The Very Aggressive Guys get their first taste of defeat at the hand of Mark Ward and the Billies in League B, while Niagara University gets their first win of the season against United Hoops in League A.
Buffalo, NY- In three weeks time Buffalo’s top ballplayers will storm Quicken Loans Arena in a battle for Buffalo hoops supremacy. But this past Saturday everyone was taking it one game at a time as each team continued to battle for playoff position. In the first action of the day the White Men Can’t Jump used a strong second half to pull away from a Healthy Buffalo team that is battling to hold onto the final playoff spot in the division. Wilson Bautista led all scorers with 26 points to keep WMCJ just above the fray in the division. Yao Know What I Ming also used a big second half to end their losing streak. Kyle Perla (21 points) and Steve Ambrose (25 points) led a second half comeback to hand the U.H. their third loss of the season. Both teams now sit at 4-3 along with the Fastbreakers and Concrete.
The Fastbreakers rolled past Team First, who have had a rough season after going all the way to the finals last season. Seth Runge led all scorers with 19 points in the win. In the following game Concrete laid seige to the Toon Squad, as Nick Jarmusz set the single game scoring record with 51 points in the whopping 100-61 win. In the final week of regular season action Concrete will play the Fastbreakers in a game ripe with playoff consequences.
In the most surprising game of the day the Billies handed the Very Aggressive Guys their first loss of the season. This all happened despite the fact that only three Billies players scoring in the game. Frank Pieri (23 points), Mark Ward (24 points), and Dan Graffam (10 points) gave the Billies all they needed for the win. The win puts the Billies just one game out of first place with the chance to capture the division if the Very Aggressive Guys lose in the season finale.
In another upset Niagara University locked up their first win of the season in the 6pm game against United Hoops. It was an emotional win for Niagara as they had the chance to experience the thrill of a Champions League victory for the very first time. Charles Jones led Niagara with 21 points. The win will help keep Niagara from playing the vaunted Tune Squad in round one of the playoffs.
The Cleveland Beamers stayed hot against the Superstars in the 7pm game. Tito Harris Jr. knocked down five second half three-pointers to keep it close, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Beamers. John Papincak (24 points) and Edvin Ramulic (29 points) paced the Beamers in the 68-64 win.
Norfolk N’ Chance used a strong second half against Court Justice to hand them their second loss of the season. Mike Ridge (7 points) made a cameo appearance for Court Justice in his first Champions League action of the season. Norfolk N’ Chance got strong performances from their whole lineup, led behind Dean Antalik who scored a team high 16 points in the win.
In the final game of the night the Tune Squad avoided an early scare from the Franchise Players to lock up their seventh consecutive win of the season. Terry Reese, known mostly for his inside play, caught Healthy Buffalo analysts by surprise by knocking down four three-pointers in a row early on in the first half. The Franchise Players managed to take a tie game into the half, despite the late arrival of almost half of their team, but in the second half the Tune Squad picked up their play to bring home the 95-81 win. Next week the Tune Squad will look to become the first ever undefeated team in league history as they square off against the Superstars in the 3pm game.
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