Huarache 57, Generation 43

Before this game even started, you knew Generation was going to be in trouble. Without any of their bigs, their starting center was J.J. McGowan while Huarache’s LeKeith Taylor (who’s one of the tallest/strongest guys in the League) plays the three. But regardless of the height, you knew from tip-off that the Rafael DaSilva vs. Terance Takyi battle was going to be serious. Without Joe Branch, DaSilva said he might go for 40 shots attempts. Yikes!

In the early going, it appeared that Huarache was too athletic for their own good. But rather than pound the ball inside with their size advantage, they were settling for jumpers on the wings against Generation’s zone. And somehow, despite the obvious size disadvantage and skill differential, Generation looked strong – up 22-17 with 7:30 left to play.

From that point on, Huarache woke up. After DaSilva made it 22-17, Huarache called a timeout and clearly got their shit together. Behind great defensive and smart offense, Huarache went into halftime with a 31-27 lead after their 14-5 run.

In the second half, it was much more of the same. Takyi was making it his mission to defend DaSilva, despite some early blocking fouls called around mid-court. Both teams weren’t playing their best – DaSilva missed a layup, Darius Broadwater got called for three second – but the play was scrappy. It seemed like on every other possession that either DaSilva or Takyi were getting a steal at half court and taking it in for the layup on the other end.

But with 6:30 left in the game, Huarache’s 50-35 lead seemed insurmountable – and it was. Despite Generation’s bid for a comeback, they just simply didn’t have the firepower to make it happen.

Final score: Huarache wins, 57-43.

Box Scores