Shox 52, Delta Force 69

When you only have six players, the key is controlling the tempo and pace of the game. But apparently neither Shox nor Delta Force were worried about getting tired. To say the least, both teams came out firing. Dan Cherry got things going, hitting his first three shots for seven points, while Patrick Cassidy and Josh Gotthelf felt the hot hand with triples of their own. If Kelvin Coffey was worried about finding a second scorer, look no further than Cherry.

After a season of different personnel and lineups, they finally appeared to have figured it out. A group full of athletes. But don’t count out Shox for some athletes of their own. After using the new Gatorade G Series Pro, Gotthelf was grabbing offensive boards for put backs like it was his full-time job. And with another three to boot, you can chalk that up to the Power Balance band.

With that, Shox was right back in it. But back-to-back threes from Smiley had them on the ropes. Back-and-forth, at the 10-minute mark, Delta Force’s lead was 26-18. If there was ever a battle between hustle and heart, this was it. With Cherry playing out of his mind, and Gotthelf as well, these two unsung heroes were getting it done. With three minutes left in the half, Delta Force led 35-25.

But Shox didn’t quit. Wearing his shoes with the straps in the back like Rasheed Wallace, DJ Webstar knocked down a three and provided valuable minutes off the bench. On the next possession, Gotthelf’s hustle play stole the ball and threw it off the back of Smiley. This was the type of energy they needed to sustain in the second half, as they entered halftime down 35-28.

In the second half, it was a three-point bonanza. First Cassidy, then Smiley – it was as if this was the All-Star Game. But no matter how many threes Cassidy hit, it seemed Delta Force’s shots were counting as double. During halftime, Smiley came up to me and said that he didn’t have to score 20, but that he’d be gunning for it. Who was he kidding? The way he was shooting threes, it was like the Celtics vs. Magic – he being Ray Allen, and Cassidy being J.J. Redick.

And just like the NBA Playoffs, it appears the Celtics will come out the victor. With too much strength, Delta Force exerted their force in the second half as Cherry and Smiley were just having one of those nights. With under eight minutes to play, their 61-45 lead was seemingly insurmountable.

But Shox didn’t quit. Attacking the basket, Webstar and Cassidy kept ’em in it, cutting the lead to 61-50 with four minutes to play. But Delta Force just wasn’t going to let them have it. Time was on their side, and they worked it around to victory.

Final score: Delta Force wins, 69-52.

	1	2		T
Shox	28	24	-	52
Delta Force	35	34	-	69

Box Scores

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