Game Summary
The matchup of the undefeated Ballers and the winless Tenacious D presented the classic ingredients of a trap game to close out the first half of the regular season. When the Ballers came out to a 13-4 advantage in the first five minutes it seemed like they had avoided the pitfalls, but early warning signs were mixed in with the early lead, namely a handful of missed free throws. They prevented the lead from building and Tenacious D responded with a 15-4 run to take a halftime lead. They kept that lead at 7 entering the final minutes, as the Ballers continued to misfire from the FT line. A well executed end game brought the GDB within one possession on two different occasions, but they could not find the tying or go-ahead basket and fell for the first time this season 50-46.
Headlines
Came up Craps this time - The story of this season has been the Green Dot Ballers excellent crunch time execution. Each game has featured a deficit in the second half and each game has seen the Ballers deliver the plays necessary to get the W. Once again the Ballers stared down a half time deficit, this time down 7 with 2 min to play. Will Harris once again demonstrated his end game mastery leading the perfect execution of the foul game. Combined with some clutch shot making, especially a 3 pointer by Cam Wade, the Ballers found themselves with 2 different possessions and a chance to tie or take the lead. However they could not overcome the wretched free throw shooting that plagued them throughout the game.
They are called FREE for a reason!!! - The bottom line in this game is it was given away at the free throw line. The Ballers clanged 11 of their 17 free throws in a game that was 2 point difference in the last 10 seconds. This also included an unbelievable 1-6 from two different plays in the second half in which a Baller was fouled on a three point attempt and subsequently awarded 3 free throws. That is really the game right there.
Empty possessions - In close concert with the free throws, were two different scoring droughts. The Green Dot crew scored were outscored 15-4 over a 10 min period in the first half and had a similar drought in the second half.
MVP
The Tenacious D Free Throw Stripe
Up Next
Tuesday 2/27 vs Self Check 8:00pm
Regroup & get back on track
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