The Metro Basketball League was back in full swing tonight as all of the players that have been playing all summer were there as well as some players making their summer league debut. Jahenns Manigat was on the court tonight to make his debut. In addition, Will Artino was assigned to the Narmi Group for the final weeks of the league.
I brought my son in tow with me Thursday night and he oohed and awwed several ladies in attendance tonight while I tried to scope out the games. It is funny what a five year old thinks of. Anyway, a few hundred other fans came out to watch at the Omaha Sports Academy to see a couple of teams establish their seeds for the tournament in a couple of weeks. Tonight’s games had a few that went down to the wire, but also some that got out of hand by the end. As always, here are the things I saw tonight, but feel free to leave any other comments on the things that were missed.
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Paragas Law 65, Bellevue Alumni 63
This one was easily the game of the night. It was close throughout and it looked like the Bellevue Alumni had things wrapped up with a three-point play that put them up six with about 30 seconds to go. However, on the next possession, Creighton graduate Darryl Ashford hit a three-pointer from the corner to cut it to three with about 25 seconds to go and then Paragas Law forced a turnover at half court which led to another Ashford three-pointer from the wing to tie things up at 63 with about 20 seconds to go.
Bellevue Alumni then tried to run down the clock for a final shot but turned it over with five seconds remaining. After a timeout, one play for the win…to another Creighton graduate, Wayne Runnels.
Paragas Law moves to 3-1, while the Bellevue Alumni fall to 1-3
John Higgins Weatherguard 68, Bellevue University 65
In another closely contested game, John Higgins Weatherguard and Bellevue University went back and forth. This game also came down to a last second thriller. Bellevue junior James Parrott missed free throws to break the tie at 65 with 12 seconds remaining. John Higgins Weatherguard ran the clock down and UNO sophomore John Karhoff hit a three pointer as time expired to lift the Weatherguard team to victory and keep their perfect record, now at 4-0.
Here is some video of the game that showed some of Bellevue’s struggles including the last second, game winning shot.
UNO Alumni 86, EQ School of Hair 83
Both teams came into this contest undefeated and on paper looked to be the feature game of the evening. The game lived up to expectations. Avery Dingman and Grant Gibbs were there, however, the highlights of the night belonged to EQ’s Deverell Biggs. (The program said it was Eddie Marrs but I am pretty sure it was Biggs..someone can correct me if I am wrong.)
Either way, #23 kept EQ in the game down the stretch making several highlights. After hitting a three-pointer to cut UNO Alumni’s lead to one and UNO Alumni hitting two free throws to put it back up to three, #23 came down the court and the UNO Alumni was called for a foul on the floor a split second before a three-pointer was launched that would have tied the game. Instead it was a one-and-one situation and the front end was missed and the game ended with UNO Alumni staying undefeated at 4-0 and locking up a top seed in the tournament.
Here is video from that game including the questionable foul at the end. You decide.
Barley’s 76, Shanks Law 71
Rodney Buford and crew overpowered Shanks Law even though it appeared to be close most of the way. Creighton’s Geoffrey Groselle had some nifty moves in the post at times. Even Creighton graduate Justin Carter played with the shorthanded Shanks Law Firm, but it wasn’t enough against the veteran Barley’s team that moved to 3-1. Shanks goes to 0-4.
Narmi Group 99, Chris Carder Agency 80
It was raining threes for the Narmi Group in this one. Josh Jones, KC Rodenburg and even Will Artino were lighting things up from the outside as the Narmi Group kept extending their lead throughout the game. Cody Levinson and Wes Wilkinson tried to keep things close, but no one else was on enough to carry the Chris Carder Agency to a victory. A team that has several members from last season’s championship team is now sitting at 0-4 with one game to go before the championship rounds.
Zurlo’s Pizza 93, Thompson Basketball Camp 67
Creighton’s Jahenns Manigat played his first game in this year’s summer league after missing June play for Thompson’s but Bruce Chubick, Chad Spady and Benny Valentine kicked it up a notch early in this one and it turned into a runaway. Zurlo’s is sitting nicely at 3-1.
Other Scores:
Walentine O’Toole McQuillan & Gordon 115, Judd Knispel Agency 102
Leach Camper Sales 94, Omaha Mavs 83
