Hyperflight 39, Huarache 55

It was sloppy, ugly and about as structured as a fifth grade recess game. But in a funny way, the game between Hyperflight and Huarache was also surprisingly entertaining. After Terminator dropped their game earlier that night, Hyperflight had an opportunity to inch closer to the top spot in the NRF.

The game started off slow, with a lot of missed jumpers and turnovers by both squads. At the 10-minute mark of the first half, the score was just 7-8 in favor of Huarache. Even Huarache's star player, LeKeith Taylor, was out of sync early on. On a fast break nearing the first half, Taylor went up to dunk it or lay it in, but somehow he got caught in the air and airballed his attempt. He caught his own miss (travel) and threw it back to teammate Will Perkins who was past midcourt and called for a backcourt violation. Scott Williams from Uptempo summed it up best when he walked past me with a laugh, "that was greatest sequence of events ever!"   

Also in the first half, Aron Phillips came off the bench to give Hyperflight an energy boost. When AP plays, he's like a chihuahua on crack and he got a few boards and even stripped Taylor's dribble. Much like Brian Scalabrine or Mark Madsen, Phillips is a crowd favorite and they cheer and get excited every time he rebounds or even shoots it.

Behind Niko Klansek's 9 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks in the first half, Hyperflight went into the break with a 25-19 edge.

Huarache, who were without high scoring guard Eric Raymundo, came out of halftime with a whole new outlook. If they weren't going to get it done on the offensive end, might as well focus on defense. Led by Terrance Takyi, who could possibly be the best one-on-one defender in the NRF, was locking up Hyperflight's guards and committing more robberies than the Situation. Next thing you know, Huarache owned a 14 point lead. Hyperflight basically disappeared, with the exception of the monster two handed block against the backboard by Chad Gittens on Darius Broadwater late in the game. With apologies to Christian Grant-Fields, it was hands down the best block of the year. But in the end, it meant nothing as Huarache improved their record to 4-2 with this 55-43 victory over Hyperflight.

Billy Dodson led the way for Huarache with 19 points, while Takyi added 15 points and 5 steals and Taylor had 16 points. Klansek contributed 13 points and 8 rebounds for Hyperflight.

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