Shox 55, Hyperflight 53

Perhaps more than any two teams in the league, Shox and Hyperflight never know who they’re going to have show up on Any Given Wednesday. Sometimes the rosters run 10 deep, sometimes they’re looking for a guy in the stands to make five. This week though, both squads seemed alright.

The stands were empty, as there were literally five people in the gym to watch these two teams go at it. With the weather so nice outside the gym, the league should look into having a wet bar along the baseline to try and attract more fans and fill the seats.

Early on the story was about the return of Will Eberhart. While rumors surfaced this week that the embattled star was thinking about hanging it up for the season, Shox was thrilled to see him back in uniform for the first time after his one game suspension. One of the questions that popped up in the stands concerning Eberhart and the refs though was this: “Is he labeled now?” That’s still yet to be seen.

Anyways, as the game began, both teams were really trying to feel one another out (pause). Without Jason Burke in the middle, Shox put Andrew Katz on red-hot Niko Klansek to start, while Klansek made Katz aware of his presence with a block early. But after Shox jumped out to a quick lead, three-point champ Lou Miguel shot Hyperflight right back into it with two quick threes.

With seven minutes left in the first half, the score was 15-15, as Shox was having a hard time keeping up with Hyperflight’s speed. At this point, battling back and forth, Eberhart and Klansek had switched on to one another in what made for a very exciting matchup. With no subs for Hyperflight, by the end of the first half you could see fatigue was setting in. But right before the buzzer, Klansek took it coast-to-coast for the bucket, cutting it to a 29-24 Shox lead at halftime.

In the second half, it was important for both teams to come out aggressive. At the 15-minute mark, Josh Gotthelf came in and knocked down a big three to give Shox a 34-31 lead. On the block, Katz was calling for the ball and making moves on the block with Klansek draped all over him. But despite their stellar play early, Hyperflight took a 39-38 lead with just under 12 to play.

Enter Jed Berger. After getting to know him and his story in this week’s player profile, Berger came in and regained the lead for Shox off a lay-up. Then came the defense. For about three minutes the score remained 44-44 as both teams played hardnosed D. But after a big three by iZ Mateo and Jose Carlson knocking down shots from the corner, it was still anyone’s game.

But with under a minute to play, Katz came down with a huge rebound and was fouled, stepping to the line and making both shots of his one-and-one to tie the game. From there, somehow getting the ball back, Hyperflight fouls Justin Leonard and sends him to the line where he proceeds to make both of his freebies and give Shox a 53-51 lead with 29 seconds to play.

The next 30 seconds were crazy! After Miguel converted a tough bucket on Mateo, Shox called a time out and drew up one last play. With the game tied 53-53, it was either a bucket or OT for Shox. After inbounding the ball and getting it back to Berger, he connects with wide-open Mateo under the hoop with an amazing bounce pass for the bucket. Game over.

Final score: Shox wins, 55-53.

	1	2		T
Shox	29	26	-	55
Hyperflight	26	27	-	53

Box Scores

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