A much anticipated match up between the current top 2 seeds! Team Garrett looked utterly dominant up to this point, while Team Cole was still trying to find its identity. Well they may have found it, and its name is Wayne. Just an absolute evisceration of Team G-Spot’s “defense” to the tune of 34 points on 60% shooting. Wayne’s 39 GAPE was more than Garrett’s whole team combined. Cole had his own very respectable GAPEage, with 26 despite only 6 points. 14 rebounds and 11 assists will do. Tommy may have shook off some rust from his slow start as he turned in a neat little 8/6/5 line. Josh and Boccio played too. An emphatic statement was made in this one, and if Wayne’s back doesn’t give out from all the carrying he did, you should never count this team out of the running. As for Team Garrett, well, it’s not hard to see what went wrong in this one. Their captain held his own, shooting 9/20 and had 0 turnovers. Al continued to be a midrange menace with 17 points.  And then there was the other 4. Tirado: 2/11. Lanzot 0/7. Pauly P? 1/10. Salvati saved the team’s percentage by going 50% (½). 9 points from 4 players?? That is not the objective of the sport, people! Just uncharacteristic ineptitude from the 1 seed in this one. And also complete disinterest in getting a hand in Wayne’s face as he continued to splash from three. Maybe this week these guys will feel like playing for realsies or something. Fun Fact: Team Cole admitted postgame to not asking for consent whilst pummeling Team Garrett. Also one captain called the other captain a fruit of sorts. (Loosely paraphrased.)

One aspect of this matchup not talked about enough was the presence of our newest Grinder, Bobby. Well this beat writer does not simply look at the box score, no no. I mean sure, 8 points and 11 boards with a 14 GAPE, you’d look at that and say wow, a career game for the new guy!  But if you were to say that, then you didn’t truly witness the authority in which Bobby scored those 8 points. Reverse lays, finishing through contact, hustling for boards, jumping over taller people, my goodness. He was just exuding aura the whole 40 minutes, and I envy that. Some other things of note include “E” dropping 12/6/5 on 62% shooting! A very solid effort, overshadowed by Jeff May’s near-30 shot performance, which netted him 19 points, caring not for the stifling defense of Chuck/Ben. Ford contributed little offensively but did grab himself 9 rebounds and a block. Captain Gersitz opted not to shoot much, only tallying 9 attempts and 10 points, but oh man. I would be remiss if I did not bring up one of the most riveting Grinders sequences in recent memory. Grant ran the fastbreak and thought he had a nice easy layup over Bobby. But LeGersitz stuffed him with a chase down, and the rest is history. Grant gets the rebound, puts it up again, BLOCKED. 4 straight blocks on the same guy, in the same possession. Chaos in the gym ensued. Mind you, Grant is no small fella. He would get him a 5th time later in the game, absolutely crushing his confidence. The score may have been settled by only 2 points, but the game sure felt over after that tantalizing display.

Perfect segue into Team Peyton’s performance: Grant, usually very calm and controlled, went and shot 29 times after the humiliation at the hands of Gersitz. People will remember the big moment, but a 24/8 stat line is nothing to laugh at. Captain Peyton finally shot under 50%, but delivered 10 points and 6 rebounds, while also delivering a revenge block on Gersitz for the crimes he committed against his star teammate. Chuck dropped 11 points, only connecting on 3 three balls, as his 4th make was shockingly a layup! Ben had a rough go, only sinking 3 of his 15 attempts, but did grab 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Not the best effort from this top 3 team, as they were in yet another game decided by one score – this time on the losing end. We’ll see if they can rebound this week against the 1-5 Team Curtis ………….

Wait, this game was only decided by 6 points? It sure didn’t feel like it. Team Justin stymied the Team Curtis “offense,” of course consisting of only Curtis and Jon Witt. Bryant had 3 blocks, guarding Curtis for most of the game, and shot 50% on 16 (!!) shots. “Sub” led the team in GAPE with 24, with 18 points and 18 rebounds. Pretty good I guess. KO led the team in shots surprisingly, and also apparently had 4 blocks as well! (GAPE Chicken Note – Whatever, Vic).  Zach was too busy “fouling” Curtis and chirping at the sideline refs to score any points. Not too many more notes here, I’m still just shocked that they only won by 6.

Team Curtis, where do I begin? I know: how about the fact that 54 of the team’s 65 shots came from two guys? Curtis and Witt both tried their hardest to will their heaves into the basket, but it just wasn’t happening, and it was a little sad to watch. 8/28 for the Captain, 8/26 for Witt. Both also ended with 8 GAPE and a spot on the WAP board. Paul J and T odd were shell shocked when the ball (sparingly) hit their hands, as both ended with just 4 points apiece. They did lead the team in GAPE with 12 and 11 respectively. This team could be frisky if their shots start falling at a more reasonable rate. Will that ever happen? I don’t know, I’m just a reporter… this outing must have made the team not want to play anymore, as they will have to forfeit this week’s game against Team Peyton. Saving face? Scared cowards? Who am I to say?