Panzica. "She was [keeping him in bed] with the flu and feeding him chicken soup."
Actually, Sena watched the game in street clothes while courtside with his girlfriend, but he admitted to a 102-degree fever.
Despite Sena's absence, Panzica was not surprised by the outcome of the game. Why?
"Because we have 'Slippery,'" Panzica said, referring to Sena's sub Pete "Slippery" Leahy. "We have superstars every game. There was 'Magic' [Hamilton 'Magic' Marx] in the first game and 'Slippery' today."
"Slippery" proved a valuable substitute when he ended the game with a one-handed tip off a teammate's missed basket.
"It was exhilarating," Slippery said. "Best moment of my life."
