Mike Bennett leads Ray past Henny Given Sunday in League A, while the Triple Threats fall hard to Andrew Alfieri and The UH in League B.
Buffalo, NY- After one of the most exciting opening rounds of playoff action in league history the final four teams in each division looked to punch their tickets to the finals this past Sunday in the semis. (8) Henny Given Sunday was confident coming into the matchup against Ray, as they had already knocked off the West Side Connection in Round 1. (2) Ray started the game with only four 
players as Steve Seneca got to the game with about fourteen minutes remaining in the half. Ray played 5-on-4 just about to a draw until Seneca entered the game. Henny Given Sunday didn’t look as tight as they did in their opening round win as Ray controlled the tempo for most of the game. Mike Bennett led all scorers with 23 points, while Mark Gross got it going late leading Henny Given Sunday with 17 points. It wasn’t enough as Ray would pull out the 66-61 win and advance to the finals.
In Game 2 of the afternoon (6) D-Block nearly pulled off the upset over the defending champs. Rich Walsh (19 points) had another solid game for D-Block as he continues to build a name for himself in the Champions League and ironman Andrew Alfieri also had a solid game with 17 points. But it was Jason Mang who would steal the show. Toon Squad trailed by one point with only seconds remaining. They inbounded the ball and passed it to Mang, who took one step inside the 3-point line and let fly the game winning shot. It bounced off the rim before falling through the net to seal the win for the Toon Squad. With the win the Toon Squad will have the chance to defend their title in next week’s game against Ray.
In League B action the (1) Triple Threats got smoked by (7) The UH 74-57. The UH stayed hot and continue to peak at the right time. Andrew Alfieri dominated in the paint scoring a game high 32 points for The UH and leading the team to a berth in the finals.
The last game of the day was a dog fight as the (4) Gladiators took on the team with nine lives, (6) Slime. Slime almost folded early on in the season as infighting in the team tore the roster apart, but captain Johnny Smith rebuilt the roster and put together a team with championship aspirations. Justin Stokes had a tremendous game for Slime scoring a game high 29 points, while Keon Paris chipped in another 14 points. The Gladiators fell apart down the stretch, losing a seven point lead in the final two minutes and then letting Slime cruise to victory in overtime. It was a disappointing finish for the Gladiators who many analysts had chosen to win it all early on in the season. Slime will advance to play The UN in the finals in next week’s conclusion of Champions League action.
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