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Writer's pictureJohnny Besecker

Week 6 Recap (Javion's Edition)

Week 6 in the E was plenty of what we expected as the indoors was ROCKIN with energy! Already one week left in the regular season, let’s just hope torturing humidity doesn’t spoil our expected “Sport Court'' finale! Nonetheless, Week 6 made fans' time worth on top of our included “MJM vs BBAL game '' to put the cherry on top! So let's get into it!



Following our schedule this week wasn’t a problem as the Titans and Woodpeckers squared off to start. Early on, it was the same as nearly every game this year as both teams were throwing punches trying to set the tone. The Woodpeckers to no surprise at this point without Danny Bomberger again.The Titans however, once again without Ant-Man and Chase Yarberough while adding insult to injury this week with only 5 this week. We’ve seen the Tropics defy the odds with 5 earlier in the season so could the Titans be the 2nd team to do it this year? They had 4 guys to start which forced Bullies captain Liam Besecker to fill in for half of the first half until Darnell Booth arrived. The Titans in the first half didn’t really have a bright spot or a go-to until the 2nd half. A different story occurred for the Peckers as John To was noticeably effective despite an uncharacteristic amount of turnovers for the Peckers in the first half. Late in the first half, the Peckers and Devin Atkinson started to feel it and hoped to carry this momentum into the 2nd half. Indeed they did as offensively they were starting to sink buckets. Titans made it seem like they would make a run but, Makai-Ortiz Gray struggling for the most part dragged their team down. The Titans production leaders were Makai with 20 pts despite shooting 6-18(33%) from the field and 4-11 from three(36%), Johnny Besecker, with not the same overall performance from last week but, 14 pts on 4-15(33%) shooting and a poor 2-10(20%) from three with a near double-double 9 rebounds. Darnell Booth put up solid numbers despite the late absence with 14 pts, 2 steals and a much more efficient night despite not shooting as much with 5-8(62%) from the field and 2-3(67%) from beyond the arc. Rob Footman's 7 steals cannot go unnoticed either! Overall, a very inefficient night for the Titans which I expected with only 5 legitimately in the lineup this week. The Peckers were in control pretty much the whole 2nd half even when the Titans found some light as Aiden Sands caught fire in an attempt to carry his team over the hump. He indeed did with his own production and a few cast members. Aiden Sands put up 19 pts on 7-12(58%) shooting and 5-8(62%) from three with most of them, timely buckets in the late stages. John To off the bench was right behind him especially in the first half with 17 pts shooting 5-10(50%) from the field and 3-7(37%) from three. Elijah Eberly did his thing offensively but more importantly excelled in his role with 9 rebounds (all drebs) and two blocks as he continues to climb the DPOY ladder. Aleer Gonzalez sinked a few threes to go with 3 steals and Devin Atkinson recorded a double with 12 pts,10 rebounds, 7 assists again showing his ability to be a true PG while climbing the MVP ladder with his Luka Doncic-esque playstyle. They played great team basketball and everyone produced positively besides their stretch of turnovers.  M.O.G for the Titans caught fire with under 2 minutes as it was too late and the Peckers came out victorious again, 81-69.




Next up, the Gremlins vs the Huskies. This game was better than I’m sure most expected and having Andrew Williams and Samir Gordon back maybe have changed things for the Gremlins as well not having to worry about deep threat Isaiah Valentine for the Huskies as he was out. David Kamwanga was out too as he informed insiders that he’ll be out the remainder of the year. His production will be missed but the Huskies are suited enough to win without him, which they had the opportunity to prove this week. Buckets were silent early in the first however. Huskies played way too fast, hungry to embarrass which caused missed opportunities and turnovers. The crowd made it clear that a Gremlins win was in their hopes. Defense was the name of their game by turning it into offense. They were just missing the push to take and maintain the lead as the Huskies were up 30-27 at half. Samir and Bam were their bright spots in the first that you’d hope could carry them to their first win. Huskies’ Timmy Edwards and Eli Washington were their bright spots. Opening up the 2nd half, the Gremlins came out flat until minutes later, they found their groove again with the crowd and momentum with them. This 2nd half was summed up by a battle of runs. Gremlins were led by Samir Gordon returning from suspension with 20 pts and 8 rebounds, shooting 8-15(53%) and 2-3(67%) from three, Bam with 16 pts and 6 steals while shooting 7-17(41%) although a poor 1-7(14%) from three. To lose and combine as a team with 15 steals is heart-wrenching but, inability to score down the stretch lost them this game. Huskies , however, were led by Timmy Edwrds with a near double-double with 29 pts, 9 rebounds, and 2 steals while shooting 12-21(57%), Eli Washington as well with a near double-double recording 19 pts and 8 boards to pair with 6-15(40%) shooting and 2-6(33%) from three. Each team would go on runs and no team could close the door until the Gremlins found themselves down 35-44 with 12 minutes to go. Up to this point, the Gremlins really couldn’t buy a bucket nor stop the Huskies consistently. It was a great fight but clutch Husky stops and Timmy Edwards buckets helped close it out, 67-59.



Tropics and Bullies faced off next in another unexpected close game. Tropics having John-John since last week continue to prove themself despite losses that they have potential to upset better teams. Bullies, however this week after having Marquel Wansley back last week, sits out again to avoid any further injury to his ongoing ankle injury that he attempted to play through last week. Tropics started off hot with a 8-0 lead! The Bullies fought back with Tyrell and Erik trading buckets for the Bullies. After tying it 12-12, the Bullies carried this momentum to go up 24-14 half way through the first. Erik Goldbach having a display of a game in the first! It seemed as though every bucket made, the other team would respond. A true definition of a rollercoaster game. The Tropics found themselves down 30-36 at half despite being doubted on paper. Tyrell Melendez was heating up in the 2nd half. His sidekick in this game was MJM Bills with solid production. Kobe Gantz had little to no production due to a mid-game injury affecting his playing time. Tropics, however offense was alive from John-John and Brad Atkinson mostly. The Tropics nearing late second half had the Bullies lead cut to 5. It just seemed like every Tropic bucket was answered by the Bullies. Even when the Bullies didn’t answer, the Tropics could not capitalize. For the Bullies, Tyrell Melendez recorded 21 pts on 8-17(47%) shooting and 4-10(40%) from three, MJM Bills with 16 pts, 2 steals, 8 rebounds while shooting 6-16(38%) and 2-6(33%) from three. Erik Goldbach from the first recorded 9 points with 3-8(38%) from three and 3 steals. For the Tropics, John-John Gillespie scored 22 pts with 7-15(47%) from the field while going 3-8(38%) from three, Brad Atkinson scored a double-double with 19 pts, 10 rebounds, 3 steals while shooting 8-21(38%) and 3-10(30%) from three with all timely threes. Adam Stoltzfus also recorded a double-double barely with 10 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blks. Ultimately, the Tropics were forced to play the free throw game with the Bullies and not prevail, the Bullies would win 67-62.




Lanc Show vs CherryPickers up next who both have players that are considered “must-see TV” with Ajani Simmons and Tyler Crespo. Starting off, this game was very physical and closely contested with the Lanc Show bringing the intensity. Lanc Show’s offense in the first half seemed more fluent than CherryPickers. Approaching the second half, it was a 9 point game until Ajani Simmons started heating up with back to back threes, one being a buzzer beater to make it a 40-25 game at half. Opening up the half, it was defense oriented while the Pickers were struggling to buy a bucket. Tyler Crespo just wasn’t feeling it like last week despite putting up 16 pts white shooting 6-20(30%) and an ugly 1-6(17%) from three. Matt “Belly” Mcleary was their other piece who dropped a double-double with 11 pts and 10 rebounds, shooting 4-14(29%) and 2-4(50%) from three. Sooner than later, the Lanc Show started taking over as Ajani Simmons was finding his groove again and they would capitalize on CherryPickers missed shots and defensive mishaps. The Lanc Show was led by dark horse MVP candidate Ajani Simmons who dominated with 33 pts, shooting 12-21(57%) and a impressive 8-15(53%) from three, Nasir McFadden with a solid 15 pts, Jack Engle with a tough 9 rebounds and Luke Pierson as usual, dominating the glass with 14 rebounds. This well put together performance courtesy of the Lanc Show led them to a 70-55 win over the Cherrypickers.




8 Balls and Dragons in prime-time BBAL fashion! 8 Balls, looking for their 3rd straight win and the Dragons looking to bounce back and make a statement after not only their dreadful performance last week but losing Dre Davis off the bench indefinitely hurts. Dragons shooters got things started early with several threes courtesy of Kevin Roldan and Ricky Cruz. Things were looking good early on for the Dragons as the 8 Balls started slow. The Dragons were fighting to carry their lead as plans backfired and later on the 8 Balls tied it 25-25 with 8 minutes to go and some momentum on their side. It was back and forth up until the half when the 8 Balls found themselves up 41-36 despite the Dragons seemingly finding a rhythm in their offense. The 8 Balls in the second half found ways to keep Dragon defense on their toes and stay unpredictable. Grant Conway had his season high with 21 pts shooting 9-10(90%) and 3-4(75%) from three, while his brother, Ross Conway struggled to find his shot. The Dragons certainly played hard and were giving the 8 Balls a run for their money however which was making it tough for the 8 Balls to stretch their lead. The 8 Balls were down 57-58 until Grant Conway came up in crunch time hitting huge, timely buckets to flip the script on the Dragons. From that point on, Jason Kuntzelman had already found his shot again recording a 30 piece, shooting 9-17(53%); 8-14(57%) from three, 8 assists, 7 turnovers which is definitely not ideal. Julian Collazo had a solid outing with 17 pts shooting 7-12(58%) and 3-4(75%) from three with 8 rebounds and 3 steals. The Dragons were led by Elijah Terry who scored 22 pts, despite shooting 27 attempts and not very efficiently shooting 10-27(37%) and 2-10(20%) from three. Right behind him was Kevin Roldan with 15 pts shooting 6-15(40%), Ricky Cruz with 14 pts on 5-15(33%) shooting. They displayed better efficiency than last week,but still room for improvement against a team with the 8 Balls talents. Although, their field goal percentage was only 3% higher this week (33% to 36%).The Dragons had no answer as the 8 Balls sealed the deal with noticeable amounts of help from officiating in my eyes especially in the second half when the 8 Balls sinked 3 buckets and forced 4 consecutive stops with under 3 minutes to go. Tons of interior contact was seen and the refs just wouldn’t see the contact the Dragons way. Without being said, this would lead to the 8 Balls continuing to roll 82-66.







To end the night, we had BBAL stars going up against MJM stars. Jason Kuntzelman, MJM Topfloor, MJM Castro, and MJM Bills are all in the BBAL however, they were a part of MJM first so they were included in team MJM as well as Lancaster County’s very own WNBA upcomer, Kiki Jefferson! Team BBAL featured Julian Collazo, who now was going against his teammate Jason although it’s exhibition. Devin Atkinson was in the mix with his teammate, Elijah Eberly. The biggest surprise for team BBAL was Lanc Show forward Luke Pierson, who was spraying threes which is abnormal compared to his games with Lanc Show. Kamari Brown stole the show for team MJM as he had the E ELECTRIC with high-flying jaw droppers! Despite Team MJM getting swept 4-0, it was fun for the fans and an exciting way to end this week of BBAL basketball!



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