A League
The NF A-Team was seen asking Shad staff members for a section-sized bottle of Advil. Why, you ask? The reason was the virtuoso performance submitted by big man Lucas Pain, an F-ing giant who led his team to a 40-30 victory over NH’s A-Team. Pain scored 14 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead NF.
Despite a slow start, gritty baskets by forwards TC Comer, Ryan Roberts, Tom Casarella and Chris “Cashmere” Lee gave the F Team a 14-13 halftime advantage. In the second half, guards Kevin Dunwoodie, Captain Conor Kearney and Dave Otten led NF to a 30-17 lead, but NH clawed its way back into the game, closing the lead to 30-26 with just minutes left. Luckily, Pain was in the house, initiating a game-closing 10-4 run. Pain’s offensive rebound and put-back, followed by a 3-point dagger from star sniper Megan McNally, put the game out of reach.
B League
The NF B-Team continued where the A-team left off the previous night, with a rousing 34-31 victory over the NH B-Team. Following in the NF A-Team’s footsteps, the NF B-Team also started slowly, falling behind 11-0 to start the first half. The turning point came during an early timeout when Coach Bena Shah, who manned the noticeably blank scoreboard, inquired, “Aren’t you guys trying to put the ball into the basket?” The NF squad took the advice to heart and through a gutsy combination of defense, fouls and bank shots, finished the half on a 13-2 run that left the score tied.
In the end, it was the heart of NF that allowed the team to win the see-saw battle. Abhay Patel and Nehal Raj hit several critical shots down the stretch, while Captain Chris Barber, Pete Morrow and Jerron Nanneman crashed the boards. Meanwhile, Serge “Stopper” Stepanov and Ankur Luthra shut down NH’s best players, despite the defensive confusion brought upon by NH’s enormous 13-man rotation.
Summing up the opening week, A-Team forward Lee remarked that he wouldn’t trade NF’s victories even for all the “Camilos of the world.” High praise.
