Moose Wins Elite League Championship in Thriller!

This past weekend, Moose defeated Critical Mass 76-66 in a hotly contested game that saw 14 lead changes and a thrilling last minute to capture their first Elite League Championship against the defending champs.


Congratulations Moose!


See the photos HERE.


After taking a 5 pt lead with 4:00 to go, Critical Mass looked destined to be the 2nd Eight seed to make the playoff run to first. But Moose behind a three pointer by Mike "Sam Perkins" Hochman and a three point play by Frank "Cedric Ceballos" Perry regained the lead with 1:30 remaining.

Destiny was on Moose's side as Critical Mass levied a barrage of three's, but Moose refused to miss even a single free throw down the stretch.



Moose - Champions of the Balance Elite League Spring 2009.

BOX SCORE:

Critical Mass

M. Gummey---3

W. Butler---15

R. Clay---3

J. Fus---21

C. Tanner---6

A. Gruss---18

Moose

Mark---20

Mike---13

Chris C.---10

Frank---16

Gabe---7

Zack---10

Chris---DNP

Pre-season odds are out.

1. Team DMV – Summer 08 champs, back court tandem is best in league
5-1 title favorite

2. High Flyers – lost to Team DMV in the Summer 08 Finals
8-1 title favorite

3. Moose – top team in the league…when they all show up...
14-1 title favorite: hopefully the new late attendance rules and new rims do not negatively affect their high-powered 3-point offense

4. Critical Mass – Defending Champs
15-1 title favorite to take the title: Incredible run to win the Winter league - As they continue to grow into Balance, will fortune favor this run & gun squad again?

5. Night Cap – 3 time champion
16-1 title favorite: Aging cohesive bunch of stars hope to continue their run as the Balance's most consistent winner

6. Old School – when they stop arguing they’re unstoppable
19-1 title favorite: Another aging, experienced squad which regularly defies the odds.

7. 5 Guys – tallest team, who’s their go-to guy in crunch time?
23-1 title favorite: Balance rims seem to let even those slightly blocked shots go in.

8. Cagers – lost in winter Finals…look for another strong season
25-1 title favorite: Pesky team that fortuitously came together late in the season. Odds are, it might happen again.

9. Lights Out – always dangerous team. Perennial playoff contender
45-1 title favorite: Can't seem to put a string of wins together.

10. The Truth – can shoot with the best of them
47-1 title favorite: Injuries plagued Truth co-star, Andrew Huling, last season. Without his calming presence and defensive prowess, chaos.

11. Sons of Travis Henry – they have a new big man, look out
47-1 title favorite: New Big Man who can dribble? The Sons are a wild card improvement prospect. Still a bubble-team until their defense improves.

12. Swag – up and down, went from semi-finals to 1-9
58-1 title favorite: Best defense in the league, worst offense. Silent acquisitions over the off-season could quickly improve this teams outlook.

13. Warriors – guard heavy, can they stop the big teams?
70-1 title favorite: Can't seem to put a convincing set of wins together.

14. Leinenkugel – a combo of two teams…can they mesh?
80-1 title favorite: Usually takes 2-3 seasons to form a title contender. Expect some ups and downs.

15. Disturbia – new team, do they have the talent to hang in the League?
New Team: N/A

16. City that Reeds – can former Blue Jays from Hopkins make a run?
New Team: N/A

Critical Mass Takes Title in OT thriller

Critical Mass defeated the Cagers 94-88 in overtime in the Elite Hoops League Final this past weekend to capture their first Elite League Championship. Jeff Fus' (9 points) rebound putback as time expired forced overtime. Down 1 in regulation, Cagers took a 2 point lead with 5 seconds remaining as E. Ives drained a 3 pointer from the left wing. Critical Mass called time to set up their play - a Wesley Butler 3 pointer from the wing. His shot was long, but the rebound fell into Fus' hands and he just got off the shot to tie the game. Critical Mass then used the ensuing momentum to take the game in OT. Clint Tanner scored 8 of his 19 in overtime to help Critical Mass.

Critical Mass had a 10 point lead at half-time, but Cagers came roaring back in the second half led by Jermaine Epps (22 second-half points). Epps was at times all-but unstoppable in the paint, but Butler made a key steal late in the game.

Scoring

Critical Mass

Wade Boese 15
Jeff Fus 9
Michael Gummey 9
Wesley Butler 22
George Atallah 20
Clint Tanner 19
John Revette 0
Reed Clay DNP CD
Jeff Bell - DNP Foot

Cagers
C. Ellis 13
J. Demars 25
Jermaine Epps 28
E. Ives 17
C. Fullerton 5
F. Hanrahan - DNP Work

Semifinal Results :: Finals Dec 13 @ 12 noon

Semifinals :: Sunday, December 7

11:30 a.m.
(2) Critical Mass 65
Clint 16, Wes 20, George 11
(3) Old School 61
Mark 20, Randy 12, Khari 12

12:45 p.m.
(1) Night Cap 63
Brandon 26, Casey 16, Matt V 11
(4) Cagers 64
Frank 27, Chris 12, Jermaine 12

FINALS :: Saturday 12 Noon

Cagers vs. Critical Mass

Free beers and pizza after the game.

Quarterfinal Results

Quarterfinals
11:30 a.m. (4) Cagers 69 vs. (5) Moose 66
12:45 p.m. (1) Night Cap 74 vs. (8) The Truth 66
2:00 p.m. (2) Critical Mass 88 vs. (7) Warriors 65
3:15 p.m. (3) Old School 71 vs. (6) Lights Out 59

Semifinals
Sunday, December 7
11:30 a.m. Critical Mass vs. Old School
12:45 p.m. Night Cap vs. Cagers

Playoff Schedule and Seeding info

Quarterfinals
Saturday, December 6

11:30 a.m. (4) Cagers vs. (5) Moose
12:45 p.m. (1) Night Cap vs. (8) The Truth
2:00 p.m. (2) Critical Mass vs. (7) Warriors
3:15 p.m. (3) Old School vs. (6) Lights Out

Semifinals
Sunday, December 7
11:30 a.m. (2/7) winner vs. (3/6)
12:45 p.m. (1/8) winner vs. (4/5)

Finals
Saturday, December 13
Noon

Also - we will have food and beer for the post-game celebration party - all players and friends from all teams are welcome (beer to 21+).

Final Standings and Playoff Matchups

Congratulations to the top 8 teams who made the playoffs! For the other 3 teams - your off-season starts now...making cuts, firing coaches, and signing free-agents.

The quarterfinals are Saturday, December 6, starting at 11:30.
The semi-finals are Sunday, December 7, starting at 11:30.
The finals are Saturday, December 13, starting at 12 noon.

Here are the final standings, seeded in order, based on the tie-breaker rules.

Game times will be in the next post.

Again, you can always go the master league site for info, scores, and stats.

Team	Won	Lost	Pct	Streak	PPGF	PPGA	GB
(1)Night Cap	7	3	.700	Lost 1	71.6	70.6	___
(2)Critical Mass	7	3	.700	Won 2	90.7	77.9	___
(3)Old School	7	3	.700	Lost 1	66.0	62.3	___
(4)Cagers	7	3	.700	Won 3	84.5	75.7	___
(5)Moose	6	4	.600	Won 2	78.5	72.7	1.0
(6)Lights Out	6	4	.600	Lost 2	78.4	72.6	1.0
(7)Warriors	5	5	.500	Won 4	75.2	82.1	2.0
(8)The Truth	4	6	.400	Lost 2	74.3	72.7	3.0
Sons of Travis Henry	3	7	.300	Won 1	60.6	67.2	4.0
Hickory	2	8	.200	Lost 7	53.3	64.7	5.0
Swag	1	9	.100	Lost 2	52.9	67.5	6.0