By Joe Catapano
Just two weeks ago The Land fell to Wake and Blake in overtime after being down 13 points heading into the final quarter. Tuesday night they redeemed themselves, coming back from a 13-point halftime deficit to beat Sportslook in overtime, 104-103.
Acevedo’s Legacy Leagues record 51 points, along with 11 rebounds and 10 assists, was not enough to overcome the performances from the Cody brothers. Both brothers finished with a double-double; Brett led the duo with 29 points, while Mike added 24.
Sportslook (6-2) was the favorite heading into Tuesday night’s matchup. The one-loss team, led by Bryan Acevedo, has proved week in and week out that they can win without Andrew Cavanagh, who hasn’t played since Week 3. The buzz around the Legacy Leagues indicated a possible Cavanagh return for Tuesday night, potentially setting up the first game of the season featuring both Acevedo and Cavanagh in the backcourt at the same time. This, unfortunately, turned out to be all hype.
Even without Cavanagh, it was almost a guarantee that Acevedo would deliver another spectacular performance to lift Sportslook to yet another win. However, only one of those things panned out.
The Land (3-5) found themselves down 13 points at the half, but they remained confident in their chances to take down the opposition through their depth.
“I think we’re the better team, you know,” The Land’s Anthony Herman said at the break. “They have like one athlete out there, and we got nine.”
That “one athlete” Herman was referencing single-handedly forced the game into overtime once The Land erased the halftime deficit and took a lead. Acevedo hit a game-tying 3-pointer with just under three seconds remaining in regulation.
But two Cody brothers proved to be greater than one Acevedo in the end. After the game, Herman spoke again about his team’s talents.
“Greatness overcomes, plain and simple,” Herman said. “The better team is always going to win…I’ll be back next week and we’ll take care of business.”
The Land has an opportunity to build on their momentum before the playoffs with another win next week against struggling Run TMC (3-5), while Sportslook will look to test their talents against the still unbeaten Brotherhood (8-0).
