So, last night, Dashawn and I were reffing a game between Bob Ross In The Paint and AZ Knights. It looked like it would be a good matchup, but wow! Poor Kayla, who was keeping score, probably needed a sub at halftime. By that time, the score was 56-48, a score that sometimes pops up after a full game in the TBL. Julyan Loss had 23 points (and five threes) at halftime for the Knights, while Damu Musgrave had 22 points for Bob Ross. The game tightened up in the second half with 12 lead changes. Oddly enough, it came down to this one weird sequence late in the game. Bob Ross was up, 94-93, inside of two minutes. The Knights took it to the hole, but missed a driving layup. They then got three offensive rebounds and two-foot putback attempts, but missed all three. Ross got the rebound, went down and scored and held the lead the rest of the way. Julyan ended with 44 points on 10 threes, while Damu had 47 points for the winners. Crazy good game.
On the court that I was reffing, we had a string of great games. Over a five-hour stretch, we had:
Johnny Utah 71, Mambas 68 (OT)
Hickory 48, Valley 42
Sikhos 57, Underdogs 54
Team UGLY 72, Wolves 67
Team YAO 49, Left-Hand Sharks 47
The Team YAO (Young and Old) victory was especially cool, as it was their first win of the season. In the Hickory-Valley game, Hickory held the lead throughout, but Valley put on a late charge to tie the game with three minutes left. Hickory got a big three from Matt Swinford to ice it.
In other games:
--Flyers, a bunch of Amphi High grads, pulled the upset of the day, knocking off Fleet, 64-63. The Flyers squad started off the season with three straight losses, but they've now won three straight to even out their record. Pretty impressive.
--The hard-luck SideLoaders lost another close one, falling to Below The Rim, 43-38. They've lost their last three games by a total of 11 points.
--Cardinals beat Black Mambas, 59-58 and Flawless Victory edged East Side High, 65-63.
--The Bullockz closed out the evening with a thrilling 51-49 win over Air Jesus.
Unfortunately, this coming week will have an abbreviated schedule. We won't have any morning games. But, for the month of August, with the playoffs in full swing, we will have the run of the venue. It's going to be amazing. One quick note: As they do every year, the venue is re-doing all of their floors. They always begin the work on a Monday, after one of our Sundays. Then, depending on how long the work takes and the humidity levels during the time after the work, the facility is closed for a week or 10 days. So, on one of the Sundays in August (probably the 11th), there will be no games. I am fairly certain that we will be able to complete all of the playoffs by August 25th, but there is a slim chance that we will have some championship games on September 1st. I'll let you know next week.