Featured Game No. 9...Seattle at San Jose

 SAN JOSE 67, SEATTLE 56

AMIGOS TAKE OVER FIRST IN WEST

SAN JOSE--The fourth straight win by the streaking San Jose Fighting Amigos, a 67-56 mud-slug over Seattle, moved them past the Stampede into first place in the West Division.

The San Jose triumph knocked two teams out of the playoff race, with Los Angeles and the defending champs from Sacramento biting the dust. 

The loss was the fourth in a row for Seattle (5-4), which once had a 5-0 stranglehold on the division, but has failed to win since the halfway break. They have, however, clinched a playoff spot.

Meanwhile, San Jose (5-4), the pre-season favorite for the division title, got off to an 0-3 start before finally kicking in with four straight wins in the second half of the schedule. 

San Jose got off to a brilliant 29-point first quarter start, but neither team could mount much of an attack from the second quarter on. The teams ended up splitting the regular season.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Although the league's leading scorer (and defending scoring champ) JESSE SHERSHOT had an awful shooting day, going 4 for 15  for 13 points, he made up for it with a team-high 9 rebounds and tied for team-high in assists with 2. The third-year, two-time All-MBA guard knocked down a trio of treys in 9 attempts while going 2 for 3 at the foul line. This was Shershot's third POG this season.

Other 20-plus GVP performers (none from Seattle)

-- San Jose's retiring center Sabado Gigante, fourth in the league in scoring, registered a game-high 17 points in the win, grabbing 5 rebounds and blocking 1 shot.

-- San Jose forward Lupalin Greenbeard took over the league leadership in steals, swiping a game-high 4 in this game for a total of 11 for the season. The 6-9 fourth-year man dominated Cam Caldwell, scoring 11 points, grabbing 5 boards, tying for team-high in assists with 2 and blocking 1 shot.

WEST DIVISION STANDINGS

1st -- Charleston Mountaineers 8-1 (unchanged) (6-game winning streak) (clinched first place)

2nd -- Philadelphia Phobia 6-3 (unchanged) (clinched second place).

3rd -- Milwaukee Greyhounds 5-4 (up from 4th)

4th -- Dallas Demons 4-5 (down from 3rd)

Last -- Oklahoma City Lariats 2-7 (unchanged)

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS

1st -- San Jose Fighting Amigos 5-4 (up from 2nd) (4-game winning streak) (points differential tie-breaker) (clinched playoffs)

2nd -- Seattle Stampede 5-4 (down from 1st) (4-game losing streak) (clinched playoffs)

3rd -- Sacramento River Dogs 4-5 (unchanged) (division wins tie-breaker)

4th -- Los Angeles Big One 4-5 (unchanged)

Last -- Gillette Humps 2-7 (unchanged)

FINAL REGULAR SEASON BRACKET OF GAMES

-- Philadelphia at Seattle in a cross-over battle of two playoff teams. Seattle still has a chance for first place in the West if it wins this game and San Jose loses its final contest. Potatoes O'Gratin will be honored

-- Oklahoma City at Dallas. The Demons can maybe overtake Milwaukee for third. Lariats are buried.

-- FEATURED GAME: Charleston at Milwaukee. Mountaineers started the season with a 76-70 victory over Greyhounds. They close it out on Lannigan Lord Hobo Day.

-- Los Angeles at Sacramento. The victor can get third place. R-Dogs won previous meeting by 1. 

-- Gillette at San Jose. The Fighting Amigos may need a win to clinch division crown. Even if they have it clinched, it will be interesting to see the Humps' rookie Freddy Gooch (19.7 ppg) battle San Jose's Jesse Shershot (20.0 ppg) for the scoring title. 

Season 49 Featured Game No. 8...Seattle at Charleston

 CHARLESTON 80, SEATTLE 66

MOUNTAINEERS DISMANTLE STAMPEDE

CHARLESTON -- The Charleston Mountaineers used a fourth-quarter surge to put down Seattle's challenge, winning handily 80-66 in this cross-over battle of the two division leaders. 

It was the firth consecutive victory for Charleston (now 7-1) and the third loss in a row for Seattle (now 5-3).

The East is now 7-1 over the West in cross-over games.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

In his first opportunity to play against the team that gave up on him, Charleston center SEVEN CASTANZA  scored a game-high 22 points, dominated his opposite, Carga Larga and gained a heaping measure of sweet revenge. This was the team that benched him after he produced his All-MBA season (Season 46) then cut him from the squad entirely prior to the start of Season 49. Not only did Castanza lead in scoring with a perfect 8 for 8 game, he slam-dunked 4 times, hit the only 3-pointer he attempted and was 5 for 5 from the foul line. The 6-8, sixth-year man, eagerly claimed in the cut draft by Charleston, also topped everyone in rebounding with 6. He can retire after this season with warm thoughts of this retaliatory performance. 

Other 20-plus GVP performers

-- Charleston power forward Frog Morton dominated Charles Broccoli with an 18-point performance that included 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Broccoli, who was drafted by Charleston, then traded for point guard Don Barzini and a draft pick next season, fouled out with 10 points.

-- Another player who came over to the Mountaineers via trade this season, third-year forward Sheetrock Hudson, continues to be the leading candidate for league MVP. The 6-9 Hudson scored 16 points in this win, grabbed 5 boards and handed out 2 assists while tying for most points prevented.

-- Seattle shooting guard Andamian Wayne clearly out-played Mister Methane of Charleston. Wayne tied for team-high in scoring with 15 points, grabbed the most boards on his team with 5 and had 1 assist. Methane only managed 7 points before fouling out.

POINTS PREVENTED BY TEAM

Seattle---8

Charleston---9

TOPS IN POINTS PREVENTED

Sheetrock Hudson of Charleston...4

Charles Broccoli of Seattle...4

Reed Lemur of Seattle...4

WEST STANDINGS

1st -- Seattle Stampeded 5-3 (unchanged) (3-game losing streak) (clinched playoff spot)

2nd -- San Jose Fighting Amigos 4-4 (unchanged) (3-game winning streak)

3rd -- Sacramento River Dogs 3-5 (up from 4th) (head-to-head tie-breaker)

4th -- Los Angeles Big One 3-5 (down from 3rd)

Last -- Gillette Humps 2-6 (eliminated from playoff contention)

CONTENDERS DOWN THE STRETCH

-- Seattle has games left against San Jose and Philadelphia

-- San Jose has games left against Seattle and Gillette

-- Sacramento has games left against Gillette and Los Angeles

-- Los Angeles has games left against Dallas and Sacramento

EAST STANDINGS

1st -- Charleston Mountaineers 7-1 (unchanged) (5-game winning streak) (clinched playoff spot)

2nd -- Philadelphia Phobia 6-2 (unchanged) 

3rd -- Dallas Demons 4-4 (up from 4th) (division wins tie-breaker) (eliminated from playoff contention)

4th -- Milwaukee Greyhounds 4-4 (down from 3rd) (eliminated from playoff contention)

Last -- Oklahoma City Lariats 2-6 (unchanged) (eliminated from playoff contention

FIGHTING FOR FIRST DOWN THE STRETCH 

-- Charleston has games against Oklahoma City and Milwaukee

-- Philadelphia has games against Milwaukee and Seattle 

**both teams have five division wins right now...Philly has just one division game left.

UPCOMING BRACKET OF GAMES (NO. 9)

-- Charleston at Oklahoma City ... a win here by Mountaineers removes all drama in the East and clinches first for Charleston...they pounded OKC by 29 first meeting

-- Philadelphia at Milwaukee...Phobia bested disappointing Greyhounds 66-59 in their prior game.

-- Gillette at Sacramento...The Humps try for most wins in a season (3) which would knock defending champs out of contention.

-- Dallas at Los Angeles...Cross-over only has meaning for L.A., which clings to slim playoff hopes.

-- FEATURED GAME: Seattle at San Jose...With the Fighting Amigos streaking one way (5 straight wins) and Seattle the other (3 straight losses) this game could see San Jose supplant the Stampede atop the West Division standings. Seattle has a playoff spot clinched, and could put San Jose's playoff celebration on hold by taking them down. The two played a ripping good game in the first meeting, with Seattle winning 76-73 behind the POG of Carga Larga. 

Season 49 Featured Game No. 7...Charleston at Sacramento

Charleston 61, Sacramento 56

Mountaineers keep rolling 

SACRAMENTO -- The final score of this cross-over is not reflective of two of the MBA's top offensive teams, for in the end it was first-place Charleston's defense that squeezed the life out of the defending champion River Dogs in a 61-56 victory.

After scoring 23 points in the opening quarter, Sacramento hit a king-size drought in the final stanza, scoring just 4 fourth quarter points. Meanwhile, the eventual victors managed just 10 in that same time frame, which proved to be more than enough, securing the triumph on a 3-pointer from Don Barzini with 13 ticks left that gave them a 7-point lead. 

The win was the fourth in a row for Charleston, improving its record to 6-1. Going the other way is Sacramento, now 2-5 with four consecutive defeats.

The East secured the season advantage with this win as it is now ahead 6-1 in cross-overs.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

Sacramento's Hall of Fame center TREE FIDDY dominated the opposition at his position, scoring a game-high 21 points on 10 of 11 shooting. He hit his first 10 shots before finally having the 11th blocked by Poppa Popcorn. He was 1 for 2 at the charity stripe. The 11th year wunderkind also pulled down 4 boards, tied for team-high with 2 assists and blocked 1 shot. It is the first POG for him this season.

Other 20-plus GVP performances

-- Third-year 6-9 forward Sheetrock Hudson of Charleston continues to be the top MVP candidate in the league this season. In this game he battled one of the other contenders, Doo-rag Dripp, and although he did not dominate, he had the upper hand. Hudson led the victors in scoring with 16 points, tied for team-best with 4 rebounds and added 1 assist. 

-- Sacramento power forward Wardy Joubert III controlled the boards in this game with a game-high 8 while scoring 9 points, dishing 2 assists and blocking 1 shot. 

POINTS PREVENTED BY QUARTERS

Charleston....2...4...2...4  Total=12

Sacramento...0...4...2...2  Total=8

POINTS PREVENTED LEADERS

1. Don Barzini, Charleston 4

1. Poppa Popcorn, Charleston 4

1. Wardy Joubert, Sacramento 4

TURNOVERS CAUSED BY QUARTERS

Charleston....0...5...1...1  Total=7

Sacramento...4...1...1...1  Total=7

TURNOVERS CAUSED LEADERS

1. Mister Methane, Charleston 4

2. Boney Skelletrino, Sacramento 3

EAST DIVISION STANDINGS (no changes)

1st -- Charleston 6-1 (4-game winning streak)

2nd -- Philadelphia 5-2 

3rd -- Milwaukee 4-3 

4th -- Dallas 3-4 (4-game losing streak)

Last -- Oklahoma City 2-5

WEST DIVISION STANDINGS

1st -- Seattle 5-2 (unchanged)

2nd -- San Jose 3-4 (up from 3rd) (head-to-head tie-breaker)

3rd -- Los Angeles 3-4 (down from 2nd)

4th -- Sacramento 2-5 (unchanged) (4-game losing streak) (division wins tie-breaker)

Last -- Gillette 2-5 (unchanged)

UPCOMING BRACKET OF GAMES (No. 8)

-- Milwaukee at Dallas...Greyhounds get Dallas on a downward spiral. Beat them by 13 recently.

-- Philadelphia at Oklahoma City...Phobia won by 6 in first meeting...this is not a gimme.

-- Sacramento at Los Angeles...first of two meetings in which one of these teams needs to sweep.

-- San Jose at Gillette...they play each other twice in the last three games...advantage Amigos.

-- FEATURED GAME: Seattle at Charleston in a cross-over battle of division leaders.

Latest DM power rankings

1. Charleston

2. San Jose

3. Philadelphia

4. Seattle

5. Milwaukee

6. Oklahoma City

7. Sacramento

8. Los Angeles

9. Gillette

10. Dallas