Happy Ourer: Tonight was an old school 15 round heavyweight fight, except at the end of 15 rounds, they kept swinging. After a catch and shoot three pointer to beat the buzzer tied the game at 109, these two teams continued to slug each other, with Linndale outlasting Detroit 127-124. Gentlemen, your thoughts? Sam, you first.
Sam Dunkley: I didn’t expect this game to be as even as it was. When Linndale had that run to end the third into the fourth, you knew Detroit would make a run, and they did. Pio Reina’s boys would not go quietly into the night. I don’t know that they win this game last season. I don’t think they do. Wow!
HO: Jimmy?
Jimmy Buckitts: It’s been a while since we saw someone score 30 for Linndale, and I don’t remember the last time that happened AND Joy Beko scored 20 in the same game!
Joshua Doe: To heck with the first part, I can’t remember the last time that second thing happened!
JB: That’s exactly my point, Joshua. It’s rare. Look up and down the lineup. There was scoring off the bench! Frias, Twaruschek, and Simmons combined for nearly 50 point off the bench, and these weren’t garbage time minutes they were in. These were important minutes, and they produced. 7 guys scored 10 points or more. This was as complete a team effort in a game that wasn’t a blowout that we’ve seen in a while.
JD: You know, someone is going to look at the stat line and say Walt Pasman got cooked, but it took Obmann 31 shots to get 42 points in 44 minutes. Now, he’s tough to stop, but 31 shots to get 42 points is a lot of work. I don’t know that Linndale wins this without Pasman. I was also impressed with Juan Onrubia. This was the kind of performance that showed why Linndale was quick to get him from Las Vegas in that other conference.
HO: I thought both teams played well. It seemed Linndale had an answer for every run Detroit made, but Joy Beko put this team on his back and did everything. 20 points, 21 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals.
SD: Another thing I noticed was they just kept picking each other up out there. If somebody missed a shot somebody else got the rebound, or made a steal. They didn’t resort to hero ball, where 1 guy is trying to do it all by himself.
HO: After that New Year’s Eve beating they took from the Rostah, this was exactly the performance they needed.
JB: You knew something was brewing when Beko beat the buzzer with a three pointer at the half. When Frias did it to send the game to overtime… this game would have been really tough to recover from had they lost.
SD: They’ll meet again in Detroit, a game I’m sure Detroit will be waiting for, if only to send a message.
JD: It’s not a rivalry until you win on the other guy’s floor. One game is just that. But coming up is Page 2, and they dominated the boards on the way to a 105-99 win over Andersonville.
SD: Andersonville had their way from the three point line, going 15 of 31, but it wasn’t enough. Kingsley Tanko led the was for Page 2 with a 23 point 21 rebound performance.
JB: Meanwhile, No Limit BPE took down Everett Everymen 99-73, despite a 25 point 12 rebound performance from Gilbert Snell.
JD: That man is going to get frustrated with the lack of support from his teammates. Someone needs to step up there.
HO: We end things with Eternityz Rostah beating Duke 96-79. A 7 point game at the half, the Rostah effectively ended things with a 26 to 9 third quarter. I take it that no one is surprised.
JB: No.
SD: Not at all.
JD: Nope.
HO: Also to no one’s surprise, we are out of time. We’ll see you all Tuesday night!