Squires 21, Monstars 14
In a game similar to the team's first round win, the Squires once again pulled away from the competition with a strong second half, turning an 11-9 halftime lead into a convincing victory. The squad also won its first round game by the score of 21-14. The game turned on a stretch of a few possessions that was dominated by Squires freshman Matt Chronert. He had a message for anyone who decides to challenge the Squires next.
"Returned to sender," said Chronert. "That's what they can expect."
The game was plodding along in the second half, with just a few points coming in the first few minutes. Both teams were visibly tired.
But Chronert brought life to the Squires with two baskets in two possessions. As if that weren't enough, Chronert made his presence felt on the defensive end with a thunderous block. He did his best impression of Dikembe Mutombo, wagging his finger as he ran back down the court with a huge smile on his face. The play also energized the crowd, which was very much pro-Squires.
The Monstars hung in the game for the first half, but the team suffered from a lack of outside shooting. They were feisty on defense and had many steals. But when presented with the opportunities to finish, they could not pull the trigger.
A lasting image from the contest was the clash of the pink shirt of freshman Austin Olson with his red knees, bloodstained from hours of diving all over the blacktop. Olson won the shirt at the Saint Mary's dance marathon earlier that weekend, but he was all man on Sunday.
"The other team was disqualified due to lack of hustle," Olson said. "Deal with it."
He might have been alluding to Ben Stiller's character in "Heavyweights," but the message is clear. This team is serious about making a run for the championship. When asked how far he expected the Squires to go in the tournament, Olson was serious.
"I'll have to answer your question with a questions. How many games to the 'ship?" Olson said.
Do Work 21, Congratulations Billy and Susie 16
Do Work defeated Congratulations Billy & Susie in true David versus Goliath fashion. Do Work won despite having an injured player.
Congratulations Billy & Susie was named in honor of senior Billy Lewis, who will marry his high school sweetheart, Susie Quasny, in the Basilica on June 14. Both were present at the game and were happily surprised by the name.
The "Congratulations" players said Lewis and Quasny are both excited to have the full backing of their friends and family.
No. 10 Delivery Boys 21, The Swooblers 8
The underdog Swooblers started out on the right pace with a 2-1 lead, but a few baskets "delivered" by the favorites in the contest dealt the Swooblers down to an 11-6 halftime deficit.
"[The Swooblers] played their game really well," Delivery Boys junior captain Kevin Kelly (Captain Supreme) said. "They had a very good start."
The Delivery Boys, who hail from Pizzeria Siegfried, did not allow the Swooblers to get back in the game. Using their superior defense and counterattacking fast breaks, they finished off the underdogs by a tally of 21-8. Their 10-2 second half run was facilitated by forcing ugly shots and outrunning their opponents. Freshman David "Large Onion" Rudy was instrumental in the team's late success.
"Our fast-break success was the key to us winning," Kelly said.
The Swooblers, under the guidance of sophomore captain Tommy Clark, came into the game with a plan to shoot the lights out over the highly favored Delivery Boys.
"We figured that if we shot 100 percent, we could have pulled this one out," Clark said. "However, we shot 66 - no, I'd say 32 percent."
No. 22 I Can't Believe We're So Butter...SPRAY! 21, Team Five Pieces 8
Seniors Fritz Shadley and Rick Loesing and juniors Ryan Gorman, Bill Ehrlich, and Pete Leonard from I Can't Believe We're So Butter came in with a plan to move on to the next round.
The game was evenly contested at the start with the teams trading buckets. The No. 22 seed distanced itself a little from Team Five Pieces by going into halftime with an 11-7 lead.
Then, the higher seed completely took control in a second half that in no way mirrored the first stanza. A 10-1 run acquired from fast-break points, lack of fatigue and beautiful passing put the dagger in Team Five Pieces. Leonard consistently found his open teammates and getting it to the big men while Loesing had several key points and one assist down the stretch.
"Pushing the ball in the second half and getting it down to our big guys has been our game," Loesing said. "We've been playing together for three years."
Team Five Pieces seemed tired throughout the entire second half and the team's shooting suffered.
"We shot OK, but hit a cold streak once they hit a hot streak," Team Five Pieces senior Captain Ben Roesch said. "The small courts and tight rims hurt us as the smaller team."
Catastrophic Failure 21, Asian Invasion 5
In a match of "tackle basketball" that turned very aggressive, Asian Invasion simply could not get into a groove while Catastrophic Failure scored lay-up after lay-up.
The first half started with a 7-1 run for Catastrophic Failure, but the team's momentum slowed to a lull in the end of the first half and early second half as the Asian Invasion defense tightened up inside.
"We really had to concentrate on taking it to the hole," Catastrophic Failure captain Justin Deuerling, an aerospace mechanical engineer graduate student, said.
Catastrophic Failure moved the ball around to create more open shots and finally ended the game. Catastrophic Failure ended up having too much strength on the boards for Asian Invasion although the turnover ratio may have not been in the losing team's favor. Asian Invasion senior Andrea Kelly had five steals in the first half.
Asian Invasion was led by senior Anna Davis, who displayed her sweet jump shot and "top-notch tackling skills." The team also had support from seniors Monica Tesi, Meg McDonough, and Meg Gaule.
