League Championship spots to be decided

tonight and Thursday

by Mark Butcher

Sports Writer

Three must-win games are on the Bremerton Park & Rec Fall Men’s League schedule this week for teams trying to get a spot in next week’s championship game, #1 vs #2.

One of the three game isn’t the first game tonight (Wed. – Nov. 7) at 6 p.m., a Div. II contest between #1 All-State (3-1) and #5 Honey Badgers (1-3). A win by All-State secures them the #1 spot in the championship. An unanticipated loss would simply move them from the #1 to the #2 spot in the championship.

Nor is it the first contest Thursday (Nov. 8) evening, another Div. II game featuring Casey’s Bail Co. (2-2) and Sound Life Church (1-3). With two loses, to #1 All-State (3-1) and #2 Boat Shed (3-1), no window remains open for Casey’s Bail Co. to get into the League Championship. Sound Life Church is simply looking to win game #2.

The same can be said about the 7:05 p.m. Div. I game tonight, the second of three contests in the Sheridan Park gym. One of the two, Suquamish (0-4) or Casey’s Under Dogs (0-4), will get their first win of the Fall League.

For those willing to stick around for the late game tonight at 8:10 p.m., they will see the first must-win game, between Heavy Hitters (3-1) and Unguardable (2-2). If Unguardable (2-2), who are currently in the midst of a two-game skid, can take down Heavy Hitters (3-1), a lot of sorting out will have to be done to determine next week’s Div. I championship opponents. So, Heavy Hitters need to add a fourth win to their Fall record tonight to remain eligible for the championship.

“In the case of a tie, two teams with identical records,” Park & Rec League Coordinator Scott Evans stated, “the tie-breaker prodigal is used. I first look at head-to-head competition between the teams. If that doesn’t resolve it, I then use game score point differential to determine seeding.”

The second must-win game of the week is the second contest Thursday (Nov. 8) nights, that starts at 7:05 p.m.  With their two-point loss (65-63) last week to All-State (3-1), Boat Shed (3-1) has to beat McClouds (2-2), who also fell last week, to get the #2 championship spot. If numbers hold weight, Boat Shed is favored. They average 64.7 points per game, while McClouds put 56.7 point in the scorebook each week.

But the marquee game of the week is Div. I opponents O.R.N. (4-0) versus Admirals Rec (3-1). Tip-off is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. Thursday in the Bremerton Brick Palace.

An Admirals Rec win, who have slowly been building their roster all season and won five of the six Park & Rec Men’s Basketball championship in 2017-18, would create a three-way tie for first place – Admirals Rec, Heavy Hitters, O.R.N. So, all the weight in the final contest Thursday night is on O.R.N. shoulders, to retain their unblemished record and step into the championship game next week as the top seed.

The contest will be entertaining, as O.R.N. averages 71.0 ppg and allows their opponent 63.7 a game, a differential of just +7.2 points. So far this season, Admirals Rec have scored 267 points through four games (66.7 points), while giving up just 62.5 ppg, the second lowest total of the six Div. I teams. Players to watch are O.R.N.’s Tyron Smith (19.5), Admirals Rec’s Lance Dardon (18.3), O.R.N.’s Duke Hamiel (16.0), Admirals’ Kevin Van Hook (16.0), and O.R.N.’s Duane Brown (15.7).

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