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Matthew Riashi ’13 | Sports Editor
In the freshman and sophomore Neighborhood Club Basketball championship game, the Blazers took down the Pistons 35-27, on Sunday, Feb. 10.
One week earlier the Blazers defeated the Jazz (North) 59-38, to advance to play the Pistons, who upset the Warriors in their semifinal game.
“We were hoping to play in the championship all season,” said Head Coach Sam Genna ’16. “It didn’t matter who we were going to play.”
The first quarter was scattered with many fouls and free throws. Both teams failed to get out to a lead, and none of the teams outside shots found the net easily. The Pistons lead by one after the first quarter. Will Poplawski’s ’16 and one put the Pistons on top late in the quarter.
However, the Blazers responded right away to start the second quarter, with two straight steals and transition layups, pushing ahead of the Pistons 13-10 early in the second quarter.
“The same thing worked for us in the semifinal,” said guard Andrew Trost ’16. “We couldn’t get much offense, so we had to get something going.”
With both teams still struggling to score, the Pistons were aided by a double technical foul that was assessed on the Blazers midway through the second quarter. This tied up the game at 13.
“Some of the players got frustrated over a charge call,” said Genna. “It’s probably a good thing that it didn’t cost us the game.”
Much like the first quarter, the second quarter was dominated by scoring inside the paint and foul shots. Going into the half the Blazers, lead the heated contest by just two points.
Both teams continued to struggle from the outside for most of the second half, but Andrew Trost and Michael Coyle, both ’16, hit big three pointers from the corner. Coyle’s three was a back breaker for the Pistons, putting the Blazers up six in the fourth quarter.
“Both those threes were huge,” said Trost. “It gave us a lot of confidence and momentum going forward the rest of the game.”
After the Coyle three, the Pistons struggled to find their offense. The Pistons only scored 7 points in the fourth quarter.
“It was an ugly game,” said Genna. “But we will take a Championship any way we can get it.”
Photos By Harrison Krasner ’14
