7/20 PTL Playoff Preview
Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
After seven games, the Prime Time League is ready to start its 2010 playoffs Tuesday night at the North Liberty Community Center.
The top two seeds, No. 1 Vinton Merchants/Hawkeye Title & Settlement (5-2) and No. 2 George Etre, Inc./Culver’s of Coralville (5-2) will be awaiting who emerges from the two first round games taking place inside the New Gym.
The first game is the 3-6 match-up, featuring No. 3 L.L. Pelling Company/Goodfellow Printing (4-3) and No. 6 Bob’s Your Uncle & Monica’s/Iowa City Ready Mix (1-6). This contest will take place at 6 p.m.
Pelling/Goodfellow features two Hawkeye players that have led the way in sophomore Eric May and incoming freshman Zach McCabe. May had 23 points in Pelling/Goodfellow’s 95-79 win over McCurry’s/Mike Gatens Real Estate on July 18, a win that gave it a winning record for the summer. McCabe contributed in the contest with 17 points and eight rebounds.
May believes as long as his team has the depth, it should be able to carry the momentum it got last weekend over into these playoffs.
“We got to have 10 guys showing up every game, so legs aren’t becoming a problem and you can have a sub any time,” May said. “We might as well just keep running and having fun.”
Meanwhile, Bob’s/Ready Mix features incoming Iowa freshman Devyn Marble, the son of Hawkeye great Roy Marble. In a 120-105 loss to Vinton/Hawkeye on July 18, Marble came away with 35 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
When these two teams met back on June 29, it was Pelling/Goodfellow coming away with a 91-66 victory in a game overshadowed by the news of Bob’s/Ready Mix’s Brennan Cougill being deemed academically ineligible for the Hawkeyes during the 2010-11 season.
The winner plays Etre/Culver’s on July 25. Pelling/Goodfellow has split two meetings with Etre/Culver’s, while Bob’s/Ready Mix’s only win of the summer came against the squad led by incoming Iowa freshman Melsahn Basabe.
The second contest of the evening is the 4-5 match-up featuring No. 4 Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors (3-4) and No. 5 McCurry’s/Gatens (3-4).
Jill Armstrong comes into this off another tough loss to Etre/Culver’s on July 18, one that saw it lose a 21-point halftime lead to lose, 97-90. In the defeat, junior Matt Gatens finished with 35 points, while junior Andrew Brommer posted a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
For Jill Armstrong, it will look to bounce back like it did the last time it lost to Etre/Culver’s — by winning its next game against McCurry’s/Gatens.
“We just have to play really good team ball, good defense, and getting loose balls will be key for us,” Gatens said. “I feel like if we play that way, we’re going to do well.”
As for McCurry’s/Gatens, it will be trying to regain some swagger after losing two straight games, the latest loss being at the hands of Pelling/Goodfellow on Sunday. In that game, sophomore Cully Payne nearly came away with a triple-double, compiling 20 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds.
“If we make shots, we’ll be OK,” Payne said about his team’s chances at making a run here in the playoffs. “I’m confident.”
The winner of this contest will play on July 25 against Vinton/Hawkeye, who split two meetings with McCurry’s/Gatens, while defeating Jill Armstrong back on June 29.
*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com Tuesday night for extensive coverage of the two first-round playoff games of the 2010 Prime Time League playoffs from the North Liberty Community Center.
Recent Comments