PTL preview: 6/23/2013 games
Posted on 22. Jun, 2013 by admin in Iowa Basketball
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
Here’s a rundown of what Iowa basketball fans can expect Sunday afternoon with the three Prime Time League games taking place inside the Jones & Roberts Gyms at the North Liberty Community Center:
Greater Iowa Financial Group/Vinton Merchants (0-1) vs. Comfort Care Medicare/Mike Gatens Real Estate (0-1)
3 p.m., Jones Gym
The afternoon’s first contest features a pair of teams that lost their PTL openers back on June 20. A short-handed Financial/Merchants was defeated 104-92 by Pelling/Report, while Comfort Care/Gatens lost 111-106 to BlendCard.
Financial/Merchants will likely remain short-handed entering Sunday’s contest, as neither of its Iowa players are expected to play. Senior guard Devyn Marble finished with a team-high 29 points along with six rebounds and five assists last week, but will likely be out Sunday as he and fellow Hawkeye teammate Aaron White prepare to compete at Team USA’s World University Games training camp. Meanwhile, Financial/Merchants was also without the services of junior guard Josh Oglesby due to a reported finger injury last week and his return to the court hasn’t been fully determined.
As for Comfort Care/Gatens, it’ll be seeking repeat performances of last week’s game from sophomore center Adam Woodbury and freshman guard Peter Jok. Woodbury came away with 32 points and 16 rebounds against BlendCard, while Jok posted a game-high 35 points on 13-of-22 shooting in his PTL debut. Without Marble or Oglesby being there to defend him, Jok could very well be putting up similar numbers on Sunday.
L.L. Pelling/Hawkeye Report (1-0) vs. Culver’s/McCurry’s (0-1)
4:30 p.m., Roberts Gym
Pelling/Report will look to move to 2-0 Sunday afternoon when it takes on Culver’s/McCurry’s, who is coming off a 104-96 loss to Armstrong in its PTL opener last week.
Much like the the first game of the day, the storyline here will be the absence of White. The league’s top pick came away with 29 points and 14 rebounds against Armstrong, but won’t be around for Sunday’s game as he joins Marble in Colorado Springs, Colo., this week. Culver’s/McCurry’s will, however, have the services of junior forward Darius Stokes. The Iowa walk-on finished with 16 points and eight rebounds last week and with White unavailable, could likely put up bigger numbers in both categories on Sunday.
As for Pelling/Report, it will again be relying on its 1-2 punch of senior forward Zach McCabe and junior center Gabe Olaseni, both of whom posted double-doubles against Financial/Merchants. McCabe finished with 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Olaseni put up 19 points and 12 boards in the victory.
Jill Armstrong of Skogman Realty (1-0) vs. BlendCard (1-0)
4:30 p.m., Jones Gym
This contest between Armstrong and BlendCard will likely be the best game of the afternoon and not just because both teams won their openers last week.
For those who enjoy guard play, this contest should entertain as it pits sophomore guards Mike Gesell and Anthony Clemmons head-to-head. Gesell finished with 28 points, 11 assists and six rebounds for Armstrong in its win over Culver’s/McCurry’s, while Clemmons is coming off a 23-point outing that also featured six rebounds and five assists in BlendCard’s win over Comfort Care/Gatens.
BlendCard will also feature sophomore forward Jarrod Uthoff at its disposal after he finished with 26 points and 10 boards last week. Another name to watch for Sunday is sophomore forward Okey Ukah, who will be joining the Hawkeyes as a walk-on in 2013-14. Going one-on-one against White the majority of the night, Ukah held his own in Armstrong’s victory last week by tallying 20 points and eight rebounds.
*Be sure to visit HawkeyeDrive.com following Sunday’s action at the North Liberty Community Center for ongoing coverage of the Prime Time League this summer.*
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