By Joe Catapano
Many basketball teams come out of the gates slow and rusty in their first game of the year, but this was not the case for Run TMC in their 112-58 victory over And-1 Tuesday night to kick off the 2016 season.
Run TMC dominated all aspects of the game right from the opening tip-off. Their fast-paced and forceful offense led by Shaq Holman was too much for the opposition, who never seemed to stand a chance.
Holman, who finished the night with a game-high 23 points along with seven assists and six rebounds, said he believed teamwork and passing were two of the main factors that led to the win.
But Holman wasn’t the only standout on Run TMC. In fact, no player on their roster scored less than 12 points. Matt Zocco finished the game with 22 points, shooting 10-of-17 from the floor (58.8 percent).
Scoring 112 points in a 40-minute game is quite a feat, but an achievement that Run TMC believes they can attain again in the future.
“Yeah, easy, ” Holman said after the game. “Yeah, that’s an off day.”
The one piece of silver lining for And-1 was a gutsy performance from Jake Miko, who finished with 23 points. When Run TMC ran away with the game, it was Miko who kept throwing up shots until the final buzzer sounded. He finished with seven 3-pointers on 33.3 percent shooting.
And-1’s David Torres believed their team’s lack of experience compared to Run TMC was the main factor that contributed to the blowout.
“These guys are experienced,” Torres said. “They’ve been here last year; they’ve played a whole season.”
And-1 will look to bounce back next week against The Brotherhood (1-0), while Run TMC will battle it out with The Pandas to see if they can continue to run all over the competition.
