Monday, February 28, 2011

HURRICANES SHOCK PANTHERS IN NAIL-BITER REMATCH, 25-23


Saturday, February 26th -- In a Rocky Balboa vs Apollo Creed match-up, the Hurricanes took the court in a rematch with the previously undefeated Panthers, against whom the Hurricanes fell in a pre-season game as well as the first game of the season.

Due to an unannounced schedule change in week two, the Hurricanes entered game one a little short-handed, pitting only six players against a full Panther line-up. Although they put forth a valiant effort, they eventually ran out of gas and fell short, as the Panthers pulled away in the fourth quarter for the victory.

Therefore, although they did not take any other game for granted, the Hurricanes eagerly looked forward to and trained hard for the game six rematch.

The Panthers on the other hand, (possibly due to their previous victories) obviously severely underestimated the heart, energy, improvement and determination of the Hurricanes...and it showed.

The first two scoreless, scrappy defense filled minutes of the game should have been an indicator to the Panthers that the Hurricanes were NOT going to cower or lie down and play opossum. 

Although the Panthers struck first with smooth execution resulting in a successful basket on a give-n-go play, the rest of the quarter would be characterized by excruciating defense, board battles, disrupted plays, and steals. Patrick scored two buckets and Michael sank a shot off of a rebound to keep the Hurricanes within one at the end of the first quarter, 7 to 6.


The second quarter would not prove to be any easier. Although the Hurricanes had a tough lineup on the court consisting of Conrad, Patrick, Allen, Carlos, and Jordan, they only managed to get eight shots off, connecting on three of them (2 each for Conrad, Carlos and Allen) plus an additional free throw by Allen, for a half-time score of 15 to 13 in favor of the Panthers.
Perhaps the most entertaining play of the game belonged to Jordan, the smallest player on the Hurricane lineup that day. As Panther star and big-man #9 was taking a shot, Jordan the "Stealth Man" sneaked up behind him, flew through the air, and firmly rejected the shot, causing a wild roar and applause from the stands.

Whatever the coaches said in their counsel to the players at half-time...worked. In the second half, the Hurricanes continued the high intensity and defensive pressure, and offensive opportunities started to open up. Nick and Chandler each hit for two points, and Allen sank a jump shot and a layup, to give the Hurricanes a two point advantage over the Panthers by the end of the third quarter.

Mysteriously and visibly absent from the scoreboard, were 10 or 12 points that Hurricane leading scorer Conrad customarily contributed to the game. By the end of the third quarter, he had scored only scored 2 points, and did not appear to be an offensively aggressive as usual.  When questioned about it after the game, he justified his personal strategy:

"I knew they would concentrate on me, so I decided to focus on dishing the ball out, rebounding and defense."

And THAT he definitely achieved - racking up 8 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and an amazing 10 blocked shots for the game.

The fourth quarter was an all out basketball version of a slug-fest. As they had done all game long, the Panthers continued to own the boards, outrebounding the Hurricanes by an estimated ratio of 3 to 1. But while the Panthers owned the rebounding advantage, the Hurricanes owned the floor, accumulating disrupted play after disrupted play, steal after steal. On offense, although the hurricanes only scored one field goal and two free throw shots for the entire quarter, but they slowed the game down with a passing-oriented strategy, and continued to dominate time of possession.

With two minutes to go, Hurricanes center Carlos turned the ball over, giving the Panthers possession of the ball, and thus, an opportunity to tie the game. Carlos stayed focused and quickly redeemed himself, however, by racing down in transition to make a quick key steal.

Following a time-out, as the clock ticked down to under a minute the Hurricanes still held a 2 point advantage. Patrick put on a dribbling clinic to burn time off the clock. With less than twenty seconds remaining, he attempted a pass to Conrad, which was intercepted by the Panthers' forward #8, who broke away for an a easy layup...that rolled around the rim and dropped outside the bucket, causing a football fumble style scramble for the ball. The Panthers recovered and shot again. Then Conrad stepped in from out of nowhere to steal an attempted Panther pass, and he was immediately fouled with four seconds remaining in the game.

Conrad missed his free throw shot, which bounced off the rim and rolled loose on the floor for nearly two seconds. Panther center #4 recovered the ball and got as far as half court before letting fly with a desperation Hail Mary shot which fell far short of the basket.

Much to the shock, awe, and dismay of the Panther team, coaches, and fans, the end of game whistle blew to a final score of Hurricanes 25, Panthers 23.

The Hurricanes (visibly the smaller and lesser experienced of the two teams) earned the hard-fought and well deserved victory - through hard work, dedication, cohesion, teamwork, persistence, hustle, tenacious defensive strategies, and effective offense. Each player contributed significantly in some way to the victory.

Defense has always been at the forefront of the coaching philosophy and strategies of the Hurricane coaching duo.  During this game the Panthers' star players (who usually each average double digit scoring) were held to a combined 8 points (2 points for #3, 6 points for #9). No individual on the Panthers scored more than 6 points, and the Panthers team was held to 4 points both the 3rd and 4th quarters (only 8 points for the 2nd half).

Kudos to Coach Q and Coach Chris, who have meticulously analyzed the team's performances, strengths and weaknesses after every game, and made the necessary adjustments during the practices.
During the closing huddle of the last practice, the coaches went over their strategy for the game against the Panthers; loading up Patrick and Allen with the task of stopping Panther star point guard #3, and tagging Michael and Carlos with stopping the star center (#9). Conrad was to play a floating defender role, assisting whenever and wherever needed as reinforcement...for closing gaps, double teams, etc. It would be up to Jordan, Chandler, and Daniel to shut down the other Panther players - which would be no easy task given the size and strength advanage of the Panthers.

The coaches provided final words of encouragement at the close of practice:




"We can beat that team...they don't know how much you guys have improved...this team can beat any team out there if you guys put your minds to it...focus...we believe in you."
With one game remaining, the Hurricanes have a distant shot at a tie for 1st place (if the Panthers lose their final game), and a strong shot at 2nd place (if the Hurricanes win their final game).

But regardless of the final standings at the end of the season, nobody can take away the outstanding, exciting, memorable, underdog victory that the Hurricanes pulled off on Saturday, February 26th against the Panthers. It was the type game on which movies are based, and it will be remembered and talked about for many years to come.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Hurricanes Drench Team Six, 25-20

Saturday, February 12, 2011 -- Despite two slow middle quarters offensively, the Hurricanes pulled together in the fourth quarter to ride out a victory over an evenly matched Team Six on Saturday.
 
Hurricane fast break
 The Hurricanes started the game out strong but cautious, shooting 4 for 8 from the floor, passing effectively, and displaying their trademark tight quick-handed defense, as exhibited by Daniel, who returned from a week-long virus to snag a key rebound and hold his man scoreless in throughout the quarter.

Daniel returned to the floor
to hold his oppontent
scoreless
        
 
Jordan with a key grab
 Team Six  set out from the beginning to prove that they could compete both offensively and defensively, putting on an impressive passing show of their own, and consistently throwing a half court trap at the Hurricane guards.


Allen on the run
 In the second quarter, Team Six began to chip away at the Hurricane momentum and lead, forcing a few key turnovers, holding the Hurricanes to 2 points (1 for 8 shots from the floor), and pulling within three points at half time, 13-10.
 
Michael vying for a rebound

If the second quarter was bad for the Hurricanes, the third quarter was a nightmare, as Team Six continued to set up wall after wall, and the Hurricane shots continued to bounce off the rim and the backboard (1 for 16 = 6.25% from the floor).


Nick stifles Team Six's offense
MUCH to the Hurricanes' credit, it was only their shots that weren not on target...they continued to protect the ball and pass the ball well, and their defense held Team Six to 5 points, behind Nick's blocked shot, assist, and 2 rebounds, bringing the third quarter to a close in a 15-15 tie.
Quick transition:  Conrad with an outlet pass to Carlos

As is their custom, the Hurricanes turned up the heat in the fourth quarter, and regained momentum behind a key 3-pointer by Conrad, and two buckets from Patrick, who finished the night with 5 points, 8 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 assists. 
Carlos:  Shutting down the
big men

The Hurricanes' shooting improved to 45% (5 of 11 from the floor) in the fourth quarter, as their defense clearly frustrated Team Six's key players.  Although the shots weren't dropping for Hurricane centers Carlos and Michael, the tag-team in the middle held their counterparts to four points, blocked out Team Six's big men from the paint, and grabbed timely rebounds to help maintain the Hurricanes' momentum. Hurricane guards Jordan and Allen combined  for 3 rebounds, 5 steals, and 5 broken up plays.

Conrad with a key 4th quarter 3-pointer

The Hurricanes increased the distance of their lead just enough to absorb the 4 point run of Team Six during the last minute of the fourth quarter, finally closing the game with a 25-20 victory.



Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Monday, February 7, 2011

Hurricanes Overwhelm Team One for First Victory, 43-24

 
Pregame Oath

Saturday, February 5th, 2011 - The Hurricanes entered the game shy one Coach (Coach Quentin) and two players (Chandler and Daniel).

Chris - working his way out of a trap
Hurricane center Carlos took the reigns in the first quarter, attacking the paint and rattling off five points. Accompanied by Allen, Patrick, Conrad and Michael, the Hurricanes appeared as if they would steamroll Team One, rounding off the quarter with a 10-0 lead.

Nick pulling up for a 2-pointer (Chris in the background)
(Photo courtesy of Dan & Vicki
Gonzales)
Basketball is a game of hot and cold streaks, however, and in the second quarter Team One brandished a secret weapon of its own in the form of number 8; a stocky center-forward with a quick first step to the hoop. Although Patrick put forth an honorable defensive effort, number eight was able to sink 9 points in the second quarter. While the Hurricanes’ shooting went cold (2 for 13 for the quarter), Team One’s offense caught fire, pulling within one point, 14-13. Were it not for a key rebound by Chris, and a couple of hard-earned buckets by Patrick and Nick, the Hurricanes would have faired much worse at the half-way point. 

 

During half-time, the question rising question to be answered was: “Who on the Hurricanes could stop number 8?”
Jordan positioning for the rebound


After a quick lessons-learned pep talk by Coach Chris, the Hurricanes returned to the floor with an increased sense of intensity.  In game three, Allen (Hurricanes point guard) played a relatively cautious game on offense, attempting only two shots the whole game…but that was the Allen of old.  In the third quarter of game four, Allen put on a clinic; dribbling, dancing, bobbing, weaving, and firing up 8 unanswered points in a row.  He would go on to finish the game with 10 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals and 4 assists.

Conrad - shutting down #5
(Photo courtesy of Dan & Vicki
Gonzales)

Complemented by four points from Conrad, two points from Michael, a rebound and steal from Jordan, the Hurricanes presented Coach Chris with a 28-16 lead after three quarters.

Recalling the second quarter comeback by Team One, the Hurricanes took nothing for granted going into the fourth quarter, and retook the floor with the same level of intensity the displayed in the third quarter.


  

Team One came out swinging and aiming to make a statement early on.  Dreaded number #8 split the defense to score two quick points, and followed up on subsequent possessions with clean passes to his power forward (#5) who was open under the basket for two easy layups. Number 8 also swatted an attempted layup by Conrad on the opposite end of the court.  It appeared for moment that Team 1 was on its way to another comeback…but appearances can sometimes be deceiving.
Carlos with a teardrop jumper

Patrick setting up the offense
(Photo courtesy of Dan & Vicki
Gonzales)

Perhaps slightly uncomfortable with Allen’s third quarter offensive show, Team One turned their focus toward cranking up the defensive heat on Allen in the fourth quarter.  With the poise of a professional, Allen took advantage of that opportunity to deliver three assists in a row to Conrad, who went on a 12 point scoring spree to finish the game with 18 points, 9 rebounds.  Perhaps Conrad’s most worthy achievement of the game was found on the defensive end of the floor, where he held #8 to only 4 points in the fourth quarter, and repaid the Team One star with a blocked shot of his own, thereby proving that “the Hurricanes can play that too!”

Allen - driving for 2 of his 10 points
(Photo courtesy of Dan & Vicki
Gonzales)
Meanwhile, Carlos dropped in two points, and Patrick shut down #5 for the remainder of the quarter, while tossing in a free throw himself. 

When the referee’s whistle blew, the score read Hurricanes 43, Team One 24.

For the game, the Hurricanes shot 36% from the floor (a 6% improvement over their previous average), and turned the ball over only 9 times (14 times less than their previous average).  Their defense, passing game and communication on the floor were visibly much improved.

The Hurricanes face Team 6 on Saturday, February 12th, at 3:00PM.