Shox 56, Huarache 37

Judging by the first half of the second game between Huarache and Shox, this had the potential to get very ugly. With the exception of reigning NRF MVP Jason Burke who is 6-6, Shox might be the shortest team in the league. Shox kept getting their shots beat up by the bigs on Huarache as they were without their GM LeKeith Taylor. Burke and Justin Leonard were the only guys keeping Shox in the game, combining for 17 or the team's 19 first half points. Luckily for them, Huarache wasn't playing too much better, and the score at halftime was deadlocked at 19.

The pace really started to pick up in the second half. Leonard continued to splash J's and had a nice finish by the rim. Leonard works in the Dime office and we all watched him train hard the past few months. It looked like the boxing workouts paid off as he finished the game with 15 points and five assists. However, he did turn the ball over 8 times, including 6 in the first half. In fairness, some of Leonard's turnovers weren't his fault, it was just the solid defense of Huarache’s Terance Takyi a.k.a. The Stick Up Kid. Takyi had three steals in the first half and four overall along with four rebounds.

Another bright spot for Huarache was the play of Eric Raymundo. Dubbed "Home and Away" by the emcee because of his choice to wear two different colored Jordan 12s, he had a solid game scoring 17 points and getting six boards and two assists. Nobody could stay in front of him the entire game as he got to the cup at will. But late in the game, he missed a simple layup down the stretch that would have closed the Shox's lead to just 2 points.

Burke showed everybody why he was MVP last year, finishing with 19 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and four blocks. With his moves around the basket and his smooth south paw stroke, JB's game is a lot like Chris Bosh's, but with a lot more fire. The former Division II star is so intense on the court he makes Kevin Garnett look like Eddy Curry. Patrick Cassidy of the Shox also came big, scoring all of his 15 points in the second half. The fundamentally sound, Dan Dickau lookalike, connected on three big 3-pointers. In the end, Shox ended up getting the 60-52 victory over Huarache.

Huarache

Eric Raymundo - 17 pts
Will Perkins - 5 pts
Chris Griggs - 3 pts
Terrance Takyi - 11 pts
Billy Dodson - 8 pts
Roscoe - 6 pts
Stanley Lumax - 2 pts
Matthew Bowman - 2 pts

Shox

Jason Burke - 19 pts
Jeremy Jensen - 4 pts
Josh Gotthelf - 7 pts
Justin Leonard - 15 pts
Pat Cassidy - 15 pts

Box Scores