JCC of Central New Jersey Men's Basketball

With 7 weeks in the books, every team has now played every other team once.  This season, more than any season I can remember, has been extremely matchup dependent.  Some teams just match up better against other teams and this seemed to play out this week.  The week kicked off with the top two teams in the league standings squaring off and it resulted in Splash sending a message to the entire league that they mean business.

Splash 66 - The Greatest Show on Courts 61: Greatest Show came into this game sporting an undefeated 6-0 record, with every win coming by 7 or more points.  No team had really challenged them up until this point but Splash came into this game having won it's last 3 games and they have been playing their best basketball of the season.  In games played with a center, Splash is undefeated on the season, with their only losses coming in the first game of the season where they played without Phil and Shamar and the game Phil got hurt on the opening tip.  This game was a back and forth battle for the first 15 minutes with neither team building a lead bigger than 6 points.  Greatest Show has been killing it's opponents by getting lots of steals and then converting easy baskets on the fast break (they have 4 of the top 10 leaders in steals per game on their roster).  This game was no different as Greatest Show totaled 12 steals but unfortunately for them their execution in the half court was severely lacking.  Eric Sass led the way offensively scoring 19 points while adding 14 rebounds and 4 assists. Mike "Flex" Huberman and Will "Hogwarts" Howarth each contributed 11 points with Flex also adding 8 rebounds and 5 steals.  Captain Matt Ceccarelli had a quiet game with only 9 points, a total that was matched by Justin Dank, in his return from injury. Splash made their move late in the first half, openiing up a double digit lead, a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the game, even though Greatest Show did manage to cut it to 3 points twice in the second half. Captain Jon Ackerman has very quietly been making a pretty strong case for league MVP.  Greatest Show seemed to have no answers for Ackerman, who had the full offensive arsenal working in this contest.  Any time Splash needed a big basket, Ackerman seemed to be there to lift his team, whether it was a three-pointer (4/9 for thre game) or beating his defender to the hole for an easy layup. Ackerman led all scorers with 31 points on 12/21 shooting and also added 9 rebounds for good measure.  And when it was't Ackerman scoring, Shamar Mason (15 points/7 rebs) or Adam Driansky (9 pts/5 assts) were doing their parts offensively.  Alex Schosheim hit a couple of timely baskets as well in what was probably the best win for any team all season. Mike Glanzman continues to make life difficult for opponents defensively  in the middle and on the glass.  The win moved Splash to 5-2 while the loss dropped Greatest Show to 6-1.

The Silent Killers 44 - Team Psycho 33: In two years of watching and writing about JCC basketball games, I'm pretty sure this game was the worst offensive game I've ever had to sit through.  The game was so "offensive" that Sporfie has threatened to cancel our subscription if it happens again.  As has been talked about ad nauseam this season, Team Psycho has been consistently great defensively but thier offense has been pretty bad in all but a few games.  Team Psycho actually got off to a pretty good start offensively in the first half despite playing without Dan Amsellem, who is still recovering from a calf injury.  Team Psycho built a 25-15 lead with 3:00 remaining in the first half thanks mostly to Colin Neff and TJ Farrell.  Colin and TJ each had 11 points to lead Team Psycho with Colin adding 14 rebounds and 5 steals.  Over the next 13 minutes of game action, The Silent Killers went on a 21-6 run, taking what was a 10-point deficit and turning it into a 5-point lead (36-31 Silent Killers).  The Silent Killers were playing their first game without Orlando Jean-Charles, who will be undergoing Achilles surgery this week.  Again we all wish Orlando luck with his surgery and recovery.  Eddie Ford has taken Orlando's  vacated roster spot and his defensive length and intensity definitely contributed to Team Psycho's struggles.  Eddie's size and athleticism allow him to guard positions 1-through-5 defensively and he was harassing whoever he was guarding including full court pressing Colin or shutting down TJ with his length.  Offensively, Siri Carpien and Jason Pompeo led all scorers with 12 points apiece (and each added 10 rebounds) followed by Eddie Ford and Eric Lai each adding 7 points.  So the score was 36-31 with 14:00 left and the final score was 44-33.  I'm sure you can all do the math, but if not, Team Psycho scored 8 points over the final 27 minutes and 2 points in the final 14 minutes.  Team Psycho shot 6/29 (20.7%) from three-point range for the game which seems pretty horrendous until you realize they actually shot 4/27 (14.8%) from 2-point range. To put it into perspective just how bad it was offensively, 3 of the 6 teams not involved in this game scored more points in the first half than Team Psycho scored all game.  Okay I think I've talked enough about this game.  The win moved The Silent Killers to 4-3 while the loss dropped Team Psycho to 3-4.

99 Problems (But a Swish Ain't One) 76 - The Pipe Layers 70: 99 Problems played the game without captain and league-leading rebounder Bryan Minasian while The Pipe Layers were missing Andrew Merel and Erez Liebermann.  This game could not have been more different than the previous game. Both teams executed exceptionally well offensively.  99 Problems came into the game having lost their prior two games and were hoping to not fall below .500 for the first time all season.  These teams traded baskets throughout the first half  and neither team seemed to be able to stop the other defensively.  The halftime score was 39-38 and it felt like the kind of game where whichever team had the ball last would be the winning team.  Adam Hynes and Ben Carr came out of the gates firing on all cylinders with the two combining for 31 of the team's 39 first half points.  Adam would finish the game with 25 PTS/7 REBS while Ben added 22 PTS/11 REBS/7 ASTS.    For 99 Problems, Jorge Mangui has been on fire in recent weeks.  For the second straight week, Jorge topped 30 points scoring (35 PTS/7 REBS/5 ASSTS/ 4 STLS) while also making a big difference in many other ways. Jorge has at least 4 steals in every game but one and once Jorge steals the ball, good luck trying to prevent him from scoring an easy layup.  This week, Jorge was also feeling it from deep, converting 4/9 threes, which if it were to continue would make trying to guard Jorge even tougher than it already is.  But he also impacted the game with his ability to drive into the lane and cause the defense to collapse on him, leaving their many skilled shooters open for clean looks. The second half started with The Pipe Layers holding onto a 1-point lead, a lead they were able to extend to 11 points (55-44) with 17:00 left.  This was the point where everything turned in this game. Adam went to the bench for a quick rest and by the time he checked back into the game the lead was all but gone. With 9:00 remaining the game, it was all tied at 59 and this is where 99 Problems wnet nuts offensively.  99 Problems has a very explosive offense and when the threes are falling they can amass points quickly.  Over the next two minutes, 99 Problems scored 8 straight points and they never looked back again. During this run, 99 Problems got clutch baskets from Gabe Berkowitz (7 points for the game), Mike Gerstein hit two big shots (14 points and also 4/9 from deep) and Jason Lorenzo rediscovered the offensive touch from earlier in the season (scoring 18 points and 3/6 from three).  By the time this run was complete, The Pipe Layers looked defeated though they did get a timely three from Josh Goodhart (6 points) and several strong drives from Ben Carr to cut the lead to a single possession late.  But 99 Problems converted their FTs and held on for the 6 point victory.  Mike Korn socred 9 points and Jordan Perlmutter added 8 PTS/8 REBS/6 ASSTS in the losing effort.  The loss dropped The Pipe Layers to 1-6 while the win moved 99 Problems back above .500 at 4-3.

JCC You in the Finals 53 - Bagels & Blox 48: Bagels & Blox were missing Brian Schiller for this game while Alex Stone was busy hanging with Russell Westbrook in the South of France.

JCC You jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead thanks mostly to Jason Narod, who was taking it at Jon Kanarek and letting him know all about it.  Last year's winner of the trash talk award was in fine form on this night.  Narod scored all 7 of his points in the first half.  Bagels & Blox answered right back with multiple baskets or fouls being drawn by Jamal Berry. With no Schiller, the pressure fell even more onto Jamal to carry his team.  And he did everything he could to try and carry them to the win.  Jamal scored 32 of his team's 48 points and made all but 7 of the fgs.  Ben Huber contributed 7 points but nobody else scored more than 3 points.  JCC You took a 28-19 lead into halftime and hoped to build on that lead in the second half. However, Jamal had different plans and they opened the half on a 15-4 run to take a 34-32 lead.  Ed Seiden led JCC You in scoring with 16 points (on just 3/3 shooitng) with most of the damage coming from the FT line (8/9).  Damien Jackson shockingly did not have a single fg but was 8/10 from the FT line and added 15 rebounds.  Jim Korn added 12 points and Jason Stern had a very strong game with 9 points and 11 rebounds.  The second half was a slugfest with the two teams trading baskets but fortunately for JCC You, they were hitting the FTS down the stretch and Jim Korn made a couple of clutch late baskets to hold off the Jamal-led comeback attempt.  The win moved JCC over .500 for the first time all season at 4-3 while the loss dropped Bagels & Blox to 1-6 and in the midst of a 6 game losing streak.

Power Rankings:

1. Splash - Coming off a win over the previously undefeated Greatest Show on Courts. Captain Jon Ackerman is playing like an MVP and this team seems to be really clicking and focused on a singular goal - winning.  The 3-guard lineup is presenting major matchup issues for opponents and they play damn good defense as well
2. Greatest Show - They still sit atop the standings at 6-1 and it was just one loss.  Their combo of size, scoring and athleticism still make them the favorites to win it all
3. 99 Problems - They still don't play a lot of defense (giving up the most points in the league) but they have more firepower than anyone and they're happy to challenge teams to play high scoring affairs.  Jorge is playing his best ball lately and seems determined to carry this team far
4. JCC You - They've won 3 of their last 4 and their defense is tough to score on. If they can continue to build on their offense, both with the big men inside and the guards outside, then this is a scary team to face
5. The Silent Killers - Eddie Ford filled in well in his first JCC action and his size and length should be a big difference maker defensively.  Siri and Pompeo have been as consistent as anyone and if they can get more consistent contribtions form Rory, Seth Niessen and Eric Lai, then they can make some serious noise
6. Team Psycho - More like Team Psych because theyre missing the O.  If they can get their offense figured out they can beat anyone because they play great defense. Captain Colin Neff is hoping the return of Dan Amsellem can get them back on track
7. The Pipe Layers - Adam Hynes and company is looking for answers and has won more recently than Bagels & Blox
8. Bagels & Blox - 6 losses in a row but they do have the best player in the league which gives them a chance every week

Stat leaders:

Points:

Jamal Berry - 26.0 ppg

Jon Ackerman - 20.3 ppg

Jorge Mangui - 20.1 ppg

Rebounds:

Bryan Minasian - 14.0 rpg

Eric Sass - 12.4 rpg

Damien Jackson - 11.3 rpg

Assists:

Jordan Perlmutter - 4.3 apg

Mike Huberman - 3.8 apg

Andrew Merel - 3.5 apg

Steals:

Jorge Mangui - 4.0 spg

Mike Huberman - 3.7 spg

Colin Neff - 3.0 spg

Blocks (total):

Mike Korn/Damien Jackson - 8

Siri Carpien/Eric Sass - 7

Three Pointers Made:

TJ Farrell - 17

Siri Carpien/Jon Ackerman - 16

Good luck to all this week