Recap
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 ………….
