Javion's Week 7 Review

And just like that the 2025 regular season of the BBAL comes to a close… In unexpected fashion, due to rain on the forecast, we set the stage under the lights of the Lancaster Catholic High School Gym. Despite some players having mixed opinions of playing elsewhere other than the Sport Court, Tuesday still delivered plenty of games worth time. This was our Week 5 reschedule which some could consider Week 7 in this case! Enough talk, let’s get into it!

Lanc Show vs Dragons

This one starting off the night, this time at 5:00PM was majority one-sided. The Dragons came to play. After their recent trade sending Andrew Makrides, Ant Henson, and Griffin Rishell to the Gremlins for Jhiaire Felton, Nevin Roman, and draft capital, they looked significantly sharper in this matchup. No Dre Davis for them but Kevin Roldan however. And of course, their newly retired Ricky Cruz was there, on the sideline this time to support his one and only BBAL team in his career.

The Dragons seemed to be up double-digits the entirety of this one. Granted, the Lanc Show were rolling with a 6 man rotation and no Luke Pierson, but even their highlight reel, Ajani Simmons just could never really find his flow state. The Dragons ending the first half poured onto their momentum leaving the gym energized with forced TOs turned highlight plays, forcing the Lanc Show to look all kind of out of sorts. This remained the theme for the remainder of this one, quite frankly.

The Dragons leader was the complete opposite of a one-man wrecking crew. Can’t say it doesn’t surprise me, Elijah Terry led their box score with 21 points, 10 rebounds, and shooting 60% from the floor. Evan Baker, a premier scorer from beyond the arc in this league, contributed with an all around display with 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, despite going 0-5 from 3. Newer additions for the Dragons, Jhiaire Felton and Gavin Gilhool combined for 30 points and 19 rebounds. Shoutout to Nevin and Kevin for being a part of my personal best call of the night! 

The Lanc Show were led by Ajani Simmons having 18 points, 5 assists, and 2 steals despite poor shooting splits with 36% from the field and 11% from the three ball. Nas McFadden had 17 points, 8 rebounds, on an even more inefficient night for him. Hassan Williams helped with 11 points and 45% but could not be the savior as the Lanc Show were also dominated on the glass. The Lanc Show has the Gremlins on their hands this Saturday in the Play-In. However, the Dragons ultimately were the victors winning, 88-66.

We all knew the Dragons last year. Not the best regular season last year, but the Dragon breath only increased in Fahrenheit over the course of the Playoffs. They’ve got the Bullies this Saturday in the Play-In tournament, another historic run coming?

WoodPeckers vs Bullies

This one, crucial for seeding in the Play-In and Playoffs. Both teams have pretty deep rotations this week, which we hope continues Saturday and on. Both teams did not play their best basketball this evening either. A close contest throughout all 40 minutes with a few runs from both teams at times. Coming down to clean execution at the end is what this game ended with. Some would blame this one on Erik Goldbach after a mishap on offense leading to a TO with a chance to close the gap and take the lead but, the Bullies had their chances, missing several 3 point opportunities when we’re used to them making more efficiently. The Woodpeckers capitalized guaranteeing some sort of points consistently on their possessions. 

Bullies star Marqel Wansley returned and did not have the best game from a statistical standpoint. Jared Kumah held the weight with 17 points, 18 rebounds and 3 steals. An impeccable double-double despite shooting 39% from the field. Marqel trailed with just 10 points, and 2 steals, shooting a very uncharacteristic 21% from the floor and 18% from 3. 10 turnovers for the Bullies was not ideal and will be something they need to clean up against a very hyped Dragons squad right now.

Woodpeckers however, were carried by Luke Romball with 28 points and 64% from the field. Devin Atkinson could not leave him on an island contributing with 14 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists. The true all-around specimen of our league. Chase Marquette was getting buckets and Elijah Eberly rejected 4 shots including saving himself from a Topfloor poster!

The Woodpeckers advanced to the Playoffs winning 76-72 and still remain as one of many of our league's threats to make noise this postseason. 

Titans vs Gremlins

Unexpectedly, but arguably the game of the night.​​ Two teams with more than just record and seeding to play for. Titans are far more in championship contention being the defending champions compared to the Gremlins, but the scrutiny and the aggression the media would execute is unimaginable. This game was quite close for the entirety. The Gremlins were fighting for a worthless win that meant something more than just a column. For pride. Evidence that fans of this team have something to look forward to. 

The Gremlins after their blockbuster trade, trading young star Ryan Sayers to the CherryPickers for a haul seemed to make this team, not only play better, but looser. You don’t really have to bite your fingernails on who gets the ball for this team anymore. They’ve proven to be capable, nonetheless. But man, are the Titans clutch… Johnny Besecker after having a poor first half performance last week, repeats but doesn't panic and shows why after all, this is HIS league. 

Late game, the Gremlins down the stretch just couldn’t find that guy to come through and be that guy. However, Hoodie Cuban led them with 23 points, 9 rebounds on 37% shooting. Mickey Stokes had 14 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists, on a very efficient 71% shooting night. Other key role players combined for 27 points in their valiant effort for pride and momentum leading into the Play-In.

The Titans were led to victory by a 2nd half Johnny Besecker explosion putting up 30 pts, 16 rebounds, 2 steals on a 62% shooting night. Makai-Ortiz-Gray, behind him with 22 points, despite only shooting 42%. In the end, thanks to clutch Makai free throws, the Titans survived the slander, winning 73-70.

8 Balls vs CherryPickers 

A hard fought battle for both teams in this one. Starting neck and neck, while over the course of the game, separation became alive. The 8 Balls without Jason Kuntzelman and Ross Conway, however. Regardless of the results, both teams clinched the Playoffs no matter the winner of this week. 

The 8 Balls were led by Jeff Espinal scoring 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals. Tyrell Melendez trailed with 14 points and 2 steals. Julian Collazo played but just like many others in this game across both teams, he struggled and couldn’t get his groove. Michael Hester and Joe Chupick however were close to double-doubles combining with 19 points and 14 rebounds. 

Not much to say about this one, but the Cherries flat out struggled. We’re used to seeing them with more fluent offense and that just wasn’t the case. Tyler Crespo scored 17 points and 4 assists. Justin Baker, likely the star of this game, scored 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals. While Ryan Sayers scored 16 points, his efficiency just wasn’t there. Shooting 32% may be because of playing in LCHS gym due to player opinions. Nonetheless, this just wasn’t enough and the 8 Balls won 70-56 with plenty of momentum heading into the Playoffs.

Huskies vs Tropics

Similar to the first game of the night, this was really a one-sided affair. Like Ajani, Ethan Benne just really couldn’t find consistent footing. Over the course of this game, the lead just continued to extend for the Huskies. The Tropics, in the second half and towards the end of the first half seemed to have already given up. With 15 minutes left in the second half, they only had 19 points! Give credit to the Huskies defense specially former DPOY, Jordan Tyson for his constant hustle and knack for the ball. 

The Tropics had just two guys with 10 points being Adam Stolzfus, who reportedly was close to being traded to the Dragons, that never fell through and Ethan Benne, who although is a rookie has shown capability of MVP numbers and being way ahead of his time and draft class. Likely a league wide record of 3-26(12%) from 3 was one of many causes for their loss. On any level of basketball, you just can’t win that way and not to mention their 16 TOs with 10 of those TOs coming from Ethan Benne…

The Huskies with a cleaner box score but, still not their best game despite clinching back to back 6-1 seasons in the 2024 and 2025 BBAL seasons. Timmy Edwards with 17 points, 6 rebounds on 47% shooting. Crew Wells and Jordan Tyson combined for 23 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 steals. Much cleaner basketball, which is what you’d expect from a 6-1 team. They clinched the one seed and this win by a score of 55-43.

Congratulations to the Huskies and come Sunday, will they finally make noise in the Playoffs?