Destroyers 'Throw-back' Chicago For Franchise First Win

Locals Get First Win in PBL League Play

January 24, 2009       Leave a Comment
By: John Keuvelaar

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You knew it was going to happen. A team, but for a few bad breaks, could easily be 2-1. And with almost two weeks between games, they had time to fine tune their game. Those adjustments paid off as the Mid Michigan Destroyers dominated the second half earning the franchises first victory, 116-105.

The Destroyers started off with lots of energy but cold shooting. They struggled from the floor hitting eight of their first 26 shots with three of those baskets coming from beyond the arch. Even though they struggled finding their touch, they stayed even with the Throwbacks until five minutes left in the quarter. Chicago went to pressing and this helped them pull ahead to a 30-22 lead.

The tempo of the game picked up in the second quarter as both teams looked to push the ball up the court. The two teams trade baskets throughout with the difference being that Chicago was able to knock down a couple three point shots to increase their lead by half time, 52-41.
In a league where no lead is safe if there is any time on the clock, the Destroyers were not concerned. Having focused on their defense in the previous week, they put the clamps on Chicago and fired up their big guns. With 8:10 left in the quarter, the Destroyers had tied the game. Applying heavy defensive pressure, they pulled ahead to enjoy a 16 point advantage for the quarter and a 5 point lead going into the fourth quarter, 80-75.

Chicago came out strong to start the fourth quarter tying the game early. But a key three pointer and strong rebounding helped the Destroyers pull back ahead. The game got physical as was evident by the number of free throws shot by both teams. This was an area of the Destroyers' game that Coach TJ Newsham had tabbed as "correctable mistakes" referring to the teams previous poor free throw shooting.

Down the stretch, the Destroyers enjoyed 11-17 free throw shooting to go along with 13-19 from the floor. Newcomer Marcus Skinner lead all scorers with 28 points for the Destroyers while highlight reel Odgra Bobo added 24. Luke Lloyd was a monster on the boards with 15 rebounds while adding 11 points himself.

Michael Simms lead the Throwbacks with 27 points and 10 rebounds with Stanley Thomas scoring 22.

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John Keuvelaar
John Keuvelaar is a college student at Midwest Photography Workshops and Delta College. More from John Keuvelaar

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