The Green Dot Ballers looked to build on a close call in their first game in the Late Night Basketball League presented by the City of Alexandria. This one was filled with excitement on and off the court and resulted in a win for the Ballers, powered by a dominating performance by Will Harris. Both teams came into the game off near misses in week one and looked to change their fortunes in the sprint of a season this spring. However, a series of technical fouls on the Hooperz and a subsequent ejection provided GDB with the advantage they needed to edge out the 64-58 victory.
The game was tightly contested through out as neither team gained a lead larger than six throughout the entirety of the game. As the first half neared its close a series of technical fouls gifted points points to the Ballers and led to an ugly ejection of one of the Hooperz just after the halftime buzzer. GDB could not take advantage of the situation missing 3 of 6 free throws on the technicals, but a balanced attack with Cam Wade and Kyle Welty combining for 16 points gave the Green Dot squad a 30-24 advantage at the half.
The Hooperz ejection left them with just 4 players until their coach was pressed into emergency service to give them a fifth player and continue the game. This seemed to disrupt the flow of the game as the Ballers became tentative, shooting outside shots and not dictating tempo on either end of the court. The Hooperz grabbed a 5 point lead with just under six minutes to play when a pair of long time Ballers decided to press the issue and attack the basket. Chris Larson drove the basket and scored an AND 1. That was followed by a baseline drive by Ryan Demagistris that led to a putback by Will Harris. A fantastic spin move for another hoop paired with another drive finished off a 9-4 run to tie the game at 58 with less than two minutes left to play.
The Ballers then won the game when center Will Harris grabbed a rebound in the midst of 4 Hooperz and was fouled with a minute left. He calmly sank the two free throws to give him a game high 18 points. The Ballers displayed their trademark balance with 3 players in double figures include DaMar Hall (16 points) and Kyle Welty (12 points). Hall finished the game with a three pointer at the buzzer to cap off a well rounded game for him featuring a number of great plays at both ends.
Player of the Game - Will Harris - can't ask for anything more from the GDB pillar. Led the team in points and rebounds, hit all his free throws, including the two that were game winners with a minute left.
Turning point - A 9-4 run with the Ballers trailing by their largest deficit of the game, keyed by Larson and Demagistris putting pressure on the rim.
Next week - Face off with team Chaos (1-1) who beat Deez Ballerz in double OT 67-63
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