6/20 PTL notebook: Vinton/Hawkeye gets a bounce-back win

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — Vinton Merchants/Hawkeye Title & Settlement and Bob’s Your Uncle & Monica’s/Iowa City Ready Mix came into Sunday’s action with identical 0-1 marks in the Prime Time League and were determined to avoid 0-2.

A near-comeback took place inside the Old Gym at the North Liberty Community Center, but in the end, it would be Vinton Merchants emerging with a 108-101 victory to even its record at 1-1. The loss, meanwhile, leaves Goodfellow/Ready Mix at 0-2 and being the only winless team in the league.

Vinton/Hawkeye featured five players in double-figures for points, led by UNI’s Chip Rank with 29 points to lead all scorers. Devon Archie, the lone Hawkeye on the squad, had a much better day on Sunday than in his team’s opener.

After only getting two points in a loss to McCurrys/Mike Gatens Real Estate, Archie finished Sunday’s contest shooting 6-of-9 from the field and with 14 points, as well as seven rebounds.

He attributed his strong performance on Sunday to better preparation.

“I think I played a lot better. I don’t think I was as prepared mentally last game,” said Archie, who missed all of the 2009-10 season for Iowa with a shoulder injury. “As a team, we played pretty good. We came together and got the win.”

This was a game that Vinton/Hawkeye dominated from the get-go. After trailing 16-13 early in the first half, it went on a 25-11 run to go ahead 38-27 and leave Bob’s/Ready Mix in a rough bind.

The lead would eventually escalate to as much as 21 points, as Vinton/Hawkeye had a 95-74 lead late.

“We took a lot better shots in this game,” Archie said. “We made a lot of smart decisions.”

Bob’s/Ready Mix was once again led by incoming freshman Devyn Marble, who nearly had a triple-double with 24 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds. Sophomore Brennan Cougill posted a double-double of his own in defeat.

But Marble found himself struggling early missing shots he felt would go in and turning the ball over. He also had a rough go with his free-throw shooting, finishing just 4-of-9 at the charity stripe.

“They were all good shots, they just weren’t falling for me,” Marble said. “I was in the gym all last night working on my game shooting, and it just didn’t show here tonight.”

Even down 21 points, Bob’s/Ready Mix didn’t quit, and neither did Marble, who had 16 of his 24 points in the second half. Bob’s/Ready Mix went on 20-2 after Cougill converted a 3-point play to cut Vinton/Hawkeye’s lead to 97-94.

“I just started settling down, and taking better looks,” Marble said.

However, timely plays and free-throw shooting proved to be critical in the end as Vinton/Hawkeye held on for the win.

McCurrys/Mike Gatens Real Estate 74, L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing 71

In the battle of unbeatens Sunday afternoon in the New Gym, it was McCurrys/Mike Gatens Real Estate coming away with a 74-71 victory over L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing. McCurrys/Gatens is now the only unbeaten team in the league sitting atop the PTL standings at 2-0.

Incoming Iowa walk-on Jordan Stoermer led McCurrys/Gatens in scoring with 13 points, but the story of this game was the second-half play of sophomore Cully Payne.

After being shut out the entire first half, Payne came out stronger in the second 20-minute stanza, finishing the contest with 10 points and six assists. He ended up making the biggest play of the game when he converted a 3-point play opportunity to put his team up 63-61 late. From there, McCurrys/Gatens held onto the lead.

In defeat, incoming freshman Zach McCabe led the way with 15 points, while sophomore Eric May came away with a double-double of 10 points and 12 boards.

George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville 110, Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors 107 (OT)

While a near-comeback was going on in the Old Gym, a completed comeback took place in the New Gym, and it took overtime to determine the outcome.

Trailing 58-39 at halftime, George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville made a monumental comeback to send the game to an extra session tied at 93-93, and then break away with a 110-107 win over Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors to even its record at 1-1.

Leading the way again for Etre/Culver’s was incoming freshman Melsahn Basabe, who had a game-high 38 points and 13 rebounds in the win. Also coming up big in the win was former Hawkeye Jason Price, who had 25 points and knocked down clutch free-throws in overtime to preserve the victory.

In defeat, junior Matt Gatens had 25 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while junior Andrew Brommer had eight points and six boards.

The Prime Time League resumes on Sunday, June 27 at the North Liberty Community Center with the first game taking place inside the New Gym at 3 p.m. between Vinton Merchants/Hawkeye Title & Settlement and L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing. That first game can be heard on KRUI-FM 89.7 with Rob Miller and former PTL participant Robbie Lehman on the call.