Pool play finished at the Metro Summer League at the Omaha Sports Academy on Thursday night. There were several close games, but a few blowouts as well. All is not lost for the teams sitting at 0-5 at the end of pool play. The playoffs begin on Monday and anything can happen. As we wait for the tournament bracket matchups to be released, here is what was going on during Thursday’s games. Thanks to Ravi Lulla from Bluejay Banter and Jacob Padilla from NE HS Hoops for some notes on a few of the games that I missed.
APEX Foster Care 87, Judd Knispel Agency 86, OT
Anthony Tolliver joined the Judd Knispel Agency again, but without Cole Huff, his absence was obvious in the final minutes of the game. Although I arrived in the final minute it was a memorable one. APEX Foster Care bounced back from their first loss of the summer on Monday and played stifling defense, keeping Judd Knispel Agency away from the ball. Late in the game, Judd Knispel had a six point lead, but it slipped away from them. With the score 82-80 and Judd Knispel with the ball, Nick Bahe had a tough time getting the ball inbounds and APEX forced the turnover. APEX went on to score on a driving layup with only a couple seconds to go, ultimately sending the game to overtime.
In the extra session, APEX scored to take the lead 84-82. Bahe was then fouled with less that 30 seconds left in overtime. With the opportunity to tie, Bahe missed the front end of a one-and-one and Judd Knispel was forced to foul. APEX calmly made their free throws to extend the lead to four, while Tolliver drained a 3-pointer in the corner at the buzzer to give the final margin 87-86. For Knispel, Tolliver lead the way with 20 points, while UNO’s Ben Kositski had 16, while Marcus Foster, Matt Dorwart and Bahe each had 12 points.
BD 78, Bank of Nebraska 73
This game was the game everyone was looking for literally. Originally scheduled for a 7:45 slot, the schedule was shifted around a bit and this game was played during the 8:45 games, mainly due to Bank of Nebraska trying to have enough players. They did eventually have six, but it wasn’t enough to slow down the full roster of BD. However, the game was very entertaining up to the final seconds.
BD had a 33-25 lead at the half, but BofN battled back with Toby Hegner and Klaye Rowe providing the scoring punch from all over the court. The game was Bank of Nebraska was within 74-73 with 31 seconds left. After two free throws by Ben Vanderslice with :23 seconds remaining on the ensuing possession, the inbounds pass was stolen by BD and BofN was forced to foul letting BD extend the lead. BD sank their free throws and Bank of Nebraska suffered their first loss of the summer. These two teams could meet again deep into the tournament and it should be a great game.
Winning Mentality 85, OFWF 83
OFWF almost pulled out their first win of the season. With the game tied at 83, Bruce Chubbick for Winning Mentality was fouled with three seconds left and calmly drained two free throws to win the game for Winning Mentality. Marlon’s Stewart attempt from about half court bounced off the light fixtures denying OFWF victory. OFWF finishes o-5 in pool play, while Winning Mentality finished 3-2.
NE HS Hoops 97, Paragas Law 75
One of three undefeated teams left at the end of pool play, NE HS Hoops proved that they are right to be considered with the other top teams in the league. They jumped on Paragas early running up and down the court getting a lot of easy layups. Ronnie Harrell struggled in the first half for Paragas sitting with only 6 points and a 49-26 deficit including a 17-0 run. Zach Hanson barely saw the ball during the game and finished with only 4 points, but did have 12 rebounds. The game was out of hand throughout the second half, but Harrell finished with 34 points. Khyri Thomas continued his great play for NE HS Hoops with 25 points, 7 rebounds and an assist in the victory while KJ Scott had 29 points to lead NE HS Hoops.
Crusaders 91, Narmi Group @ Baird 79
The Crusaders (UNK) were on all cylinders on Thursday’s final pool play game. However, it was close in the first half as the Narmi Group was only down 49-42. The Crusaders pulled away in the second half and they head into the tournament with a lot of confidence and a three game winning streak.
Rooferees 89, Capehart Sales 74
Similar to last week, Capehart got down big early and then tried to rally back and make it a game. There was no Austin Chatman on Thursday for the Rooferees, but James Parrott provided more than enough firepower along with some great contributions by Creighton incoming freshman Martin Krampelj. The Rooferees went into the half with a 42-33 lead and didn’t look back in the victory.
UNO Alumni 79, ABIDE Network 62
In the early game, UNO Alumni didn’t let their lead slip away like past games and came away with the victory.
Andy’s Lawncare- W, Tostensen- L
The defending champs continue their roll finishing pool play at 5-0. That is all that has to be said on that one.
Shanks Law Firm- W, EQ School of Hair- L
Shanks has won two games in a row to provide a lot of momentum toward the tournament. I did not see that game, so not a full report.
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The MBL Tournament begins on Monday night with First round, Second Round, and Quarterfinal games. Stay tuned for the bracket and schedule of games. See the mini-site for more information.
