MONTVALE, NJ: Season Two Off And Running

After a successful opening season at Monvtale UHoops, the 2014 Spring campaign opened up with the defending champs taking the floor first, followed by a few welcome surprises.

Team Old School picked up right where they left off, handing a newly-formed RUNt squad a 44-32 defeat. The action was competitive throughout, but once again Old School’s defense proved to be a big difference in the low-scoring affair. Every player scored for Old School as the team shot 50% as a whole. RUNt, meanwhile, made just nine field goals all game, led by Vinnie Graff’s 14. Graff, however, missed 9 of his 13 attempts. He did manage to hit his team’s only three three-pointers.

In Game 2, Young Gelt Militia shocked a Justin team that had a winning record last season in a 60-33 blowout. This group of high schoolers came out firing, shooting an astounding 59% from the field while making 7 of 15 threes. Justin had no answers on defense for YGM, whose ball movement and offensive sets were impressive to say the least. Jordan Lazarus let the way for YGM with 24 points. Meanwhile, Justin Leon was the only player on his team to crack double-figures, accounting for nearly half of his squad’s points.

The final contest of the night was another rout, yet perhaps even more unexpected. Just the Tip, playing with just five guys, took down Team Randy 57-29. Just the Tip managed a single victory last season and was playing without high scorer Rob Buonanno. However, they received huge performances from Nick Licameli and Brian Weinberger, who combined for 46 of the team’s 57. Randy simply could not find its shot. After trailing by 10 at the half, it was all downhill in the second session. Just two players, Jason Fond and Steve Begleiter, managed more than a single field goal.

Take a look at our interview with Just the Tip’s Larry Politis, who contributed 8 points and 15 rebounds in the winning effort, as he explains how his team put on such a dominant performance.