Following a relatively easy game in the last round, the all-freshman squad of Good Aim stepped up to the plate, moving the ball with intention down the court and knocking off shots both in and out of the paint to beat Underage Rage 21-10.
"We hope to really buckle down and absolutely dominate every inch of those 94 feet," freshman Killian Frailey of Good Aim said prior to the game.
Domination is exactly what they achieved. When Good Aim had possession, their high energy, athletic ability and good fitness was clear, as the ball constantly moved from man to man in sequences of well-placed passes.
Their height advantage, especially of freshmen Ryan Robinson and Chris Herlihy, allowed for control under the basket for loose balls, drained baskets from far outside and an offense the Underage Rage simply could not handle.
"On offense, they just had an answer to everything. We tried zone, and all of their perimeter shots just went in. We went to man to man, and their two big men just went to work. They had a big height advantage on us, and they're just a very balanced team," Underage Rage sophomore Jason Pinili said. "They're going to sneak up on some of the ranked teams."
The constant breakaways by Good Aim were too much to match, and long passes across the court allowed the team easy lay ups time and time again. While Good Aim had a significant lead at half, the men were still not completely pleased with their performance.
"Our shooting's the only thing keeping us in this game right now. That's not going to cut it in the later rounds," Frailey said.
The second half brought a fair share of points by Underage Rage, especially from sophomore Ricky Garcia, but they were not enough to keep up with the unrelenting quickness of Good Aim. Herlihy, Frailey, Robinson and freshmen Brian Dunlap and Kevin Dunne worked easily together, always looking for the pass that created the best open shot.
"I would say we won thanks to our overall teamwork, domination and chemistry," Robinson said.
Good Aim will hope to continue its strong shooting and string of victories Friday night at 8:45.
1017 East Washington Street 21, 6 ... No, 5 SeaWorld Trainers 11
A slow start made it seem as though this game would never end, but a few surges of energy from both teams quickly changed the pace. Only letting in one point in the second half, the men of 1017 East Washington Street allowed their natural athleticism and camaraderie to shine through, beating 6…No, 5 SeaWorld Trainers.
"Moral of the story was second half domination. They ran out of gas and we had two more gears," Washington junior Ryan Guentzel said.
Washington's effective team strategy should come as no surprise, for the team consists of a group of Irish hockey players who have been playing together on the ice for months, and for some, even years.
"What's the difference between basketball and hockey? Well, hockey is played on ice and you wear skates and you can hit people," sophomore Richard Ryan said.
The first basket came from Washington off a breakaway by freshman Kyle Palmieri, and it set the precedence for the rest of the game, when they would continue to score off fast breaks again and again. Five unanswered points by SeaWorld seemed to throw the momentum back in the team's favor. Additionally, the height advantage from senior Michael Perry created a strong presence for SeaWorld when both teams when up for rebounds.
However, the Washington men realized their slow pace and slacking defense would not cut it, and stepped up their game to stop the run, scoring a long series of unreturned points by all five members.
"We got off to a slow start and had early frustration, but we ‘bromanced' and then our athleticism took over. They got tired and we hit our shots," Palmieri said.
Despite the upgrade in the Washington defense, SeaWorld ended the half with a string of baskets, only interrupted by Ryan's fast break and lay-up to end the half 11-10 in favor of the Washington team.
The second half began with a completely different energy level from both teams, and with an unmatched determination by Washington. They only let in one basket, and quickly scored 10 of their own, often on fast breaks and well sought out passes. They especially increased their lead with lay ups, where Palmieri, Ryan, Guentzel, freshman Kevin Nugent and junior Brad Phillips all excelled. Palmieri's four baskets in a row, concluding with a long ball, ended the game with an easy win.
