Winter 2016 Thursday Men's Competitive Basketball @ DU

Welcome back to another Sports Monster basketball league! The winter league is by far the most competitive and robust league throughout the year. This season we have 12 men’s teams that will all be playing on Thursday nights. Since we have 12 teams and limited amount of playing space, we will also be playing at the Hamilton courts in Gates Fieldhouse. Next week, there will be two courts going at Denver University. If you are scheduled to play at Hamilton, you will have to take the elevator on the northern end of the building to the 2nd Floor. Exit the elevator and turn left. Take another left and you’ll see the propped open door. Make sure to check for double headers on the schedule!

Fat Chicks United started the season off with an eight point victory over The Crew. Jordan led the way with 15 points. #1 also scored 15 points for The Crew, but it wouldn’t be enough. FCU will have a double header next week.

Pace and Space defeated the Fighting Moreno’s pretty handedly. Pace and Space are a new team with Sports Monster. Their debut was a good one, taking the 31 point victory. The Fighting Moreno’s are back for another season. They were led by #35 with 17 points. #12 for Pace and Space led all scorers for the entire league with 22 points.

Jurassic 5 returns after a disappointing semifinal loss in the fall. They will be trying to get back there this season. #15 and #32 led them to a 60-47 victory over the Dutch Mafia. #25 for the Dutch Mafia led all scorers with 14 points in the loss.

Still Pippen is still pimping the hardwood. They return after a long absence. #7 led the team in scoring with a 12 point game. He led Still Pippen to a 30 point victory over the Blouses. #2 scored 14 points in the loss.

In the last game of the night, it was the returning champions, the Mean Machine against ZG. The Mean Machine looked pretty rusty. They missed a lot of layups in the first half, which kept ZG in it. #6 for ZG led his team with 13 points. In the final minutes of the game, ZG took the lead and wouldn’t lose it. They pulled out the victory by four points.

Next week we’ll see the Wolfpack and Shake N’Blake debut. Also, the Pioneer Bar is this league’s sponsor bar. Make sure to go there after the games to get Sports Monster specials!

Thursdays games got us closer to the end of the regular season. With only one week left of games, playoffs spots are on the line. Still Pippen was able to finish off the regular season at (7-0). They will enter the playoffs with the top seed, unless the Wolfpack can upset them next week.

The game with playoff implications was Shake N’Blake and the Fighting Morenos. Both teams came into the game with (1-4) records and on the bubble. The winning team would move to the 8th spot in the standings. The Morenos were able to pull off the one point victory and are currently sitting comfortably.

The Mean Machine beat the Wolfpack by five points, solidifying their playoff berth. The Wolfpack on the other hand are on the outside, now (1-5). They will have their hands full against top team Still Pippen next week. Even if they beat Still Pippen, they will have to overcome the Fighting Morenos in the score differential to take the final playoff spot.

In the last game, the Blouses played their best game of the year, but it still wasn’t enough. Jurassic 5 was able to hold the game to a tie. The Blouses will finish their season without a win. Jurassic 5 is currently in 4th place.

The playoffs were completed in one night; four straight hours of basketball to crown the Champions. Still Pippen won all three of their games to be the last one standing. They ended the Winter season with a combined (11-0) record. The mercy ruled The Fighting Morenos and Dutch Mafia. This was very critical in their success. This gave them ample time to rest before the championship.

On the other side of the bracket, the same cannot be said about the second place finishing Pace & Space. They had to play back-to-back-to-back without any rest, or with the benefit of a mercy rule. They took down Jurassic 5 and then defeated ZG. ZG had the biggest upset of the night, defeating the second seeded Fat Chicks United.

In the championship, Dave Kummer got things going early for Still Pippen with two dunks. Pippen slowly started to build a lead. By halftime, the writing was on the wall. Still Pippen had a big double digit lead and their players were still fresh. Pace & Space’s numbers were starting to dwindle. But they did play the second half tough, keeping up with the scoring pace of Still Pippen. Still Pippen would take the 19 point victory.

Thanks for playing! The Spring season will be starting in April. Register as soon as possible to take advantage of the $50 discount.