Recap

An early season meeting between 2 teams who could/should be involved in the semi-final story at the end of the season. Both teams were missing key components to their end-game. He Hate Me was missing league villain Tommy “Over the Hill” Hughes while Tall Justin was missing Richie “Bet on Black” Creamer and Mike “Shuge” Benjamin.

Tall Justin’s squad came out firing on all cylinders with Bryant the “Smooth Criminal” splashing (2) 3’s in Cole’s smug face as well as Tall Justin man-handling Wayne “Business Decisions” Haynes on the block and in the mid-range. The Tall Boys jumped out to a quick 9 point lead to start the game.

It was at that moment when “Lil” Josh decided to put his footprint on the game (and up the TallBoys’ arses). He picked Kellen “Stop It” Owen up full court and disrupted their offensive flow. “Lil” Josh wasn’t just a defensive specialist. He continued to splash jumper after jumper in the faces of the TallBoys and their “matador D”. Josh continued his desecration of his opponent further by using his patented pump fake to free himself for more jumpers to be splashed. At one point this reporter swears they saw him give Zach “I’m Retired” Newberry the finger as he flew by like a sheet of paper in the breeze, before laying one in and slapping the board. Not to be outdone, Mike “Charlie Hustle” Boccio picked up his defensive effort with a steal and coast to coast layup. Boccio channelled his inner Rodman and gobbled up offensive rebound after offensive rebound as the He Hate Me offense took advantage of the extra possessions.

The game started to look like a runaway but the veteran TallBoys team mounted a furious comeback led by a Kellen 3 and a plethora of Bryant layup on a hapless Cole and the low-post game of Newberry. He Hate Me was able to rally and turn up the defensive intensity (also known as “No blood no foul”), stop the scoring run, and pull away late.

Highlights from the game:
“Lil” Josh: 6/13, 13/5/2/2
Boccio’s hustle: 6/4/3 (reb/ast/stl)
Newberry: Hero Baller of the Week
Cole: Guy of the Week

Lowlights:
Bryant getting punked in front of his “loved ones” in the rafters
Tallboys’ shooting percentage (31%)
He Hate Me decision making: 13 TO’s