Time for a recap of Tuesday Night's first round of interconference action.
Overall:
The Great 8 used home court to open up a 5-3 advantage in round one of interconference play. The most exciting game pitted the #2 teams in each conference against each other, with the Great 8's UTK emerging victorious. And the only upset was WIP's victory over injury-weakened MM. Antonio Runko rose to the occasion of his league debut and at Velvet Arena, LA extended their win streak.
UTK Drops Knowledge on ULD
The Jazz led by 2 at the half, but uthinkuknow came roaring out of the gates in the third period. Coy and Floyd each drained a pair of threes in the first two minutes of the half to put UTK up by 10. And five minutes later, the lead had increased to 16. But Boschetto responded, giving the Jazz a spark by making a jumper, intercepting Sits' pass and launching it down the floor to Guaso for a quick bucket. That began a 16-2 run for the Jazz which narrowed the margin again to 2. UTK responded with a jumper and a three to end the period up 7. Early in the fourth, fouls from Coy and Stark led to 4 Jazz free throws that narrowed the gap to 3. But the Jazz went cold and didn't make a basket in the period until Lüüs got one to fall more than 5 minutes in. By that point, UTK had a 17-pt lead and the game was all but over. The Jazz made one final push, going on a 16-5 run in the last 2 minutes of regulation, but it was too little too late.
Murfreesboro Falters Without Stradiotto at the Helm
Ever since Kam Haw Yun's goonery in the Cup left Strad with a bruised wrist and unable to play, Murfreesboro has struggled - eventually losing that national tournament match and barely fending off a weak St. Louis team at home. Tuesday night was no different. Although WIP and MM were neck and neck until the last period, Murfreesboro had no anchor on either side when it turned to crunch time. WIP SG, Amnell, took over in the fourth – scoring 9 and collecting 2 reb, 2 stl and 1 ast. With just under 5 to go, WIP led by 11. But the MM squad went on a 8-3 run to narrow the margin to 6 with 1:15 left and they were forced to start fouling. However WIP went 6-10 on FT's in the final minute to lock the game away.
Something New for ABQ
Ever since ABQ management announced his purchase on Monday, fans and sportswriters alike have been abuzz about Antonio Runko, "The Croatian Sensation." Some have speculated about whether ABQ will be able to sustain his monster salary. But in the meantime, he has carried ABQ to victory in his USA IV.30 debut with style – putting up a double-double in under 16 minutes and duplicating the feat less than 15 minutes later as he put back a missed Kaminaga free throw in the third period. His 22 points and 21 rebounds in 34 minutes earned him an unheard of 17.0 rating and spurred his team to a 99-51 victory over COM.
Winter Haven Succumbs to the Swarm
The LA Killa Beez took down a strong WHV team in decisive fashion and proved that they earned their undefeated record. Even with all their starters resting for the last period, LA matched their opponent's starters point-for-point. WHV's long night began less than a minute into the second when Bogaç, the teams top-rated player, picked up his third foul and headed to the bench. With Boucher replacing him, the game quickly swung in LA's favor. By the end of the night television cameras were focusing on the Beez' starters sitting on the bench with their warm-ups on and waiting to ride the bus home.