HOOPS Review - Game 2: Reapers vs Young Goatz

Hey everyone!

I’m hoping you all enjoyed your weekend, and happy Hump Day!

I hate to be typing this, I wish I could tell you all we won our first game of the season in what will probably be regarded as the best game of the season (so far at least), an overtime thriller with some added controversy of a suspension! But I’d be lying… The truth is, we LOST the best game of the season which ended up being an overtime thriller with the added controversy of a suspension! The game against Young Goatz ended with a final score of 58-60, with our highest scorer being Jorel Smith with 25 points, followed by Napthali Smith contributing 12. We had a full team to start the night, but unfortunately it didn’t end that way for us…

What didn’t go so well…

Even though we lost the game, it was a complete 180 change from how we played in our first game. We were in sync, made smart passes, took good shots, defended as a team and rebounded with a purpose. A major drawback of where the games are being played this year, is that the shot clock is broken. This contributed to our downfall with over a minute to play in overtime when the opposition decided to hold and work the ball around the perimeter, leaving us to go for steals and foul. Luckily, we were able to pick off a couple passes and got the game to within two points. Unluckily however, Jorel missed what would have been the game winning three pointer, but we never should have been in that position to begin with.

With three minutes left in regulation, we were up by eight points, and should have managed the game better considering there was no shot clock. Instead of taking it a little slower, we reverted to how anyone would play knowing there was a shot clock, and tried to extend the lead, given that three minutes is still plenty of time to make a comeback from only down by eight. This proved to be our downfall, as Young Goatz crept back into the game and eventually held out to win in OT.

What was also a real blow to us, was in the 3rd quarter Jadon picked up a flagrant foul (pretty soft call in my opinion) for setting an screen and was immediately ejected. He will also be missing the next game for us. Regardless, that was a real setback for us as all of a sudden our best rebounder was out for the rest of the game. Jericho then came in, but while he was trying to pick off a pass, he landed wrong and twisted his leg so had to sit the remainder of the game out. Jericho and Jadon were both scoring and rebounding at a consistent level for us to keep our lead.

What went pretty well…

Even though we ended up losing, it didn’t feel like a loss. We played extremely well as a team, and everyone did their job. Credit where it is due to Young Goatz, they made some amazing shots and were really flowing on offense, we just needed to see out the game better in the end. It was good to see Napthali get involved on the offensive end, with him being our best wing player it is crucial he gives a positive outlet for Jorel. It was also encouraging to see Jericho as a threat from both the post and three-point line, giving our offense a little more dynamism. It was also great to have Colby Mapp come straight into the team and win a couple key loose balls, which is exactly the type of energy we want from him!

What to look forward to next game…

At the time of writing, we are yet to make our selection on the waiver wire, but we’ve got a few options in mind. Unfortunately we will be without Jadon for the next game due to suspension, and Jorel will be out for the next two, as he is traveling to the UK to look at universities, which we are all really excited about! We don’t know yet if Jericho will be ready for the next game, but hopefully he recovers and is ready to go!

I hope you enjoyed this mid-week review, and I will try to get something out to you on our normal day!

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Jason