Unguardable no longer in championship hunt;

Heavy Hitters make a statement

by Mark Butcher

Sports Writer

Unguardable (2-1) held their Bremerton Park & Rec Men’s Fall League (Div. I) championship aspiration in their hands Tuesday (Oct. 30^th) night. All they had to do was beat O.R.N. (3-0).

The league championship game is scheduled for Wednesday (Nov. 14^th) at 7:05 p.m. in the Sheridan Park gym and pits the 1^st Place Team against the 2^nd Place Team.

A victory would have dropped O.R.N. to 3 wins and 1 lose, below Unguardable, who would have returned to the #1 spot in the standings.

Potentially, Unguardable also had the better of O.R.N., who only managed to put jersey’s on six of their eleven players Tuesday night. But three of the O.R.N. six players were their leading scorers – Tyron Smith (19.5 points per game), Duke Hamiel (16.0 ppg), and Duane Brown (15.7 ppg).

And, Unguardable played to their potential in the first half, scoring 22 points and holding O.R.N. to just 23 points, 10 points below their initial period average.

O.R.N. found their offensive rhythm in the second half as Smith scored 15 of his game-high 25 points and Brown contributed 13 of his game's 15 points. Hamiel, who initially put eight points in the books, added only a single field goals in the final period.

Unguardable were able to better their first half performance with 29 points in the second period. But without both of their top scorers, Steffan Collins (21.0 ppg) and Tyler Parker (18.0), they were unable to stay up with O.R.N.’s (4-0) offensive burst. Although, Trent Hunt did string together a season-high 21 points for Unguardable (2-2), his first twenty-point game this fall, in the 62-to-51 loss.

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Not very often do all five starters score in double-figures. But that is exactly what the Heavy Hitters starters did in the second game (7:05 p.m.) Tuesday during their 90-to-69 win.

Adrian Harper led Heavy Hitter, who were ahead 42-to-26 at halftime, with 27 points, his second twenty-points game of the season. Patrick Lewis, whose 34 points last week established the league single-game benchmark, followed with 23. Damarius Johnson added 15, Tanner Rabosay 12, and Dwayne Cotton 10.

But the player with the hot-hand was Suquamish’s Keoki Laguana, who recorded a game-high 34 points. His eight three-pointers, two in the first period and six in the second, eclipsed the league-high six long-range baskets teammate Jacob Hill dropped on O.R.N. the week prior (Oct. 24^th). Suquamish's other double-digit scorers were Jimmy Kings (11) and Brooks Ellingson (10).

The victory keeps Heavy Hitters (3-1) in contention for the league championship in two weeks and drops Suquamish to 0-4.

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Bremerton Park & Rec Men’s basketball games can be emotional events. A player(s) who does not keep their emotions in check it can cost their team the game. League rules dictate that three Unsportsmanlike Technical Fouls by the same team results in an immediate game forfeiture.

That was the penalty levied against Casey’s Under Dogs when Juwan Johnson was whistled for his second technical foul late in the second period. The combination of Johnson’s second strikes and a tech issued to teammate Devon Hocker earlier gave the Admirals the forfeit win, while leading 69-to-58.

Amongst the confusion, teammate A.J. Herring had an outstanding game with a season-high 23 point, his first of the Fall league, and Michael Powell put 10 points in the scorebook.

On the other end of the floor, in an Admirals jersey, leading scorer Lance Dardor continued to do his thing with a team-high 18 points. Kevin Van Hook, making his first appearance in the Fall League, was the team’s only other double-digit producer with 16 points.

The free win permitted Admirals Rec (3-1) to remain in a second-place tie with Heavy Hitters (3-1) and Casey’s Under Dogs fell to 0-4 in the Fall League standings. Heavy Hitters holds the championship game trump card with their 82-to-65 opening night over the Admirals on Oct. 10^th.

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