KJ5 Semis Action Takes Over the Knights

Ramone Alls has career game to knock off number one seeded UPB, eliminating the last of the top three seeds in the East. The U.H. continues to roll in the West, will face Concrete in the finals.

Buffalo, NY- This past Sunday’s action narrowed the competition down to the top two teams in each division, who will battle it out this week for the signature 32″ Kronies Jamfest trophy and bragging rights for winning Buffalo’s top basketball league. In game one of the day the #2 seeded Billies faced off against the #4 seed Concrete in what would end up being one of the lowest scoring games of the season. Justin Andreozzi led all scorers with 19 points, but Concrete somehow managed to box up Mark Ward, holding him to two points after lighting up Points In A Hurry for 22 points the previous week. Concrete pulled out the 44-37 point victory behind their signature balanced attack on offensive and a suffocating defense on the other end of the court.

In the other Western Division semifinal game, The U.H. squared off against the Flint Tropics. The Tropics kept it close out of the gate, but had no answer for The U.H. center Andrew Alfieri. The Flint Tropics Andy Pfohman put forth a valiant effort to try to slow down the big man, but as the BSWA’s smallest power forward he couldn’t quite contain the 6’9″ Alfieri. After Alfieri (28 points) got it going early, Travis Craig finished off the Tropics with 23 second half points to lead The U.H. to a 82-59 point victory and a date with Concrete in the finals this coming Sunday.

In the first Eastern Conference action of the day the Spartans looked to keep their Cinderella season alive against Sponge Bob Square Pants. Sponge Bob, who early on in the season seemed destined to bring home their first ever Kronies Jamfest title, suffered a string of personal losses as Elton Frazier went to play professionally in Luxemburg, young phenom Matt Hart went away to college, big man Jon Burgio was out of town, and two-time All-Star John Bowen came down with a rare case of Poison Oak poisoning and was deemed unable to perform. Yet despite the adversity, Sponge Bob veterans Matt Tucholski (17 points), Adam Lafluer (9 points), and Andy Marlinski (17 points) were anxious for the opportunity to lead the team to victory and into the finals. But newly minted All-Star Ron Malicki (17 points) and captain Danny Glover (16 points) had other plans. After trailing most of the first half, the Spartans took their first lead as time winded down in the first half, taking a 39-37 point lead into the second. In the second half they held on to the lead and stretched it out a bit behind Ray Johnson, who scored a game high 20 points, and led the Spartans into the finals in their first season in the league.

In the final game of the nights, top seeded UPB squarded off against reining champion Court Justice. In the absence of scoring champion Shane Canahai and Ray Ames, UPB looked to the veteran leadership of Bob Hannon, father of starting point guard Jon Hannon, to lead them into the finals. It was a tall task against Moe Bailey and company, who have chosen the perfect time to peak. Yet it wasn’t Moe Bailey, who has been on a scoring tear, that would lead Court Justice to victory in this game, but Ramone Alls. Alls scored a career high 31 points and was nearly unstoppable driving to the basket in leading Court Justice to a 74-73 victory and a chance to repeat this Sunday. For UPB it was a bittersweet end to an excellent season and it left them wondering what could have been if only Shane Canahai had been out there at the end.