WESTMINSTER, CO: Week 1 Recap | Off and running

Ultimate Hoops Westminster is off to a great start to the fall season. A lot of fresh new blood to go along with the seasoned vets has this season up for grabs.

The Kardashians - 67 The Gladiators - 60

The first game of the fall season featured two names familiar with Ultimate Hoops, The Kardashians against The Gladiators. The Kardashians feature a mix of young and veteran talent that made a few changes to their roster from last season, while The Gladiators have made major adjustments to their roster, with the exception of long time captain Saul Chavira and the reliable Jake Morin.

The offseason was longer than normal between the summer and fall season of UH, so both of these teams were a bit rusty out of the gates. Both teams were missing shots they usually make, but that’s not to take away from the solid defense both squads were playing. The Gladiators took a four point lead to the break.

In the second half, former Colorado Springs Ultimate Hoops star Chris Morgan took over the game. His length and athleticism, which included a highlight ally-oop, were too much to handle for The Gladiators, and Dylan Loucks hit a clutch three pointer late that iced the game for The Kardashians, as they begin their season with a big W, 67-60. The game also marked the return of UH favorite, Roger Lester, who returned to the hardwood after taking some time off to finish school. Roger has been a great ambassador for Ultimate Hoops, so it was great to see him back in the gym.

Long Shots - 73 The Bad Boys - 55

The other seven o’clock game featured two more mainstays in Ultimate Hoops, the Long Shots against The Bad Boys. The Long Shots are led by captain, and Life Time PT, Derek Elliott, while The Bad Boys are led by co-GM’s Matt Rice and Jerimiah Ramos. The Long Shots joined forces with a few other UH veterans, namely, Patrick Dudley in an effort to add some more experience to their roster. The Bad Boys completely overhauled their roster, adding Reggie Williams, Chad Smith and Justin Jones to the mix. Matt Rice would’ve made George Steinbrenner proud with the moves he made this offseason.

The first half of this game wasn’t much different from the other 7:00 game, as both teams were shaking a bit of rust off from the offseason. Both teams were trading buckets (and misses) throughout the first half, with The Bad Boys going in to the half with a four point lead.

The second half was interesting, to say the least. It started out looking like the first half, with neither team being able to pull away. Then, as The Bad Boys had a three point lead at around the 16 minute mark, Chad Smith received two technical fouls with two minutes, and Jerimiah Ramos receiving another one not long after, and that sent The Bad Boys in to a tailspin. The Long Shots took advantage of, not only, the extra free throws, but their opponent’s frustration, and cruised to a 73-55 victory to start their season. Derek Elliott led the way with 30 points.

Eat, Sleep, Ball, Repeat - 88 Havoc - 62

Another GM that spent his offseason wheeling and dealing was Erick Saengchanh of Eat, Sleep, Ball, Repeat. He developed a roster of veteran UH players along with a few ne ones. ESBR should be a tough team this season. They matched up with Havoc, a team of mostly new blood, in the 8:00 game.

Since these teams are new to playing with each other, they both struggled with their chemistry early on. There were a lot of missed shots and turnovers, as neither team could find any rhythm, and ESBR limped in to the half with a 35-30 lead.

Whoever gave the halftime speech to Eat, Sleep, Ball, Repeat should be a professional motivational speaker, because this squad came out firing. They went on a 15-0 run in the second half, and outscored Havoc 53-32 in the second frame, cruising to an 88-62 victory. What was even more impressive is that ESBR had an astounding 24 assists in the game. UH newcomer Nick Folkedahl led all scorers with 23 points on the night.

IMPACT Basketball - 84 FireSquad - 70

The second 8:00 game was an intriguing one. One squad is full of UH veterans; we’ll call them one of the wiser, more experienced teams in Ultimate Hoops. The other is a team that has plenty of familiar faces, but is a team of guys in their early 20’s. One team is very methodical and likes to make at least three or four passes on each offensive possession, while the other likes to use their youth to their advantage and get up and down the court.

From the opening tip, it was apparent that experience outweighed the youth, as IMPACT Basketball jumped out to a big lead early. IMPACT was playing suffocating defense, forcing a lot of turnovers that led to some easy buckets in the first half. IMPACT raced out to a 15 point halftime lead over FireSquad.

The second half was more balanced, as FireSquad wouldn’t let IMPACT pull away. Richard Peterson tried to lead a big second half comeback for FireSquad, but every time they went on a mini run, they seemed to be brought back down to earth by Rob Dobson, who three clutch three pointers in the second half. In the end, IMPACT won the game handily 84-70, led by Beau Barney’s 29 points.

FireSquad will be a tough team this season and figures to be right in the thick of the playoff push. One thing that will help is having their best shooter get healthy, as Alfredo Gracia is nursing a sore shooting hand. This team isn’t going anywhere.

The Gladiators - 76 Purple Cobras - 53

The night’s finale consisted of The Gladiators, who were playing their second game of the night, going up against the Purple Cobras, a team with a few staff members as well as some returning UH players.

In the first half, someone played a mean prank on these teams by putting a lid on each rim, as neither team wanted to score any points in the early going. After trading misses for a while, these teams finally found a way to score some points, with The Gladiators taking a 35-30 lead in to the half.

You would have figured that a team playing their second game of the night, and that second game being the late game, no less, would have been pretty gassed…that was not the case. It was the Purple Cobras that looked exhausted in the second half and absolutely nothing went their way. The Gladiators turned a close game in to a blowout, outscoring the Purple Cobras 41-23 in the second half. Saul Chavira led all scorers with 26 points in the week one finale.