Uptown 0, Uptown 0

The action started right away with Chad Easterling driving the lane and making an errant scoop layup and a much needed and one in the coming minutes, giving the Shox some momentum as they were down early. The first half was business as usual for Huarache, led by MVP candidate Terance Takyi who nailed a triple and made a hot knife through butter pass through the Shox defense to Roscoe (12 points, six rebounds) for a layup and a 17-4 lead.

Later in the first, with his team trailing, CGF made a crucial defensive stop and put LeKeith Taylor’s layup on the glass. CGF would get it done on the other end, cutting into Huarache lead and bringing it down to single digits. But with the clock winding down, Takyi (18 points, five assists, four steals) would score a put back layup in the lane and put his team up 26-15 at the break.

Easterling (21 points, 12 rebounds) struck first in his matchup with Taylor (nine points), again cutting the lead to single digits. This seemed to be the spark the Shox needed, as Justin “Commish” Leonard (five points) hit a deep three and CGF hit a mid-range jumper, bringing the Shox within four (29-25). Normally known for his coaching, Eric “Coach” Newman was left-well, by himself, and hit a three with the shooter’s roll and teammate Roscoe followed up with a layup to push the lead back to 10.

With six minutes to go, Billy Dodson (six points) hits a three in the grill of CGF (six points, eight rebounds) and playfully pats him the ass to let him know about it (40-29 Huarache). Then, with less than three minutes remaining, Shox go into a trapping defense, but Huarache was too poised to be rattled and swung the ball to Taylor who hit a layup plus the foul to keep the lead at double digits (43-33). But after a few more free throws from CGF, Bernard hits a floater in the lane to cut the lead to five. Easterling then connects on a pair from the line to cut the lead to three. As the clock clicks down, the Shox get the ball back but couldn’t manage to get a good look for a three and Huarache moved on to return to the Garden.

“This is what we expected all season,” added Wu-Tang big man, Darius Broadwater. “It was a physical game but it was called fair. We hope the Garden is called just like that, as long as it’s both ways. But anyway you look at it, we’re trying to go undefeated like Indiana in ’76.”

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