By S.A. Chatson | Senior Columnist, BuzzerBeater Nation
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“When the lights are brightest… you find out who’s got the dogs — and who’s got the leash.”
The Peabody Hitmen were this close to shocking the league.
They held pintipv’s high-octane offense to 24 in the first, took a punch in the second, and responded with a jaw-rocker in the third. They were tied 74–74 early in the fourth — and then it happened.
Patrick Rees — the heartbeat of the Hitmen, the paint enforcer, the old-school hammer in a league of finesse — went up for a dunk.
Neusser fouled him. Rees didn’t get up.
“If this were a movie,” Ryan Reynolds might say, “Rees would’ve hit the free throws, slammed a Gatorade, and declared vengeance.”
But this ain’t Hollywood. This is BuzzerBeater.
From that moment forward, pintipv turned a tie game into a 37–23 demolition in the fourth. The Hitmen, gritty as ever, ran out of bodies, boards, and buckets.
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📊 Final: pintipv 111 – Peabody 97
Key Notes:
• Rees (Injured): 8 PTS, 9 REB in just 19 mins
• McAllister: 21 PTS, 7 AST, 6 REB — gave everything
• Pevec: 18 PTS, 9 REB, 4 AST — the last man standing
• Szysz: 15 PTS, 4 REB, 4 AST — played through fire
• Team FG% (4Q): 7-for-22
• 3FG for Game: 3-for-15
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🔮 What’s Next for the Hitmen?
Do they move on from Thao Hà — a 22 y/o MVP scorer with a stamina tank made of tissue paper?
Do they find a true center to replace Rees before the core ages out?
Do they keep Pevec, Szysz, McAllister, and bring the hammer back harder?
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The East just got a taste of the Peabody Hitmen.
And next time?
They won’t bring just a playbook.
They’ll bring vengeance.