By Matt Stefano
In an intense, see-saw game that went into overtime, the Temptations scraped by with their third win of the season, beating Red-emption, 101-92. Carmine Santorelli had yet another sensational game, but this one was one for the books as Carmine set a league record with 62 points Tuesday night.
Three of Santarelli’s 62 were a game-tying three with about 15 seconds left in regulation that pushed the game to overtime. Santorelli hit ten threes in the game, and added seven rebound, seven assists and three steals while only missing ten of the 32 shots he attempted.
Red-emption had a lead over Temptations as they went into the second half. In an attempt to slow down Santorelli, Red-emption double-teamed him constantly. By the end of the second quarter, Red-emption had a 42-37 lead. Red-emption was playing a fast paced game and making their shots. On defense, Red-emption was not letting Santorelli play his usual great game and was forcing Temptations to drive to the basket.
“They just got easy layups, we were working for our shots and they were making easy layups,” Santorelli said about his team in the first half. “They were cutting to the basket and we weren’t talking so we just got to learn from that for the next game.”
In the fourth quarter, Santorelli showed his strength as a powerful offensive player. With fifteen seconds left in the game and down by three, he dribbled down the court with ease. The referee asked him “What are you going to do,” and Santorelli replied “I’m going to make this last shot.”
And that is exactly what he did.
Santorelli went into overtime with a vengeance, scoring many of the Temptations’ 14 points and lifting his team to victory.
For Red-emption we were looking forward to seeing Jalen Graham and Scott Corchard, who were not able to team up to defeat the Temptations. Graham led his team with 38 points, while Corchard added 19 points of his own. Stanley Geter also contributed with 22 points. It was a good team effort by Red-emption, but just not enough.
Carmine thanked his team for helping him score the most points in a single game in Legacy Leagues history.
“It feels good man, but I got to give it up to my teammates,” Santorelli said. They gave me the ball every time, and without them giving me the ball every time it doesn’t happen.”