DALLAS 85, SAN JOSE 81
DEMONS OUT-LAST AMIGOS IN ROUSING CROSS-OVER
SAN JOSE -- The Dallas Demons, fighting for the second playoff spot in the East, earned a hard-fought cross-over win against San Jose, the first-place team in the West, 85-81.
The thriller, which broke a five-game winning streak by the home team Fighting Amigos, was in keeping with an MBA season replete with exceptionally close contests.
Dallas was up nine in the second half, but San Jose came back and tied the game in the final stanza. It was 81-81, Dallas ball with 11 ticks left when the following took place...
* Demons guard Bingo Bango misses a trey, Mike Hunt rebounds for San Jose
* 9 left...San Jose forward Egg Yolk Carpaccio's short jumper is blocked by Dallas' Chip Battoe and Dallas takes over
* 8 left...Bango feeds Battoe inside for a Dallas bucket and the visitors lead 83-81
* 5 left...the ball goes inside to San Jose center Hunk R. Down who has not missed all game long. But this time, his game-tying shot is off, thanks to a forced-miss defensive play by Dallas rookie center General Horseplay. Matthew Vanden Boogart grabs the board for Dallas, the Demons fast break to Battoe who scores, making it 85-81 with 1 time unit remaining. Game over.
Both teams are now 5-2 on the season. The East now holds a 5-2 advantage in cross-over games.
Despite the victory, which gives them a three-game winning streak, the Demons drop one notch in the East standings from second to third. Chicago, which has an identical 5-2 record, picked up a division win over Milwaukee in this bracket. Dallas got a win, but not a division win, and both the Demons and Gale now have 3 division wins. Chicago holds the next tie-breaker...points differential. The two teams finish Season 43 with a pair of games against each other.
PLAYER OF GAME
Fifth-year forward and former cut-pile alum MIKE HUNT has been an invaluable solid player for San Jose this season after coming over from Charleston in the draft. The 6-5 defensive specialist, who has filled in brilliantly for the injured Blue "Rondo" Alaturk, was spectacular in this game, scoring a game-high 27 points and pulling down a game-high 5 rebounds. Hunt was 12 for 17 from the floor, canning 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, while getting 1 assist and 1 blocked shot. To say he kept his team in the game would be a vast understatement.
Other 20-plus GVP performers
-- It's been a rough year for third-year guard Bingo Bango of Dallas, who came into this game averaging just 8.8 points per contest. But Bango flashed the kind of scoring ability expected of him in this game, scoring 16 points, dishing 2 assists, grabbing 1 rebound and registering 1 steal.
-- Rookie of the Year and MVP candidate Chip "the Crip" Battoe continued his brilliant initial campaign with a 20-point performance that included 9 blocked shots, 3 rebounds and 1 assist. The 6-8 Battoe was a human flyswatter in the first half, blocking all 7 shots that came his way, including the first 6 attempted by the man he was guarding, Egg Yolk Carpaccio. With three games remaining, Battoe has already blocked 43 shots, the most since Jimsy Redfern's 52 blocks in Season 34 for Charleston.
-- Playing his last season for Dallas, Battoe's veteran running mate at forward, Matthew Vanden Boogart continues to come up large. The 11-year man scored a team-high 22 points against Hunt, a tough defender, grabbing 3 boards, blocking 1 shot and getting 1 steal. Right now he is among the league leaders in points per game (19.6) and is having the best scoring season of his fine career.
-- San Jose point guard YourMajesty Lumpkins spent most of this game distributing bucket-getting passes. The defending assist champion dished out a game-high 9 helpers while scoring 14 points for his club.
-- San Jose center Hunk R. Down has been magnificent in this, his first season as a full-time starter. He scored 18 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, had 2 assists and 1 blocked shot. With the fall of his main All-MBA competition, Diss Reflexia, to injury, Down's chances for the foil star appear to be, well, up.
EAST STANDINGS
1st -- Philadelphia 7-0 (unchanged) (looking for unbeaten season)
2nd -- Chicago 5-2 (points differential tie-breaker) (up from third)
3rd -- Dallas 5-2 (down from 2nd)
4th -- Charleston 2-5 (unchanged) (eliminated from playoff hunt)
Last -- Milwaukee 0-7 (unchanged) (eliminated from playoff hunt) (could become second team in history to finish without a win)
WEST STANDINGS
1st -- San Jose 5-2 (division wins tie-breaker)(unchanged)
2nd -- Oklahoma City 5-2 (unchanged)
3rd -- Sacramento 3-4 (up from 4th)
4th -- Los Angeles 2-5 (down from 3rd)(eliminated from playoff hunt)
Last -- Seattle 1-6 (eliminated from playoff hunt)
NEXT BRACKET...No. 8
-- FEATURED GAME OF BRACKET: Second-place Chicago will need a huge upset against untainted Philadelphia to hold on to its second-place playoff spot in the East. They hung in admirably in a 81-74 loss at home to the Phobia two games ago, with Colquitt Croix raining treys down on them. This game is in Philly.
-- Dallas at Milwaukee as the Demons look to vanquish the Greyhounds and take back second place in the East. But not so fast, it wasn't all that simple securing an 80-79 home win against the league's lone win-less team in their last meeting. Milwaukee is dying for a win, but Dallas needs one even more.
-- Last-place Seattle at first-place San Jose in the West. San Jose, behind YourMajesty Lumpkins, handled them 71-60 early on.
-- Sacramento at Oklahoma City. The River Dogs moved up a notch in the standings, but face mathematical elimination from post-season play unless they come up big against the Lariats. Oklahoma City opened its season by beating the R-Dogs 72-58, with Mel A. Noma as Player of the Game.
-- Charleston at Los Angeles in a cross-over battle that should have meant more for both teams, but doesn't any more.
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