Do you have what it takes to bring home the 36" Kronies Jamfest championship trophy?

The question remains.  Is it possible to make it through the Kronies Jamfest gauntlet undefeated? 

Buffalo, NY-  Another season, another season without an undefeated team.  Both remaining undefeated teams went down this past weekend.  In addition to both undefeated teams falling, all five playoff spots in each division have now been locked up, while the bottom four in each division will battle it out in the Consolation bracket.

In the first game of the day Healthy Buffalo took on a red hot Hit It & Quit It.  John Bowen (28 points) of Healthy Buffalo was fired up and ready to go, but Healthy Buffalo didn’t quite have enough fire power to handle the balanced attack and sharp shooting of Hit It & Quit It.  Sean O’Brien scored a season high 26 while four other players also reached double figures.  The win kept Hit It & Quit It in running for the number one seed in the West.  Final Score: Hit It & Quit It 84, Healthy Buffalo 48.

Frank Pieri goes for one of his sixteen.

In the second game of the day underachieving Hoops Unlimited took on the Billies, who are playing as good of basketball as any team in the West.  Hoops Unlimited captain Dan Moreno played his heart out as usual, but the Billies made quick work of them, jumping out to a 14 point halftime lead.  Frank Pieri, the second leading center in All-Star balloting, had another solid game with 16, while Mark Ward dropped 32 points.  The Billies clearly appeared to be tuning up for a playoff run, while Hoops Unlimited will try to regroup and make a run at the Consolation Bowl.

In the 3pm game the Wolfpack faced off against Chris Wagner and Swagged Out.  Brian Roddey scored 29 points and stayed in the hunt for a scoring title for Swagged Out, while three point specialist Will Castro added another 31 points.  David Laudero had his second consecutive 17 point night for the Wolfpack but it wouldn’t be enough to hold off Swagged Out who cruised to a 90-46 point victory.

Ben Walkow leads the VeryAggressiveGuys past Team First.

Next up was one of the two Week 8 Games of the Week as the VeryAggressiveGuys challenged one of the two remaining undefeated teams, Team First.  Team First struggled early, missing the guard play of Bashir and Tariq Ansari, while scoring only six points in the first fourteen minutes of play.  But like most of their games this season it was only a matter of time before they made a run.  In the second half Adrian Wood (10 points) and company picked up the defensive intensity which led to a number of fast break opportunities and closed the gap, but it wouldn’t be enough to derail the the upset as Mike Bennett tied a season high with 22 points and the VeryAggressiveGuys held on for the 52-38 point win.

Marc Antecki leads the Hoosiers to their first win.

In the 5pm game the Pick N’ Tootsie Rolls battled the Hoosiers in a potential preview of Consolation bracket match-up.  The Hoosiers were still looking for their first win and the Pick N’ Tootsie Rolls were in their sights.  The Hoosiers were ready to pounce as the Pick N’ Tootsie Rolls were without their primary ball handler Zach Rougeux.  Marc Antecki (20 points) took advantage right away, scoring on a mix of drives to the basket and mid-range jumpers.  Hoosiers leading scorer Dave Hall also had an excellent night with 21 points.  David Vanoni (12 points) and Paul Quarcini (15 points) had good games for the Pick N’ Tootsie Rolls, but it wouldn’t be enough for the win as the Hoosiers locked up their first win 72-62.

The 6pm game was another potential playoff match-up as R.I.P. Ent took on the Queen City Stampede.  R.I.P. Ent was without captain Darcell Thomas, but finally had the front court duo of Joe Kassel and Markus Loder on the court in the same game, taking up space in the middle to allow Phil Lindsay and Mitch Reese the space to do their work on the outside.  The game was up for grabs at the half as R.I.P. Ent held onto a slim 30-28 point lead at the break.  In the second half R.I.P. Ent took control of the game and was helped by another disappointing collapse by Queen City Stampede sixth man Jon Meyers who received his forth, fifth, and after being ejected, sixth technical of the season.  R.I.P. Ent appear to be peaking at just the right time, pulling out the 76-61 point win and will now sit back with a bye the final week of the season and watch to see who they will face in the playoffs.

In the second of two Week 8 Game of the Week, undefeated Court Justice took on Sponge Bob Square Pants, who had Elton Frazier back in the lineup after a four week hiatus.  They would need everyone of his 26 points against Court Justice as they looked to unseat the last remaining undefeated team.  Big man Jon Burgio had another great game as well, matching a season high with 26 points and winning the Timothy J. Hennessy Player of the Week award, while handing Court Justice their first loss of the season and taking control of first place in the East.  Final Score:  Sponge Bob 73, Court Justice 72.

In the final game of the night DJ Dovey Ent played Mike Ridge and AXA.  After a string of heartbreaking last second losses this season, DJ Dovey Ent were determined to pull out their second win of the season, but AXA led behind the one-two punch of Mike Ridge (26 points) and Shane Canahai (14 points) weren’t about to let that happen as they appear to be jelling in the final stretch of the season.  Jordan Vaccaro had a season high 24 points, but it wasn’t enough to derail another heartbreaking last second defeat as Mike Ridge scored the game winning basket as time expired.  Final Score: AXA 64, DJ Dovey Ent 63.

Week 9 Game of the Week

In a battle for the number two seed Swoopin’ In On Ya Girl plays Court Justice in a preview of their likely first round match-up.  This one is sure to be a classic.

Week 8 Western Conference Scoring Leaders: Mark Ward 32, Will Castro 31, Brian Roddey 29, John Bowen 28, Sean O’Brien 26.

Week 8 Eastern Conference Scoring Leaders: Moe Bailey 30, Mike Ridge 26, Jon Burgio 26, Elton Frazier 26, Jordan Vaccaro 24.

Western Conference Eastern Conference
Club Name W L Club Name W L
1 Team First 6 1 1 Sponge Bob Sq Pants 6 1
2 Hit It & Quit It 6 1 2 Court Justice 6 1
3 Very Aggressive Guys 6 2 3 Swoopin’ In On Ya Girl 5 2
4 Billies 5 2 4 R.I.P. Ent 5 3
5 Swagged Out 4 3 5 Queen City Stampede 4 3
6 Healthy Buffalo 2 5 6 AXA 3 4
7 Team Rocket 2 5 7 DJ Dovey Ent 1 6
8 Hoops Unlimited 1 6 8 Hoosiers 1 6
9 The Wolfpack 0 7 9 Pick N’ Tootsie Rolls 1 6

Western Conference Scoring Leaders

Name # GP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TP
1 John Bowen 1 7 26 41 22 17 20 35 28 189
2 Mark Ward 9 6 21 16 15 37 15 32 136
3 Brian Roddey 0 6 8 18 24 21 35 29 135
4 Will Castro 4 5 25 18 6 26 31 106
5 Jake Walkow 4 8 5 17 4 12 17 23 13 9 100
6 Sean O’Brien 4 6 24 10 0 23 14 26 97
7 Dan Moreno 8 7 3 20 12 30 10 10 8 93
8 Jasen Ineson 2 8 13 6 9 12 12 13 18 4 87
9 Frank Pieri 7 6 10 15 22 15 8 16 86
10 Tommy Gray 6 7 17 2 17 6 12 16 15 85

Eastern Conference Scoring Leaders

Name # GP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 TP
1 John Papincak 2 7 16 24 29 22 32 22 28 173
2 Mitch Reese 3 8 15 3 22 22 28 22 18 24 154
3 Shane Canahai 0 7 26 21 10 23 15 36 14 145
4 Jonathan Burgio 0 6 19 26 24 10 23 26 128
5 Moe Bailey 0 7 10 22 8 16 16 25 30 127
6 Dave Hall 8 6 12 22 23 23 25 21 126
7 Mike Ridge 6 5 23 16 23 32 26 120
8 Marc Antecki 2 7 16 18 10 10 18 21 20 113
9 Edvin Ramalic 0 6 23 10 13 28 22 17 113
10 Jordan Vaccaro 5 7 11 16 16 7 15 16 24 105