Throwbacks 124, Urban Legends 123
Last weekend, Nik Wallenda captivated the world with a death-defying high-wire act, walking a tight rope across the Grand Canyon without the help of any safety net or support system. The stakes weren’t quite as high, but the Throwbacks have been performing a high-wire act of their own, emerging with consecutive one-point victories in the waning seconds the past two weeks. A loss in either one of those two nailbiters would have spelled elimination for the Throwbacks. Like Wallenda, they paused and waited for the high winds of adversity to blow past before running down the final stretch to reach their goal. A quarterfinal match-up with the Night Owls awaits.
This late success could never have happened without the improved play of a pair of newcomers for the Throwbacks. Coming into the season, rookie brothers Brian and Kevin Marron were expected to be the pillars around which the Throwbacks built their revamped offense. Instead, they struggled initially to adjust to play at the professional level and the Throwbacks suffered accordingly. This final regular season game finally saw all those plans come to fruition as Brian Marron had the game of his career, while Kevin Marron followed up the first-ever Kronum League triple-double with a double-double in this contest. The Urban Legends came out strong against the Throwbacks, with Kevin Clark (27 points, 3 steals) displaying his newfound efficiency from the flex zone. After Mike Ragan (18 points, 13 assists) connected on an 8-point kronum, the Legends led 30-23. The Throwbacks would quickly answer as Kevin Marron (20 points) and Steve Botta (15 points) each hit a 4-point ring shot to cut the deficit to 34-31. However, the first period belonged to Brian Marron (game-high 37 points), who tallied 26 points in the frame, including an 8-point kronum of his own to regain the lead for the Throwbacks at 47-42. The Throwbacks led 54-48 after 20 minutes.
The second period was all Urban Legends though, even off the initial prime rush as Clark snatched the ball out of the air and immediately connected for 4 points. It was a huge period Legends wedgeback Kevin Glover (team-high 30 points, 6 saves on 12 attempts), who continually fooled the Throwbacks with his patented fake hook-throw, drop into the wedge zone move. The Legends also used the goal zone more than we’re accustomed to seeing from them, finding Glover and captain Scott Anderson (14 points, 11 saves on 23 attempts) for easy points down low. The Legends steadily built their lead, ending the period ahead 95-81.
With their backs against the wall, the Throwbacks cranked up the defensive intensity and gradually chipped away at the lead. With just over two minutes left, the deficit was only one point, setting up for a wild finish. The Urban Legends were unsuccessful on three penalty shots down the stretch(two of which were saved by James Thomas) and the Throwbacks finally broke through when Kevin Marron found Jim Bradley (11 points) for a backdoor dunk to put them ahead. On the Legends’ final possession, a roll-in by Greg Ermold was saved by (who else?) Kevin Marron to secure the victory. Ironically, the Throwbacks then became the Night Owls’ biggest fans, needing the victory by them over the Work Horses to make the playoffs where they’ll face the Owls. The Urban Legends will enter the playoffs reeling, having lost 4 straight contests. They’ll need to turn things around in a hurry against an always dangerous Jet Sets team that defeated them easily two weeks ago.
Night Owls 138, Work Horses 121
(Portions of this article will also appear on the official Kronum League website. Be sure to check out the site for additional coverage and statistics.)
Every year, one of the biggest sports spectacles in the country is college basketball’s March madness tournamant. Beyond the gambling and the office pools, what draws the casual viewer in is the win-or-go-home atmosphere of each contest. With their backs against the wall, teams leave everything out on the court, making for some of the best theatre in the world of sports. We’ve seen that mentality in the Throwbacks’ previous two last-second wins, as well as the Work Horses’ last-minute win against the Evergreens last week. Knowing they needed one more win to qualify for the playoffs and keep their season alive, the Work Horses did everything in their power scrape together a victory. Eventually though, teams do go home, and the Throwbacks’ joy was balanced by heartbreaking defeat for the Work Horses.
With ranger Mike Small missing for the Work Horses, the Night Owls focused their attention on shutting down captain Phil Cavalcante, holding him to just 14 points on 2-13 shooting for the game. Filling that void, Horses crosser Dave Slusser (20 points) started the game very aggressively, hitting from the cross zone and making runs down the wedge line for easier shots from the flex zone. Bud Yaniak (14 points) had his best scoring output of the season, catching the Owls off-guard with effective roll-ins to the wedge zone. However, like many teams before them, the Work Horses struggled to contain Owls captain Kyle McGrath (game-highs 42 points, 14 assists), who was up to his usual tricks in the cross zone. The Night Owls held a slim lead at 53-51 after one period.
In the second period, the Work Horses got strong efforts from their players in Quad 3 as Kosta Nikolos (18 points, 6 blocks) and Matt Sola (12 saves on 24 attempts) did a nice job shutting down the Owls in their area. However, on the other side of the field, Tyler Katz (28 points, 12 saves on 21 attempts) was piling up the points while having a nice game in net himself. A Joe Tulskie (18 points, 9 saves on 18 attempts) cross zone shot gave the Owls their first double digit lead of the game at 75-64. Then, with 4 minutes left in the period, a Luke Dougan (team-high 27 points) cross shot was deflected through the ring for an 8-point kronum to cut the deficit to 83-81. After a Dave Slusser cross shot on their next possession tied things at 85, it looked like the Horses might have one more big run in them. However, the Horses’ offense stagnated from there and the Night Owls remained very composed, ending the period on a 12-0 to enter the third ahead 97-85.
The Horses’ scoring drought continued into the third period as Owls defenders concentrated on shutting down both Cavalcante and Slusser. Five minutes in, the Work Horses finally got back on the board when Dougan drained other 8-point kronum to bring his team back within 10 at 103-93. Unfortunately for the Horses, that shot was effectively the last highlight of the season for them, as 10 points was as close as they would get the rest of the way. It was another strong effort for the Night Owls, who enter the playoffs the league’s hottest team, having won three games in a row. The Work Horses fought valiantly toward the tail end of the season but will unfortunately carry the stigma of being the first Kronum franchise to miss the playoffs.
Nimble Jacks 157, Jet Sets 133
In the final game of the day, the Nimble Jacks and Jet Sets set out to answer the age-old question, ‘If two Kronum teams play a game with no playoff implications and a quarter of their teams missing, do they make a sound?’. With Nick DeLuca, Stephen Vandenberg, and Zach Van Fossen not in attendance for the Jet Sets, and Dan Geiger, Pete Weiss, and Nick Caton absent for the Nimble Jacks (as well as Jared O’Donnell missing the first 15 minutes of the game), the teams that took the field bore only a hazy resemblence to the squads that could potentially meet in the semifinals. Nevertheless, the Nimble Jacks shook off a sluggish start to cruise to an easy victory and shake off their only loss of the season the previous week to the Throwbacks.
The Jet Sets jumped out in front early behind a huge first period from Matt Parsons (game-highs 42 points, 11 assists). Parsons did a little of everything, hitting a 4-point ring shot, finding teammates in the goal zone, and throwing down some fancy dunks of his own. Teammate Jeff Regensburg (20 points, 5 blocks) was able to work free for some points up top, handling the man-marking defense against him better than in these teams’ first meeting when he was held below 10 points. Defensively, Scott Reimer (13 saves on 28 attempts) anchored a wedgebacking unit that looked strong in the early going. The Jet Sets led 38-34 after one period.
Coming out of intermission, the Jacks made a more concerted effort to attack from the goal zone behind Sean Kennedy (20 points, 8 saves on 16 attempts) and Jesse Barone (14 points). However, Jet Sets crosser Ryan Skinner (32 points, 3 steals) accrued some ring points of his own when he connected on an 8-point kronum to extend the Jet Sets lead to 52-43. That shot seemed to be a wake-up call for the Jacks though, as a Ryan Coyne (team-high 36 points, 6 assists) 4-point ring shot made it 54-51, before Jared O’Donnell (33 points) finally put his mark on the game with an 8-point kronum for a 72-64 Nimble Jacks lead. Skinner answered with a 4-point ring shot himself to cut the deficit to 78-76, but Coyne was unconscious from the cross zone in the closing minutes of the second period as the Nimble Jacks pulled ahead 93-82 after two periods.
In the third period, a 4-point ring shot from O’Donnell gave the Jacks their largest lead of the game at 118-99. Ben Hutchison continued to pile up the saves in goal (12 saves on 23 attempts), doing a nice job to shut off the Sets’ goal zone attack as well. Parsons would hit a pair of teardrop ring shots from the flex area but the Jet Sets never mounted much of a comeback effort as the defense looked distinterested down the stretch for a contest with zero playoff implications. The Jet Sets will look to have all hands on deck as they face the Urban Legends in their quarterfinals playoff match. The Nimble Jacks await the winner between the Night Owls and Throwbacks for a semifinals showdown.
Week 11 Leaders:
Points – Kyle McGrath (42), Matt Parsons (42), Brian Marron (37)
Assists – Kyle McGrath (14), Mike Ragan (13), Chris VonTanhausen (12)
Saves – Scott Reimer (13), Matt Sola (12), Tyler Katz (12), Ben Hutchison (12)
Blocks – Kosta Nikolos (6), Jeff Regensburg (5), Chris VonTanhausen (3)
Steals – Jeff Gerace (4), Kevin Clark (3), Ryan Coyne (3), Ryan Skinner (3)
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