With the winter weather lifting a little bit early in the late weeks of February, the winds of change bring a newfound level of pressure that arrived on the scene suddenly on court Tuesday night at the Knapp Shack.
In Game 1, the Hawks hosted the Nines in the first 4v4 matchup of the season. With no subs, the Nines paced themselves to a nice lead just after half but watched as the red jerseys completed a second half comeback to send the game to overtime. Los, who finished with 28 points, scored the first four points in the extra period and MJ, who led all scorers with 31 points, put the final pickle in the bucket to seal the victory, 74-68. Bandit (20), Mr94Feet (15) & the Berlin Wall (12) all reached double figures.
Due to the shortened schedule the Hawks were back on the court in Game 2, this time facing off against the Greens. This game’s tempo took a slow roll to a 49-48 Greens lead with just seconds to go. On the last inbounds of the game, the Hawks last shot attempt went awry and the green Ligers escaped with the victory as Moten led the way with 21 points. Bandit scored 23 for the Hawks.
League leaders City of Bridges walked onto the court in the final game of the night to take on the Crew but limped off after an offensive 2nd quarter where they went scoreless. The Crew has found their point guard in Ureste, who finished with 23 points, and a go-to guy in Jackson Sr., who led all scorers with 28. City’s own Jackson continued his double-digit scoring streak with 11 to lead the Bridges.
Heading towards the last week of the first half, the standings look as follows: