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.

Week 5 Recap

Week 5 began with a blowout and an injury. On-again, off-again Moose beat throttled the Sons of Travis Henry, 120-68. SOTH lost team scoring leader David Shaw to a broken foot. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Shaw still dropped 18 in a losing cause. Moose was led by high-flying Frank Perry (34) and Adam Harper (27). Perry had several spectacular dunks as he displayed his full offensive arsenal including 3 treys. SOTH were led by Jake Shuler's 24.

The second game pitted undefeated Night Cap versus 3-1 Team DMV with Team DMV pulling ahead at the end for a 77-67 victory. Team DMV were led by C. Phelps aka Cugy (20) and Kenny Weston aka K-Boogie (16). Team DMV is getting stronger as the season progresses and will be tough in the post-season. Night Cap were led by Casey "The Captain" Craig (24) whose late-game surge was not enough to stave off Team DMV. Matt Vankoski chipped in with 18 for Night Cap.

The third game was a forfeit win for Swag over Egg Nog. A reminder to all captains - 2 forfeits will eliminate your team from the playoffs.

The 3:15 game was the day's best, as the High Fliers came back at the end to defeat Old School, 70-67. Missed free-throws from Chris Cousins (5) and a missed jumper by Bob Wilson (11) opened the door for High Flier's late-game heroics by Chaya (23) and Chap (24). Old School were led by Evans Watson (20) and Randy Roy (18).

The final game saw 5 Guys beat a faltering Warriors squad 80-58. The Warriors got out to a quick 18-8 lead due to 3s from Charles McGuire-Wien (11) and Jason Thomas (27). However, 5 Guys firepower and height soon took over. Sean O (20) and James L (18) started to dominate inside and 5 Guys pulled ahead in the second half.

Week 4 Recap

Week 4 began with a forfeit win for High Fliers over The Warriors.

As a reminder to all teams, 2 forfeits will jeopardize your chances of getting into the following season.

The second game of the season was between rivals Old School and Swag, with Old School hanging on to a 75-72 victory. New pick-up Jonathan Clinton's 3 pointer broke a tie with 45 seconds left, but Swag's Ross Mitchell answered with a 3 of his own to tie the game. However, Old School was better at the line and Swag's last-ditch 3-pointer was well-defended (some would say foul) and was off the mark. This game was marred by overzealous officiating, as there were 48 fouls called in 40 minutes. Old School was led by Evans Watson (25). Swag was led by the Steven's pair- Lou (12) and Robert (14), who finished a fast break with a ferocious slam! It was all for naught, as Old School prevailed in the end.

In the third game, The Sons of Travis Henry beat newcomer Egg Nog, 54-41 behind the firepower of David Shaw (18) and Justin Harrison (17). SOTH was too much to handle in the second-half, pulling away from a 27-24 halftime tie. Egg Nog, still looking for their first win in their first season in the Balance League was led by 3-point specialist Brian Reames (18 - 5 treys). Brian's last 2-pointer came in the fall of '03.


Moose, again having one of their quintessential seasons of highs and lows, lost to newcomer Team DMV, 71-50. Moose is one of the most dangerous teams in the league when they have a full deck, but those moments are fleeting. Team DMV was led by C. Leq (25) and C. Phelps (20). Team DMV, now 3-1 are making a nice run for the playoffs, opened up a 15-point lead at half-time (36-21) and cruised the rest of the way. Moose was led by the lay-up artist, Matt Rozier (25). Matt is to layups what Ichiro is to singles. No matter what you do, he's going to get one.


The final game of the day was the best, featuring a re-emerging giant in Night Cap against the newly formed 5 Guys. This one went to 2 overtimes with Night Cap prevailing 77-72. In the first overtime Sean O'Conner (21) nailed a 3-pointer (while clearly getting fouled) to tie the game. Then Night Cap's Jelani (6) dribbled down the clock for a last second shot, then broke down his defender and slashed to the lane dropping a perfect dime to ever-reliable Matt Vankowski (27) who lay-up to win the game was long. It was no matter, as Matt redeemed himself in the second extra period with 5 key points. James Lester helped 5 Guys' cause with 21 while Mark V's 13 was second-best on Night Cap's winning effort.

Week 2 Recap

Reminder: No games this weekend. Play will resume July 12.

The 2nd week began with a late-arriving Swag team falling to Team DMV 53-50. Swag got off to a hot start, but failed to maintain their offense once Team DMV switched to a zone. Swag also made just 6 of 17 free throws, where Team DMV made 19 of 25. Team DMV was led by C. Phelps (16 points) and G. Thomas (13 points). Swag was led by #32 (20 points) and Big Lou Stevens (18 points).

Night Cap defeated Old School 70-66 when "The Captain" Casey Craig (20 points) made a steal in the closing seconds, dribbled the length of the court on a 2 on 1 and then passed to Mark Viggy (12 points) for the winning lay-up. Old School had a chance to tie, but Khari Brown (16 points) missed a 8 footer. Night Cap got out of the gate fast with a 10-0 run fueled by Casey and Jelani (6), but Old School - as they do - came back with 21-5 run of their own as Evans Watson (16 points) displayed his new-found jumper.

High Fliers defeated Moose in a tight finish, 86-77. Moose found themselves down 48-17, but then made a furious comeback to get within 1 - however they couldn't get the lead as they missed 3 layups, two from Big Brian (14 points) who was otherwise unstoppable. The first half was highlighted by a follow up dunk by the High Fliers' Nate (23 points) and then an in-your-face dunk on the other end by Frank (9 points). High Fliers were led by Nate and the "3 Point Machine" Mack (21 points - 5 3's).

Justin Harrison (28 points) and David Shaw (17 points) led a re-built Sons of Travis Henry past The Warriors, 83-80 in double overtime. Justin scored 2 in the first overtime and 5 in the second while point guard Raphael (13 points) scored 4 in the second overtime period. The Warriors were led by the quarter of Evan Burress (18), Jason Thomas (17), Bryan Sullivan (18) and Charles McGuire-Wein (16). The Warriors used deft 3-point shooting to keep them in the game - they hit 10 3's in the game, although none in overtime.

In the final game of the day, 5 Guys defeated a resilient Egg Nog 87-75. Egg Nog fell behind in the first half and was never able to recover. Sean O, the poor man's Tyler Hansbrough, led 5 Guys with 27 points. Chris also dropped 26 for the winners. Egg Nog was led by Dan Comstock, who missed the first week, with 27, 4 from beyond the arc. John and Brian added 20 each in a losing effort. The difference in the game was 5 Guys ability to get to the line - they were 12 of 18 at the line where Egg Nog was only 5 of 7. Had James hit his free throws for 5 Guys the margin would have been greater. James made just 5 of 11 free throws.

Standings and scoring leaders will be updated Thursday.

Week 1 Recap

The Balance Elite League got underway this past Saturday. In the opening game, Old School defeated Egg Nog 84-46. Mark Awantang (27) and newcomer Evans Watson (25) fueled Old School. The first half was dominated by Old School , 45-17. In one particular play, Watson fed Awantang for a monster dunk. On the next possession, Awantang was feeling his oats - he stepped back and drilled a 3 from the corner ala Bruce Bowen.

The second game featured rivals Moose and Swag. Swag was without its point guard tandem of Pete Tucker and Ross Mitchell and this proved huge as Moose used turnovers to blow out Swag 101-57. Moose were led by Matt Rozier (14), "Marcus Beasley" (14), and summer add-on Adam Harper (28). Spring League MVP Robert Stevens led Swag with 36 points.

Night Cap defeated an improving Warriors, 91-85. Night Cap were led by sharp-shooter Casey Craig (19) and big-man Matt Vankoski (27). "Byron Mouton" (23) and George McCullogh (19) led the Warriors.

In the fourth game, newcomer Team DMV blew out the Sons of Travis Henry 84-54. Team DMV stands for DC, Maryland, and Virginia, not the Department of Motor Vehicles. Team DMV led by 6 at half-time, 31-25, but ran away in the second half as Kenny (10 2nd-half, 16 game), Garrett (13 2nd-half, 17 game), and Clayton (12 2nd-half, 18 game) led the way. The Sons of Travis Henry were led my Justin Harrison (16)and David Shaw (15).

The final game saw the last season's #1 seed 5 Guys beat newcomer High Fliers 75-63. Versatile big-man Sean O led 5 Guys with 20, 15 in the first half. Teammate Chris chipped in with 18, 9 of which came from beyond the arc. High Fliers, another new team, were led by Chaya Jones with 13. 8 other players scored for High Fliers, with no one getting more than 9.

Schedule is live!

Games start this Saturday! The odds will be up later this week. Of the new teams (Egg Nog, Team DMV, and High Fliers) look for Team DMV to make a run - they looked sharp in their 4 games. Egg Nog is a mixed bag - they had a good showing in terms of numbers last Saturday, but how they mesh will be determined through the season. High Fliers are an unknown.

As a reminder, the league fees include Friday night pick-up hoops. We will need a complete roster so that you and your teammates can play.

Summer Mini-League Update

The season is around the corner – get your team ready!Here are the teams that we have for the Summer League:

Team 1: Sons of Travis Henry
Team 2: Old School
Team 3: Swag
Team 4: Egg Nog (New Team)
Team 5: Night Cap
Team 6: Warriors
Team 7: Andrew's Team (New Team)
Team 8: The Truth
Team 9: 5 Guys
Team 10: Moose

We have space for 2 more teams. If you’re on the fence, the deadline is Saturday, June 14. If you haven’t paid yet, please do so by the 14^th – call me to arrange payment.

Saturday, June 14, 11:30 – 5:30 – Official Pre-season

Games are 10 minutes long with the 30-second shot clock running. This is a great time for new teams to check out the competition.

Free Agents are welcome to attend and should be ready to play.

Pre-Season Schedule

11:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.: Teams 1-5
1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.: Teams 6-10
3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.: Open to all teams

Saturday, June 21, 12-6 p.m. – Opening Day.

The schedule will be up by the end of this week and a printed copy will be available during the Pre-Season day.

Look forward to seeing you Saturday and during the season, although you’ll miss my elbows and knees this season…I injured my knee last Friday (Possible ACL tear – MRI on Wednesday).

-Graham