6/27 PTL notebook: Gatens, Brommer lead Jill Armstrong squad to big victory

Posted on 27. Jun, 2010 by admin in Iowa Basketball

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — Last week, Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors let a game it mostly dominated slip away. On Sunday, it was determined to not let it happen again.

Behind the play of both Iowa juniors Matt Gatens and Andrew Brommer, the Jill Armstrong squad not only handed McCurry’s/Mike Gatens Real Estate its first loss of the summer, 96-88, but at 2-1, now find itself tied for first place in the Prime Time League standings.

Gatens put up numbers many would expect from the Iowa City native. For the second time this summer, he had a triple-double, finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists to lead the way for Jill Armstrong.

But it was the performance of his teammate Brommer that perhaps made the biggest difference between winning and losing. The 6-9 forward had a double-double of his own, going off for 23 points and also grabbing 11 boards.

“I was just more aggressive today, and everything started going my way,” Brommer said. “I just built on that, rebounded well, and my shots were falling.”

Much like its loss to George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville last week, Jill Armstrong got out to an early lead. As the first half progressed, more shots were falling, and by halftime, it was once again ahead by double-digits with a 57-46 advantage.

“Coming into today, I think we wanted to prove ourselves that once we got out to a 10-point lead, that we could hold onto it and finish out the game,” Gatens said. “I thought Andrew came away with a lot of energy, and I liked the way he played tonight.”

It was the play of Brommer and other post players for Jill Armstrong that sophomore point guard Cully Payne thought proved to be the difference, as his McCurry’s/Gatens was dealt its first blow.

“They’re huge,” said Payne, who finished with a team-high 20 points and eight assists in defeat. “I think more than half of their points were off tip-ins and stuffing the paint. We’re not huge. Our big guys are young, and they played well.”

Vinton Merchants/Hawkeye Title & Settlement 94, L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing 84

In the first game on the docket Sunday, Vinton Merchants/Hawkeye Title & Settlement reeled off its second consecutive win, defeating L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing, 94-84. Vinton/Hawkeye joins Jill Armstrong and McCurry’s/Gatens atop the PTL standings at 2-1, while Pelling/Goodfellow dropped to 1-2 with this defeat.

For the second straight contest, Vinton/Hawkeye was led in scoring by UNI’s Chip Rank, who finished with 20 points. Iowa senior Devon Archie came away with seven points in the victory.

Meanwhile, a couple of Hawkeyes had solid performances for Pelling/Goodfellow, albeit in defeat. Incoming freshman Zach McCabe led the way with 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, as well as 10 rebounds, while sophomore Eric May had 17 points on 6-of-16 shooting.

Bob’s Your Uncle & Monica’s/Iowa City Ready Mix 104, George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville 102

In an anticipated battle of incoming Iowa freshmen, it was Devyn Marble who came away with the upper hand on Sunday over Melsahn Basabe.

Behind 30 points from Marble, Bob’s Your Uncle & Monica’s/Iowa City Ready Mix earned its first victory of the summer, defeating George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville, 104-102. Also performing well in the victory for Bob’s/Ready Mix was sophomore Brennan Cougill. The Sioux City native finished with a double-double in the victory, coming away with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

As for Basabe, the 6-7 forward once again led Etre/Culver’s in scoring with 29 points, and added 10 rebounds for his second straight double-double. However, the loss drops his team to 1-2 through three games.

The Prime Time League continues on Tuesday, June 29, with two games happening at 6 p.m. inside the North Liberty Community Center.