Sam Kuhna ’13 | Staff Writer

During the first week of the second half of the Neighborhood Club Basketball season, the Kings defeated the Wizards 84-55, on Sunday, Jan. 13.

What might have not seemed like a big game for either team, turned into a shootout for three quarters, with a fast-paced tempo that allowed the game to swing in the favor of the Kings late in the contest.

The Kings put out their highest point total of the season taking advantage of a tired Wizards team who had only seven players, compared to the 10-man rotation of the Kings. The Kings found a good balance between three point shooting and low post scoring that led to their outburst of scoring, including 22 points from guard Mike Stavale ’13.

“I couldn’t have done it without Steve (Brengman) ’13,” said Stavale. “His penetration drew double teams that left me wide open. And when I missed our big men were able to cleanup.”

The biggest scoring stretch of the game came at the beginning of the second quarter. The Kings started off hitting five threes, including three from Stavale to jump out to a 21 point lead. The rest of the quarter consisted of poor defense on both ends especially for the Wizards.

“We played well offensively thanks to me,” said Jimmy Menchl ’14. “We couldn’t match up on defense against the Kings dominating offense.”

Despite losing by almost thirty points there were bright spots for the Wizards. Menchl scored a team high 16 points, 14 of them in the first half, while Bennett Jackson ’14 was big on the boards. Cole Semansion ’14 was the three point specialist for the team hitting three triples.

The Wizards fell to (1-5) on the season and look to get back on track next weekend when they will matchup with fellow (1-5) opponent the Hawks.

As for the Kings, they won both their games this weekend and push their record to (3-2). They are looking to improve their seeding next weekend and defend their title.

Photos By Mikey Sullivan ’13