5on5 Spring/Summer 2006 Champs: Justice League

Click to view Finals Video

from left to right: Greg Poulos, Sean O'Cal, TJ Mahoney, Brian Ripley, Mike Kent, Dave McLaren, Jeff Hrkach & Ed Finn. O'Cal & DMac are holding the Charlestown 5-5 League Chamionship Belt!

Playoff MVP Brian Ripley of the Justice League hits a 3 pointer with :06 left to force overtime. The JL pulled away in OT to win the Championship Belt!

Finals Commentary by Tical and Tibbs...

Five Knuckle Shuffle 75  Justice League 81

Ripley, Believe it or Not, Sends JL to Overtime and Victory

Playoff MVP Brian Ripley (10 points, 10 rebounds) saved his best for last, yet again, to ensure that the Justice League had a chance to take home the Belt.  With time winding down on their season, BRip launched a 3 point shot that tied the game at 70 with only 6 seconds left in the game.  The Two Knuckle Shuffle couldn't respond, and Rip's shot had sent the game into overtime.  It was the third straight week in which Rip had either won the game or sent it into OT in the final seconds for the Justice League.  After an up and down season, one filled with more questions than answers, the JL put it all together at the right time.  By the Championship game each guy had found their role in the offense and knew what to expect each time out.  Rip was clearly the one with the ball in his hands at the end of the game, and like Big Pappi, he always came through in the clutch.  After DMac (16 points) scored the first basket of the overtime period, it was a free-throw parade for the Justice League to seal the win. 

It wasn't as easy as it seemed.  For much of the game the Two Knuckle Shuffle led by at least 6 points.  They got some unexpected offense out of both Mike D (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Ethan Chang (8 points) to keep themselves afloat.  Brian Skerry (21 points, 6 assists) decided to make an appearance and dominated the flow of the game with his offense.  Steve O'Connell (19 points, 11 rebounds) had his silky smooth jumper working in the first half, but tired as the game wore on.  After leading by as many as ten, and seemingly in control of the game, the Shuffle let Ed Finn (11 points) get in the game.  The Local Hero scored 7 straight points late in the second half to bring his team within 2, and he gave them new life.  The man-to-man press, installed by Coach O'Cal, worked to perfection for the second straight week, even if it was a little late in being utilized yet again.  But if it wasn't for the steady offense of "The Pretty Boy" Greg Poulos (27 points, 3 rebounds), the Justice League wouldn't have been within striking distance at all.  TKS had a 4 point lead with 23 seconds left and couldn't make it stand up.  It was at that point in the game when OD (9 points, 16 rebounds) gave a taunting smile of O'Cal, confident his team would seal the deal.  "The game ain't over," was O'Cal's rebuttal, and it proved all too true.  After watching the Shuffle fail to convert at the charity stripe (4 of 10 down the stretch), BRip hit 1 of 2 free throws and they got a defense stop thanks to their new-found full court press.  Coming off a timeout, everyone had to know the game was in Rip's hands, and he didn't let anyone down.  As predicted earlier in the season, the Justice League ends the season as the last team standing.  They were good enough during the regular season to make the playoffs, and then they decided to play their best ball.  For the Shuffle, it marks the end of a great run, and this loss will give them all the motivation they need to come back with a vengance next season.  Rumor has it that the Justice League, still reeking of their celebratory beers, will reassemble next season to defend their title.  Given how they played down the strech, in taking out the 2, 3, and 4 seeds, they'll be favored to retain their Championship Belt in the Fall. 

Five Knuckle Shuffle
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brian Skerry	21	3	2	6	2	0	3	9	6
Ethan Chang	8	1	1	2	0	0	2	0	0
Jay Sartori	8	3	1	6	0	0	3	4	0
Mike Diranian	10	2	3	0	1	1	1	0	0
Shane O'Donnell	9	10	6	3	1	2	1	4	1
Steve O'Connell	19	8	3	2	0	0	1	4	2

Justice League
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brian Ripley	10	7	3	3	0	0	2	3	2
Dave McLaren	16	2	1	0	0	0	0	6	5
Ed Finn	11	4	0	2	0	0	1	3	1
Greg Poulos	27	1	2	3	1	1	1	6	4
Jeff Hrkach	0	3	1	3	1	1	0	2	0
Mike Kent	4	4	2	0	0	0	1	0	0
Sean O'Callaghan	3	1	1	2	0	1	1	2	1
TJ Mahony	8	5	2	3	1	1	1	4	2

Semifinals Commentary by Tical and Tibbs...

Stackpole 65  Justice League 67

"Ripley Rainbow" Seals Justice League Comeback

When CRFC launches it's own Classic History local cable channel, this will be the game that gets played on loop for the entire first week.  The game had it all, a struggling team falling behind big, a mad run to get back in the game, followed by a frantic final 3 minutes.  Stackpole absolutely dominated the first 35 minutes of play, including building a 32-18 lead at halftime behind the Wolverine (19 points, 11 rebounds) and his 13 points.  The Justice League struggled.  They had no flow on offense and hit only 1 of their first 11 three-point attempts.  Ripley (28 points, 6 rebounds) had half their first half points, while DMac (12 points, 8 rebounds) was kept without a field goal.  They did do one thing right, however, that gave them a glimmer of hope.  The Chise (13 points, 16 rebounds) had managed just one field goal because of Google's (9 points, 10 rebounds) excellent defense.  The second half actually started out worse for the Justice League, as Stackpole raced to build a 50-28 lead with just 16 minutes left in the game.  Things looked bleak, but then an adjustment on defense was finally made.  JL realized that Stackpole didn't have their usual compliment of guards and pressed them full-court to make them bring up the ball.  The plan started paying immediate dividends as they simply took the ball away from many of Stackpole's players.  When that wasn't happening they were swarming the passing lanes and tipping the ball away.  The press, combined with a much better 3 point shooting percentage in the second half, sparked an amazing 19-0 run that pulled them within 50-47 with just 6 minutes to go.  In all, the Justice League hit 12 of the 20 (60%) 3's that they took in the second half to more than balance out the horrific shooting in the first. 

Stackpole seemed to recover, as they went up again by as many as 6, but just couldn't put the Justice League away.  Continuing to press kept creating turnovers, and Rip hit a 3 to give the League it's first lead at 60-59.  After a couple of free throws, Joe Malcolm (17 points, 5 3's) hit his last 3 to tie the game with just a minute left.  With time winding down and Ripley looking to dribble out the clock for a last shot, he was fouled and nailed a pair of free throws.  The League backed off the press and Stackpole walked the ball up the court with under 10 seconds to play.  As the Chise crossed halfcourt, he saw all his guys covered but his man playing him behind the 3 point line.  Without even hesitating, he launched 25 footer.  The ball didn't even graze the rim on it's way to giving his team a 65-64 lead.  The crowd, mostly Shuffle players, erupted, thinking the game was won.  But with just 2.4 seconds left, the Justice League quickly used their last timeout to stop the clock.  The inbounds play was simple, DMac got it to Ripley and he turned up court in a hurry.  Coming across from the right side of the court, before even reaching the opposite free-throw line, Ripley lined-up his three-quarter court shot.  The running start gave him all the momentum he needed and he let it fly before the buzzer sounded.  As the buzzer went off, the ball glanced off the back rim and fell cleanly through the cylindar, give the Justice League the victory thanks to Ripley's Rainbow.  The court was stormed as Stackpole watched in stunned silence, seeing their great season come to an end before they expected.  In the single elimation format, all you have to do is get hot, and/or lucky, for a short stretch of games and you can win it all.  The Justice League have found a way to win in the playoffs, making their preseason #1 ranking a bit more justified, and will play in the finals this Tueday, August 1st @ 7:00pm. 

Stackpole
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Chris McMahon	13	13	3	3	0	1	3	2	1
Jeff Clough	5	6	2	2	0	0	5	0	0
Jeff Holden	11	7	2	3	0	0	4	6	5
Joe Malcolm	17	3	0	3	0	0	2	0	0
Matt Filosa	19	5	6	2	0	0	1	6	3
Mike Cunningham	1	2	0	0	0	1	3	2	1

Justice League
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brian Ripley	28	4	2	2	1	0	2	7	3
Dave McLaren	12	5	3	5	1	1	2	4	4
Ed Finn	4	3	0	2	1	0	1	0	0
Greg Poulos	10	1	1	2	1	0	0	1	1
Jeff Hrkach	0	3	2	2	3	0	0	0	0
Sean O'Callaghan	4	2	3	6	1	0	1	1	0
TJ Mahony	9	6	4	3	1	0	1	2	0

Charlestown 58  Five Knuckle Shuffle 66

Tyson, Zermani Lead FKS Into Finals

Tyson Nargassans (21 points, 5 assists) led all scorers last night as Five Knuckle Shuffle shutdown Charlestown's high octane offense to advance to the finals.  Jay Sartori (9 points) has 7 of the Shuffle's first 13 points to help them build an early lead that they would never relinquish.  The first half ended with the Shuffle ahead by a score of 30-20.  Charlestown, who stuggled to score all night, had hit only 2 of 10 shots from downtown and couldn't get anything going.  In the second half, they continually threatened to tie or take the lead, but could never come through.  Nick Smith (18 points, 15 rebounds) led the way, while Jason Gallagher (15 points, 9 rebounds) backed him up.  Everytime Chalrestown looked ready to take over, Paul Zermani (15 points) stepped up with a 3 to take away momentum.  Steve O and OD combined for 12 points, 18 boards, and 11 assists while dominating the paint and making it hard for Charlestown to score down low.  The 2-1-2 zone did an especially good job of keeping Ian Urquhart and the rest of Charlestown's long range shooters in check.  A great season for Charlestown comes to an early end and they'll be back next season to improve on their post season play.  With the win, the Shuffle get a chance to take the inaugural 5 on 5 Championship this Tuesday, August 1st at 7:00 PM

Charlestown
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Andrew Ray	3	5	1	0	0	1	1	4	1
Danny Ryan	2	1	0	2	0	0	2	1	0
Derek Gallagher	9	5	6	2	0	1	1	2	1
Ian Urquhart	0	3	2	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jason Gallagher	15	7	2	2	0	0	2	8	5
Joe Fitzpatrick	10	2	4	3	0	0	2	0	0
Nick Smith	18	11	4	2	2	0	3	7	4

Five Knuckle Shuffle
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Ethan Chang	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jay Sartori	9	2	0	3	0	0	1	2	2
Mike Diranian	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Paul Zermani	15	33	0	2	2	0	2	4	3
Shane O'Donnell	2	11	1	9	0	1	1	4	2
Steve O'Connell	10	4	2	2	2	3	1	4	2
Tyson Nargassans	21	6	0	5	0	2	2	8	7

Round 1 Commentary by Tical and Tibbs...

The Has Beens 75  Five Knuckle Shuffle 87

Zermani, Tyson, Spoil Has Beens' Upset Dream

Paul Zermani (28 points) made sure that Five Knuckle Shuffle jumped out to a big lead, and Tyson Nargassans (26 points, 6 assists) made sure they held onto it as time winded down.  Paul scored 22 of his points in a first half barrage that staked FKS to a 48-35 halftime lead.  The Has Beens were the ones that were supposed to use the 3 point shot to keep the game close, but the Shuffle turned the tables, hitting 9 of them in the first half alone to provide their cushion.  Despite having the lone fan cheer for their team, Brent Carbone (19 points, 15 rebounds) was the only guy in the first half that could get anything going for the Has Beens.  Although he was going up against giants Steve O'Connell (11 points, 8 assists) and Shane O'Donnell (7 rebounds, 5 assists), Brent outrebounded them both and made his own room in the paint.

In the second half, the Has Beens came alive.  After falling behind by as many as 17, they stormed back.  Led by Eric Clancy (22 points, 5 assists) and Jeff Arciero (22 points) the Has Beens made it a close game.  As always, once the three pointers start falling, the Has Beens should never be counted out.  Using a 13-0 run over a 4 minute stretch, they climbed to within 4 points (76-72) of the lead.  With five minutes left they had possession of the ball and were right in the game.  After a missed three, FKS recovered and buried a 3.  Forced to foul, the Has Beens could only watch helplessly as free throws were hit and they continued to miss shots.  FKS had finally clamped down and only allowed a desperation 3 the rest of the way.  It marks the end of a fine season for the Has Beens, they played great and shocked some teams with their aggressive style and great shooting touch.  Five Knuckle Shuffle moves to the semis and awaits the winner of the Charlestown/Vitale matchup.

The Has Beens
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brent Carbone	19	4	11	0	0	0	1	4	2
Dan Kivlehan	5	7	2	2	1	0	4	2	1
Darren Arciero	0	1	1	5	1	0	0	0	0
Dennis Ingram	5	4	0	6	2	0	2	4	2
Eric Clancy	22	3	1	5	0	0	5	0	0
Jeff Arciero	22	1	1	3	1	0	1	3	3
Tim Riley	2	6	3	0	0	0	3	0	0

Five Knuckle Shuffle
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Ethan Chang	7	0	2	0	1	0	1	0	0
Jay Sartori	13	4	0	9	1	0	0	4	4
Paul Zermani	28	3	0	2	2	0	1	6	4
Shane O'Donnell	2	7	0	5	0	0	0	0	0
Steve O'Connell	11	5	1	8	1	2	4	5	3
Tyson Nargassans	26	3	2	6	1	2	2	7	6

Justice League 62  Come N' Get It 60

Justice Prevails, Or Does It?

What would the playoffs be without a controversy?  Thankfully we won't have to find out, as last night's game provided one that will be talked about for a long, long time.  After an extremely well played game by both sides the score was tied at 60 with just 30 seconds left.  Come N Get It had possession of the ball and their fate was in the hands of leading scorer Phil 'StarChild' Davis (13 points, 6 rebounds).  A confident drive to the hoop resulted in a foul (one of 40 called on the night), and sent him to the line for two.  After watching, shocked, that the first one missed, the second was almost thrown at the hoop in disgust and O'Cal (6 rebounds) snatched it out of the air.  After the ensuing timeout, Ripley (10 points, 6 assists) brought the ball up the court despite the pressure.  Anyone who's been to a pick-up game on the weekends knew what was coming next, he was going to the hoop on his own, determined to break his guy down.  One on one against one of the best on-the-ball defenders in the league, Kevin Paulding (10 points, 5 rebounds), he didn't have an easy time.  From the top of the key, with just 3 seconds left, Rip saw a seam and went for it.  A behind the back dribble resulted in losing the ball, however, and he started to go down, when shockingly the whistle blew.  If I didn't know any better I'd be convinced that Rip himself called the foul, but that wasn't the case.  After calmly nailing both free throws, CNGI only had one last chance.  Their desperation heave to the 3 point line was knocked out of the air and the game was over.  Maybe it was a foul, CNGI certainly didn't think so, but it's a tough call to make at the end of a playoff game after guys have given it their all.  It marks the end of a great season for Come N Get It, and when they come back for the fall league (which starts Sept 19th by the way), they'll have a huge chip on their shoulder. 

Aside from the last minute dramatics, the game was well played and intense throughout.  Bob Mickel (12 points, 5 assists) and Brian Gomes (11 points) both helped Phil with the scoring.  Neither guy could really get going, as the 3-2 zone defense was swarming against them.  The Justice League played one of their most composed games to date.  The real Greg Poulos (18 points) finally showed up for a game this season, and TJ "Google" Mahoney (18 points, 5 rebounds) was spectacular as well.  Google recognized that the refs were calling a tight game and took it to the hoop every time he touched the ball, never settling for an outside jumper.  As always, Mr. Everything Jeff Hrkach (6 points, 7 rebounds, 8 assists) found many ways to contribute, including using all of his allotted fouls.  The Justice League finally flashed a bit of their potential and they'll await the winner of the Stackpole/Netgain game on Thursday.

Justice League
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brian Ripley	10	2	2	6	1	0	4	3	2
Greg Poulos	18	2	1	2	2	0	1	7	6
Jeff Hrkach	6	3	4	8	2	1	1	0	0
Mike Kent	8	2	6	3	0	2	2	0	0
Sean O'Callaghan	2	3	3	2	0	0	0	2	0
TJ Mahony	18	4	1	2	2	1	1	14	8

Come N' Get It
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Bob Mickel	12	4	1	5	1	0	2	0	0
Brian Gomes	11	0	1	2	0	0	3	0	0
Eric Rollins	4	3	1	3	1	1	0	1	0
Jason Smith	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Jonathan Greene	5	1	0	3	1	0	3	3	3
Kevin Paulding	10	3	2	0	0	1	2	3	0
Phil Davis	13	4	2	0	1	2	4	7	3
Troy Seymour	5	6	0	9	0	0	0	4	3

Vitale 87  Charlestown 96

C-Town squeaks by, but not before they get a full serving of Landenberger

This one had the makings of an upset, Nova over G-Town style.  Early on Vitale jumoed out to a surprising lead behind Kevin McCarthy's hot shooting (20pts).  For the first time all season, Charlestown's shots were rimming out and such, definately leading me to beleive that they had a game on their hands.  Just as I start thinking that, C-Town blows up on a 15-0 run, sparked by Nick Smith (29pts).  Again, Vitale doesn't quit.  This time, Mark Ruggerio grabs the offensive reigns and starts doing his thing from inside and out (25pts).  Vitale ties it up, that is until C-Town rallies off a 12-0 run to close that half, giving them a 12 point lead going into the break.  No joke, the second half was all Mike Landenberger (29pts).  To start the half, Mike leaving it all on the court went bonkers.  Derek Gallagher (14pts), Ian Urquhart (16pts) and Andrew Ray (15pts) all helped out the C-Town cause, but whatever run they made, Landenberger answered, usually with a trey.  Again we found ourselves tied with 6 minutes to play.  The crowd of 2 was going insane, the taste of an upset coated the Vitale players mouths, and I still couldn't wait until the second game was over so I could go out on Thirsty Thursday.  However, it turned into midnight for the Cinderella Vitale squad as Charlestown closed out the game on a 20-8 run, sending the Vitale boys home, but not before they left with a Rocky esque high for going the distance.  Great game Vitale, and we'll see you in the fall league    

Vitale
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Brad Santarpia	2	3	1	0	1	1	0	0	0
Chris Allen	6	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Chris Nardone	6	2	1	11	2	0	0	2	1
Kevin McCarthy	20	3	2	5	2	0	0	0	0
Mark Ruggeiro	25	6	2	3	3	2	0	5	4
Mike Landenberger	29	3	3	3	2	0	0	1	1

Charlestown
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Andrew Ray	15	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	3
Danny Ryan	6	2	2	6	1	0	0	0	0
Derek Gallagher	14	7	2	6	1	1	0	4	2
Ian Urquhart	16	2	1	2	0	0	0	2	2
Jason Gallagher	9	4	1	5	0	0	0	0	0
Joe Fitzpatrick	7	4	1	2	1	1	0	3	2

Netgain 51  Stackpole 73

Stackpole holds serve, gets Justice next round

Stackpole handled their biz, sending Netgain home to practice for the fall league last night.  Surprise, surprise, but the Chise had one of his best games yet, dropping a sick 21 points and grabbing 19 boards, not to mention his defensive effort (4stls 3blk).  For Netgain, they trailed the entire game, despite their best efforts.  Trevor McAndrew led the team with 16 points, while Keith and Kyle had 11 a piece.  Definately an impressive showing for Stackpole as the Chise got a lot of help from his boys, Jazz "Tick Tock" Holden (14pts), the Wolverine (11pts), and Chris Hunter (10pts).  Definately look forward to squaring off against my newfound boys from Saugus...Just remember, it's nothing personal, stricktly business fellas...

Netgain
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Cheese	9	2	0	2	3	0	0	0	0
Keith Thompson	11	9	7	2	2	0	0	2	1
Kyle Hofmann	11	3	0	0	2	0	0	2	1
Trevor McAndrew	16	4	1	5	3	1	0	6	3

Stackpole
Player	PTS	DRB	ORB	AST	STL	Blk	TURN	FT	FTM
Chris Hunter	10	5	0	8	0	0	0	0	0
Chris McMahon	21	10	9	3	4	3	0	0	0
Jeff Clough	9	2	1	2	0	0	0	0	0
Jeff Holden	14	3	4	6	0	2	0	3	3
Joe Malcolm	4	4	2	3	0	1	0	0	0
Matt Filosa	11	6	1	0	0	2	0	2	1
Mike Cunningham	4	4	3	0	1	0	0	0	0