By Mike Bandieri
Boom-Shakalaka came out ready to play in the first game of the season, with a statement victory over the Halfway Crooks, 101-56. Jared Hanson led the Halfway Crooks in scoring with 21, while Ryan Rawnsley, Matt Camara and Trevor DiMicco all scored 23, 22 and 21 respectively against him.
Fatigue and rebounding played a crucial part in Boom-Shakalaka’s routing of the Halfway Crooks. The Halfway Crooks played with just five players compared to Boom-Shakalakas seven. This was most apparent in the fourth quarter when Boom-Shakalaka scored 36 points. They seemed to be getting whatever shots they wanted as the defense could only stand idly by.
Boom-Shakalaka also severely out-rebounded their opponent a whopping 57 to 25. The rebounding edge came not only with a height advantage, as Boom-Shakalaka seemed to want the ball more. Everybody was crashing the glass, including their two guards who combined for 12 rebounds.
Boom-Shakalaka also demonstrated great chemistry on both offense and defense. Offensively, they had the ball moving and racked up twenty-seven assists. Defensively they were rotating and calling out picks, leading to eight steals and three blocks.
Not all is bad for the Halfway Crooks, however, as they will have more players returning to their team in future weeks. A loss to open the season also is not the end of the world. There is a lot of basketball left to played, and they can only go up from here.
Boom-Shakalaka simply wanted this game more. They came out looking to make a statement, and that is exactly what they did Wednesday night. They took advantage of the extra players they had, and were refreshed down the stretch.
