Final Game Recap

The Final game was a fitting end to a highly competitive BALANCE GYM Summer League. There was a quiet intensity and confidence brought by High Fliers and Team DMV the 1 and 2 seeds respectively.

The opening minutes saw quick paced transition scoring. Team DMV’s Carlton Phelps (19 pts) pushed the tempo and Brian Lewis (16 pts) was on fire from the perimeter. Even with the High Fliers Evan Thomas (9 pts) and Brandon Thompson (10 pts) getting to the rim in transition as well as Mackel Purvis (26 pts) driving and hitting 3’s from Connecticut Ave; a stingy zone defense and accurate shooting by Clayton Lea (23 pts ) provided Team DMV with a 23 – 12 lead.
After efficient offense by both teams to start the game; by the 10 minute mark the game had become characterized by sloppy play leading to a large number of turnovers. High Fliers capitalized on this and was able to knot the game at 27 – 27.
For the remainder of the first half whenever Team DMV made a run High Fliers Mackel Purvis and Denon Watts (10 pts) would hit key tres to keep the contest close and ultimately pulling ahead for a half time lead 38 – 36.

The second half began with both teams shooting a high percentage from the perimeter and finishing at the hoop. Andrew A and Denon Watts got buckets for High Fliers while Brian Lewis kept bombing from deep for Team DMV. At the five minute mark in the second half Team DMV had regained the lead 52 – 48. But Purvis continued to hit big highly contested shots to bring things tight at 52 – 52. A run by Team DMV led by Clayton Lea and Garrett Thomas (15 pts) blew the game open to 61 – 52 with 10:00 minutes to go. Lea was a machine from the high post draining shot after shot. With tough defense and scoring from Lea and Carlton Phelps with 6:00 minutes left Team DMV increased their lead pulling away 70 - 55. It was at this critical moment that High Fliers tuned up their defense. On one play Brandon Thompson finished strong at the cup while getting fouled. This play commenced a High Fliers mini-run bringing the score to 70 - 60.

With the clock becoming a factor, both teams upped the intensity on defense and execution on offense. And it was time for High Flier Purvis to take over the game for his squad. Including two 3’s launched from what seemed like Rock Creek Park, Purvis closed the deficit to 74 – 68 with 3 minutes to go. With the two teams playing hard at both ends of the court, Purvis hit two pressure filled free throws to keep High Fliers close at 76 - 70 with 1:20 to play.

With time winding down and High Fliers applying pressure, Team DMV stepped up their defense getting crucial stops. One stop led to a sick Garrett Thomas breakaway which he finished with a reverse flush- with only 1 minute left and the score 80 - 70 the victory was sealed.

The final score 82 – 70.

In the end the fans enjoyed a hotly contested game marked by quality play, much heart and good sportsmanship.

Team DMV takes title in first season

Team DMV led by Carlton Phelps, Brian Lewis, Kenny Weston, and Clayton Lea defeated the High Fliers 82-70.

More details coming soon!

Playoff Recap

Semifinals:

In the game, first-season High Fliers used superior guard play to defeat veteran Old School 79-75. Sharpshooting Derron Watts (11 points) nailed 3 first-half threes while Andrew Argabright's 8 first half-points led High Fliers to a 37-32 halftime lead. Old School's Mark Awantang's nasty alley-oop slam (from a Sean Glover pass) was highlight material. In the second half, High Fliers' guards kept creating open shots and three-point opportunities for their shooters. Essentially, their offense resembles the latest craze in the coaching circles - the Dribble Drive Offense. Each player has the option to dribble in the lane and either finish or kick out for a wide-open three. This opened the door for Mack's buttery shot (3 threes, 14 points) and Katoe Chapman (17 points total, 11 second-half points). While Old School's Awantang (22 points) and Randy Roy (10 points) tried in vain to keep the game close, the High Fliers were too much at the end.

In the second semi-final, Team DMV beat Swag 69-67 in overtime as Carlton Phelps hit two free throws with 1.6 seconds left. Team DMV overcame a 10 point half-time lead to tie the game at the end of regulation. Swag had a chance to win the game in regulation, but a key steal by M. Jones sent the game to overtime. Team DMV's Kenny Weston (12 points, countless rebounds) played a huge came, coming up with key rebounds and huge buckets including one where he snagged an offensive rebound, hung in the air made a spectacular shot while clearly getting fouled (none was called). For someone of his (6'4", 230), Kenny displayed remarkable quickness on all free throws. Team DMV's other immovable force, the soft-shooting big man Clayton Lea (16 points) forced Swag to double in the post and opened up the door for the shooters. In regulation, Swag's Roberts Steven's (20 points) three gave Swag a 5 point lead with just minutes to play, but Phelps nailed a three, Swag then turned the ball over and Team DMV tied up the game. However, overtime belonged to the team who had the ball last. Swag's Lou Stevens (19 points) had just tied the game on 2 free throws but with 12 seconds left, Team DMV had one last shot - Phelps drove the lane, was fouled, and put the game on ice with two clinching free throws. Ross Mitchell's last ditch three was wide and onto the finals went Team DMV.

Playoff Results

Recaps coming later today, but here are the scores and schedules:

Semi-Finals:

High Fliers beats Old School 79-75.
Team DMV beats Swag, 69-67 (OT).

Finals
Saturday, 12:00 p.m.

High Fliers vs. Team DMV.

Quarter-finals Results

Recaps coming soon - here are the scores and tomorrow's schedule:

Game 1: (1) High Fliers beats (2) Egg Nog, 88-65
Game 2: (2) Team DMV beats (7) 5 Guys, 73-64
Game 3: (6) Swag beats (3) Moose, 62-46
Game 4: (5) Old School beats (4) Night Cap, 73-63

Sunday's Games:

11:30 - (1) High Fliers vs. (5) Old School
12:45 - (2) Team DMV vs. (6) Swag

Week 7 Recap

Week 7 began with a forfeit win for Team DMV over the Warriors, which cost the Warriors a play-off spot. Team DMV ran a scrimmage and fine-tuned their explosive attack, led by big-man Clayton Lea.

In the 12:45 match-up, Night Cap shook off a sluggish first-half to beat Sons of Travis Henry 94-67. Night Cap found itself clinging to a 35-30 half-time lead as Matt B kept SOTH alive with 13 first-half points. However, he was hampered in the second-half with a cut above the eye and Night Cap started rolling, using defense (yes, Night Cap can play defense!) to limit SOTH to 2 points in the first 8 minutes in the second-half. SOTH guard Justin H (23 points) arrived late in the second half to provide a late spark for SOTH, but Mark V's three straight threes kept SOTH at bay. Matt Vankoski (25 points) provided a thunderous dunk to close the game. Night Cap's Ed Franowicz provided 18 points in the winning effort.

Moose vs. Old School was a battle for playoff seeding. Both teams were without their full squad, but the battle would still go on. Old School led early as Khari Brown's (30 points) assortment of post-up moves and quick jumpers were too much for Moose. However, Moose countered with better guard play, led by the re-emergence of Chris Demulder (25 points) who dropped 2 early three's. Demulder's play was contagious as Moose took control in the second half. Old School tried in vain to come back, but their threes were short and the game went to Moose, 78-72. Moose's Matt Rozier, looking rock-solid from the Balance Boot Camp classes, scored 18 and teammate Dior Toney dropped 20. Old School Captain Chris Cousins scored 11 in a losing effort.

Look out - High Fliers are warming up! The rims are still rattling from the offensive show put on in a win over Egg Nog, 95-41. Unfortunately for Egg Nog, this week's playoff game will be a re-match. High Fliers, true to their name, came out dunking - and I'm not talking about one guy with a nice dunk - we're talking alley-oops off the glass, behind the back passes to dunks, follow-up dunks off missed shots...truly a fun game for the spectator, but not the opponent. High Fliers Captain Andrew Argabright's 35 led High Fliers, but Evan Thomas (18) and Alex (19) were out on every break. Egg Nog, who will reload for next season, were led by Brian Reames (18).

The final game of the day between 5 Guys and Swag also had playoff implications - the winner would take the 6 seed and the loser would face Sons of Travis Henry in the play-in game. Swag got off to a hot start led by the high-post presence of Louis Stevens (17 points) and the low-post game of Robert Stevens (26 points), who delivered an emphatic slam in the first half. Swag's zone prevented 5 Guys Sean O'Connor (14 points) from getting good inside position. At half-time Swag led 40-26 and looked to blow open the game. However, 5 Guys had other plans and they centered around guard Brian Cunningham (21 points - 19 in the second half) who arrived late. 5 Guys started finding holes in the Swag zone and the last of Cunningham's 5 threes gave 5 Guys a lead, although it was short-lived. Swag guard Keith (19 points) answered with a three of his own and soon Swag had control of the game - and the playoff seed.

Play-in game Result

5 Guys over Sons of Travis Henry 85-75. Update coming soon.

Final Standings and Playoff Matchups

The Standings are final. The game summaries will be done soon.

Here are the playoff match-ups:

Seeds are in parenthesis.

Sunday, August 10:

12:45 - (7) 5 Guys vs. (8) Sons of Travis Henry

Warriors out of Play-in game due to 2 forfeits. Egg Nog advances.


Saturday, August 16:

11:30 - (1) High Fliers vs. (10) Egg Nog
12:45 - (2) Team DMV vs. (winner of 5 Guys/Sons of Travis Henry)
2:00 - (3) Moose vs. (6) Swag
3:15 - (4) Night Cap vs. (5) Old School.

Sunday, August 17: Semi-finals at 11:30 and 12:45

Saturday, August 23: Finals at 12:00

As I mentioned, the game summaries will be done tomorrow. Good luck in the playoffs.

Corrected Standings

The Standings do not take into consideration head-to-head match-ups. The final standings will be updated one hour after the final game on Saturday.

Playoff Schedule and Seeding info

The Playoffs begin this Sunday with the Play-in games (9 vs. 10 and 8 vs. 7). The Final is scheduled for August 24. We will be putting on a barbecue for all players and fans including beers, burgers & hot dogs.

First, I need an official play-off roster from each captain no later than Friday noon. Only those players who have played a minimum of 2 games are eligible to play.

Tie-breakers:

1. Forfeit loses. Any team with a forfeit will automatically be dropped in any tie.
2. Head-to-Head Record.
3. Point Differential.

I will have all of these determined Saturday 90 minutes after the last game and posted on this site.

Playoff Schedule

Sunday, August 10: Play-in Games

11:30 - 7 vs. 8
12:45 - 9 vs. 10

Saturday, August 16: Quarter-finals

11:30 - 1 vs. 9/10 winner
12:45 - 2 vs. 7/8 winner
2:00 - 3 vs. 6
3:15 - 4 vs. 5

Sunday, August 17: Semi-finals

11:30 - 1-9/10 winner vs. 4-5 winner
12:45 - 2-7/8 winner vs. 3-6 winner

Saturday, August 23: Finals

12:00 - Semi-final winners

Week 6 Update

Week 6 was about big time shots by big time players, blowouts and lock-down defense. There is separation now from the contenders and the pretenders. Look for the new teams - High Fliers and Team DMV - to make a run in the playoffs if the veteran teams (Moose, Old School, and Night Cap) falter. Last season's top two seeds, 5 Guys and Swag, are falling behind and in danger of falling into the play-in game. The Playoff details will be finalized today and sent out Tuesday at the latest.

The opening game this week featured a short-handed High Fliers team get out to a huge half-time lead (42-20) that enabled them to beat the Sons of Travis Henry, 80-64. While the High Fliers only had 5 players, their balanced attack kept SOTH at bay. Andrew A and Katoe Chapman had 19 to lead the High Fliers. Andrew drained 5 of High Fliers' 11 threes. SOTH played without leading scorer David Shaw who is out with a foot injury. Jake Shuter scored 16 second-half points to lead SOTH.

The 12:45 match up between Balance Elite League giants, Moose and Night Cap was a stunner. Down by 2 points at 66-64, Moose guard Zack Fried found and passed to big time shot-maker Mike Hochman who's game-winning three with 4.6 seconds left gave Moose a one-point lead and the game. A desperation attempt by Night Cap was broken up by Chris Demulder at the buzzer. Down by three with under a minute to play, Moose's Frank "Hang-time" Perry tied the game with an impossible and-1 where he pump-faked, got fouled and threw an incredible shot while, true to his alias I just gave hime, hanging in the air to get off the shot. Night Cap came down immediately and took a 2-point lead off of Matt Vankoski's two free throws, which should have been 4 since he was fouled twice on the play and still managed to get a shot off. However, the 2-point Night Cap lead would vanish when Hochman's shot hit nothing but net. Moose were led by Hochman's 22 and Perry's 23 while Night Cap were led by "The Captain" Casey Craig's 24.

Team DMV dismantled a fast-falling Egg Nog 105-75 in the third game. Egg Nog, playing in their first season in the Balance Elite League, are having a tough time fielding a regular squad. On the other hand, Team DMV, also playing in their first season, have put together a solid squad with three big-time scorers in Brian Lewis, Carlton Phelps, and Garrett Thomas who scored 27, 26, and 25 respectively. Add the inside presence of Kenny Watson (15 points) and you have the makings a dangerous team come playoff time. Egg Nog played the game close in the first half, being down only 10 at half-time (49-39), but DMV's firepower was too much. Brian Lewis's 3 straight 3's at the end epitomized DMV's dominance in the second half. Egg Nog was led by three-point specialist Brian Reames' 30 points from 10 threes.

With the game tied at 71 and just 28 seconds to play, Swag was exactly where they wanted to be - the ball was in playmaker Keith Lymore's hands. As he drove to the hoop, he was fouled with 3.4 seconds to play - this would be just enough time for the Warriors. After making the first free throw, Keith missed the second. The Warriors snagged the rebound and made a quick outlet pass to George McCulloch. George took two dribbles past half-court and banked in the game-winning three to the delight of his Warriors teammates who mobbed him at half court. It was fitting for George to make the play as he led a late-game comeback with an array of offensive moves and shots that Swag could not defend. He finished with 30 and was helped by the deft shooting of teammate Jason Thomas who finished with 22, many with defenders draped on him. Swag was led by Lymore's 18 and Louis Stevens' 17. A fitting first win for the Warriors.

In the final game of the day, Old School used its trademark lock-down defense on 5 Guys to produce a 62-56 victory. 5 Guys scoring leader Sean O got 21, but he didn't much scoring help. Add to that Old School's athletic and talented front line of Mark Awantang (19 points), Randy Roy (17) and Khari Brown (13) and you have a Old School victory.