Shox 50, Uptempo 42

In the nights most hotly contested matchup defending champion Team Uptempo took on a hot team Shox. Pat Cassidy got the Shox off to a good start with his pump-fake, one bounce, pull up jumper, giving his team a 8-6 lead. Never one to start off quiet, Scott Williams answered with an array of turnaround jumpers of his own to keep the score close (11-8) with 10 minutes to go. Bernard “Shakes” Bowen was the real story of the first half, as he got to the rack whenever he wanted.

“Call him him ‘Booga B,’” team Dunk guard Rafa said. That name fit pretty well ‘cuz Booga boogied through the lane for buckets and dimes to give his team a 21-13 lead.

Cassidy continued his rain of mid-range jumpers, while running around screens a la Reggie Miller. Shox guard Justin Leonard got in on the action, knocking down a three to give his team a 32-19 lead. CGF played the perfect inside-outside compliment, driving to the bucket and rebounding on key plays in the second, including a clutch bucket with a lot of contact to extend the lead (34-21). Williams woke up midway through the second half with a hard cut off the inbounds to hit a two pointer under the basket. He sparked a run with a steal and a transition assist to Jeff Chen to keep it close. Sensing take over time, Shakes went to the baja for a quick layup and a 38-31 lead (10:08 left).

At 6:24, Williams hit a three to cut the lead to one (39-38). Emotions got a little out of sorts late in the game as Team Shox big man Chad Easterling and Danny Millan had a shouting match but in a game with playoff implications, no one wanted to back down. Luckily for both teams everything was kept on the court but unluckily for team Uptempo Bowen kept his composure at the line and sealed the game late with a score 48-42.

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