7/5/2011: PTL Notebook – Hubbard leads team to OT win
Posted on 05. Jul, 2011 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
NORTH LIBERTY, Iowa — The Prime Time League’s equivalent of a prized heavyweight fight led up to its billing Tuesday evening at the North Liberty Community Center.
In a battle for first place, Melsahn Basabe made a game-tying shot at the end of regulation to tack on five additional minutes, but it was Anthony Hubbard and Coach’s Corner/Two Rivers Bank & Trust prevailing 121-114 over Falbo Bros Pizza/Culver’s of Coralville and remaining undefeated at 5-0 in league play.
“I told myself I was going to be aggressive, and during the second half, I don’t think I was as aggressive as I could have been,” Hubbard said. “I just tried to play as hard as I could for five minutes.”
Before Corner/Rivers pulled away in overtime, this contest was a back-and-forth slugfest. Hubbard paved the way for Corner/Rivers, scoring 36 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the floor. Three of those points came on an And-One play that with the free throw put his team up 107-105 with 40.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The Iowa junior also added six assists and five rebounds to the box score.
With 6.7 seconds remaining in the second half, the sophomore forward inbounded the ball to White, then got the ball back and took it up the floor, all the way to the top of the key. With the clock winding down, he released the shot with one hand, and it was nothing but net.
“I was shooting over them all game, so I just faked the drive, then I did a little fadeaway,” Basabe said.
After the teams exchanged buckets at the start of overtime, Corner/Rivers went on its run and built up a lead that was as big as nine points in the game’s final minute.
Like Hubbard, Basabe also posted 36 points on the evening, as well as 20 rebounds. Falbo/Culver’s also received a 26-point effort from senior guard Matt Gatens and freshman forward Aaron White finished with 19 points and eight rebounds.
“He’s a tough guy, and I like playing against tough people,” Hubbard said of Basabe. “Whenever I play against somebody like that, it has to bring out some type of player in you.
“We’re both competitors, so I think it brings out the best in both of us.”
Should these teams meet in “Round 2,” it would be in the PTL Championship game on July 24. Both Hubbard and Basabe see their respective teams meeting again later this month.
“I definitely see a rematch,” Basabe said. “Give them credit, they won the game. But I still think we’re the best team in this league, and we’re going to prove it.”
McCurry’s/Mike Gatens Real Estate 86, Jill Armstrong of Lepic-Kroger Realtors 72
The story here was the return of senior forward Andrew Brommer to the lineup for McCurry’s/Gatens on Tuesday in its 86-72 win over Jill Armstrong. Brommer played in his first PTL game this summer following offseason knee surgery that took place during the UI’s finals week.
For Brommer, Tuesday marked the first basketball of any kind he had participated in since his operation. He finished Tuesday’s game with nine points and three rebounds for McCurry’s/Gatens. Even in limited minutes, it was enough to leave an enormous impression on his teammates with his aggressiveness in the paint and his ability to move without any major problems.
“I was pleasantly surprised, and I think everybody was, at how well he got up and down and was able to move,” junior Eric May said. “He was able to cut on it, and that’s tough for someone coming off an injury pretty tentative. He did really well with it.”
Now that he is back on the court, Brommer has high expectations for himself. As he enters his senior season, he knows the starting center spot is his to lose at this point.
“He told me that that starting spot is for mine to take, and I just need to go and get it,” Brommer said. “If I do everything I should, it will be mine.”
In addition to Brommer’s nine points, McCurry’s/Gatens got a strong outing from freshman guard Josh Oglesby, who had 18 points and seven rebounds, and May had 10 points and six rebounds in the victory. Sophomore forward Zach McCabe had 16 points and nine rebounds for Jill Armstrong.
Iowa City Ready Mix/Vinton Merchants 88, Monica’s/L.L. Pelling Company 76
Both teams entered this contest dealing with 3-game losing streaks. On Tuesday, it was Ready Mix/Merchants who would snap its skid, defeating Monica’s/Pelling, 88-76.
For both senior guard Bryce Cartwright and freshman forward Gabe Olaseni, this marked the first win either player has had this summer since they both missed their team’s win in its PTL opener on June 19. Cartwright finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists. He also was the recipient of an inadvertent elbow from sophomore guard Devyn Marble in the second half that left him with a cut around the upper right portion of his mouth. Cartwright didn’t lose any teeth though and was told by trainers he wouldn’t need stitches.
Meanwhile, Olaseni had his strongest showing of the summer statistically with 10 points and seven rebounds. In defeat, Marble posted a game-high 33 points on 15-of-30 shooting from the floor.
The Prime Time League resumes from the North Liberty Community Center on July 10, with two games taking place at 3 p.m. and one at 4:30 p.m.
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