PTL preview: 6/21/2011 games

By Brendan Stiles

HawkeyeDrive.com

Here’s a rundown of what Iowa basketball fans can expect Tuesday night with the Prime Time League, which takes place at the North Liberty Community Center:

Monica’s/L.L. Pelling Company (1-0) vs. Coach’s Corner/Two Rivers Bank & Trust (1-0)

6 p.m., Old Gym

This game not only features two of the three winning teams from the league’s opening weekend, but perhaps the two most impressive players as well from the June 19 action.

Monica’s/Pelling comes off a 100-88 win over McCurry’s/Mike Gatens Real Estate where sophomore guard Devyn Marble was the story, scoring a game-high 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting. The team also received a 14-point effort from senior forward Devon Archie in the victory.

Meanwhile, Corner/Rivers rallied late to defeat Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors thanks in large part to the performance of junior Anthony Hubbard. In his PTL debut, Hubbard compiled 26 points and 13 rebounds, and he was the catalyst in the game’s final minutes with 11 consecutive points. This showdown between him and Marble will garner plenty of attention Tuesday evening.

McCurry’s/Mike Gatens Real Estate (0-1) vs. Iowa City Ready Mix/Vinton Merchants (1-0)

6 p.m., New Gym

These two squads opened the summer going in opposite directions. McCurry’s/Gatens lost its aforementioned contest on June 19 to Monica’s/Pelling, but still received a strong effort from its top pick, junior Eric May. The 2010 PTL co-MVP finished with a team-high of 24 points and also had six assists. Freshman guard Josh Oglesby also played a role for McCurry’s/Gatens with 10 points in its defeat.

McCurry’s/Gatens also played minus the services of senior forward Andrew Brommer, who is still recovering from offseason knee surgery.

As for Ready Mix/Merchants, it came away with an impressive 96-65 victory over Falbo Bros Pizza/Culver’s of Coralville despite absences of both senior guard Bryce Cartwright (who was also the league’s top overall pick this summer) and freshman forward Gabe Olaseni. It has been reported that Olaseni arrived in Iowa City on Sunday. Whether he and Cartwright are both in uniform Tuesday night remains uncertain.

With both Hawkeye players out of the lineup, Ready Mix/Merchants received significant contributions from the UNI duo of Marc Sonnen and Nathan Buss, as the two Panther players combined for 51 of the team’s 96 points.

Falbo Bros Pizza/Culver’s of Coralville (0-1) vs. Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroeger Realtors (0-1)

7:30 p.m., New Gym

The nightcap features two teams that look to avoid falling into the PTL basement after one week. Falbo/Culver’s was manhandled in its opener by Ready Mix/Merchants, but was also playing last weekend without senior guard Matt Gatens and sophomore forward Melsahn Basabe. In fact, with Basabe not making the USA U-19 squad, Falbo/Culver’s will be the beneficiary of his talents. Because of the uncertainty whether Basabe would make the national team, he fell to 14th overall in last week’s PTL draft.

The one Hawkeye player Falbo/Culver’s did have on hand for its opener was freshman forward Aaron White. The Strongsville, Ohio native finished with 18 points on 8-of-21 shooting, and also came away with nine rebounds and two assists in defeat.

Jill Armstrong comes into this contest losing its opener to Corner/Rivers. The team is led by former UNI guard Ali Farokhmanesh, who was taken fifth overall in the PTL draft and had 21 points on June 19. Sophomore forward Zach McCabe was limited in both minutes played and production in the loss, but there should be an increase in both categories for the Sioux City native on Tuesday if his play in the PTL last summer was of any indication.

*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com following Tuesday’s action at the North Liberty Community Center for ongoing coverage of the Prime Time League this summer.*