Winter 2016 Thursday Men's Basketball @ BOSCO Center

Ball So Hard and the Average Joes tipped off the season with a hard fought battle. The final score may have been 12 points, but the game had been much closer than that throughout the contest. Ball So Hard was able to create an advantage with their drive and kick offense. They were able to penetrate into the lane for easy looks, or kick it back out for open shots. The Average Joes put up a great fight for their first time ever playing together and will look to continue to improve going into next week.

The Licking County Legends came away with the 54-38 victory over the Monstars. The Legends struggled to hit their open shots in the first half, but started to click in the second half. They also forced a number of turnovers with their quick zone defense. The Monstars hung tough for a good portion of the game, but eventually just ran out of steam with their short bench.

The Monstars recovered brilliantly in the second game of their double header in their win over Make It Rain. This was a low scoring defensive battle. The Monstars were just able to grind out a few more buckets to hold onto the lead. Both teams will look to heat up their offenses in their next matchups in Week 2.

The Average Joes picked up another big win over the Licking County Legends. The Legends got off to another slow start and couldn't pull themselves out of the hole this time. The Average Joes were hot from outside to start and continued to control the glass even when all those shots weren't falling late. The win allowed the Average Joes to leap frog the Legends in the standings.

Even with some tired legs, the Average Joes managed a 39-32 victory against Make It Rain. The Average Joes jumped out early, but started to run out of gas as the game went on. Make It Rain kept it within striking distance with some great guard play. The Average Joes were able to hold them off just long enough and earned their 3rd straight win. They'll look to avenge their only loss of the season next week against Ball So Hard.

Ball So Hard remains perfect on the season after their match up with the Monstars. Ball So Hard had the size and quickness to give the Monstars some trouble. Ball So Hard played some aggressive defense that resulted in a number of turnovers and fast break points. The Monstars were able to stick around with a solid inside out attack. It wasn't until late in the game that Ball So Hard really pulled away to put it out of reach. Ball So Hard now sits alone on top of the standings, but will have a battle for 1st place with the Average Joes next week.

Make It Rain and the Average Joes faced off in the first match of the night. The game was tight until a big second half run by the Average Joes pushed them out front. The Average Joes forced some key turnovers and ran the floor well for some easy fast break points off of great outlet passes. Make It Rain didn't have an answer for the Average Joes inside, as the Joes were able to control the glass and eliminate Make It Rain's possibility for second chance points. The win puts the Average Joes at 4-2 and sitting in second place, with just a week left to play before the playoffs.

The Monstars overcame an early sluggish start and hung on for a 2 point victory over Make It Rain. It took the Monstars close to 6 minutes before they found themselves on the scoreboard, but Make It Rain didn't pull away when they had the chance. The Monstars were still able to end the half with a 4 point lead, after their slow start. Make It Rain kept the pressure on by attacking the basket with an array of floaters and layups. With just a few seconds remaining, Make It Rain had a chance for a last second put back shot to force overtime but it went too long off the back iron.

Ball So Hard picked up another big win over the Licking County Legends in their second meeting of the season. Both teams showed off some solid defense and open looks were at a premium this game. Ball So Hard did start to find some success attacking the Legend's zone from the back side. A short run to start the second half, was all Ball So Hard needed to jump out and build a cushion to sit on for the rest of the game. The Legends did start to knock down their threes late, but it was not enough to get them back over the hump. With the win, Ball So Hard locked up the #1 seed in the playoffs with their 6-0 record.