WESTMINSTER, CO: Week 1 Recap | It's not just cold outside

The beginning of each Ultimate Hoops season usually means two things: a lot of basketball players have hopes of raising a banner in their respective gyms and there are going to be a lot of missed shots. Both of those rang true on Tuesday night in Westminster.

Long Shots – 63 vs. The Gladiators – 57

The winter season started off with a familiar Gladiators team taking on the Long Shots. Some new additions to both teams, Gladiators picked up big man Kyle Norman who proved to be a quality asset getting 3 blocks in the first half. The Gladiators add some great size to their speedy line up where this year’s Long Shots have familiar faces from last year’s White Iverson’s with the addition of solid finisher Jake Morin and quick guard Chris Hayes. The game started off with some good back and forth action leaving things fairly close at half time with the Long Shots up by only 2 at half time. Gladiators lost guard Saul Chavira to injury, that’s where players Michael Lopez and Marcus Jimenez had to step up both leading the team in point production for the night. Unfortunately big man Kyle Norman couldn’t block every driving attempt made by the Long Shots. The athletic bunch took advantage of the Gladiators dry spell on offense that the Gladiators just couldn’t come back from. Long Shots MVP Derek Elliot finished with a double double scoring a game high 23 points and 10 rebounds.

IMPACT Basketball – 89 vs. Ciroc Boyz – 70

Last season’s Champions, IMPACT, took on the Ciroc Boyz to start out the brand new season on a familiar foot. Former champions took their first W of the Winter Season from new team Ciroc Boyz. In a cheeky match between both teams, emotions ran high as both teams battled it out with what was a fairly close game leading up into the second half. IMPACT led Ciroc Boyz 40-33 going into the second half. With solid performances across the board coming from IMPACT the Ciroc Boyz just didn’t have the consistency to take down the champions despite last year’s team leader of The Kardashians, Chris Morgan, scoring a team high 24 points in an effort to start the season off with a solid W against the champions.. With a great addition to the reigning champs, Jimmy Binnie scored a second team best of 21 points and 9 rebounds behind MVP Beau Barney’s 25 points and 9 rebounds. It looks like IMPACT Is only getting tougher and tougher to beat as time goes on. Will be interesting to see which team this season will be able to take on the defending champions and give them a true challenge.

Purple Cobras – 45 vs. Life Time Legends - 42

In a close matchup between last years Purple Cobras and fresh new players known as Life Time Legends, The Purple Cobras started their new season off on a much better foot. Coming off of a losing record last year and an immediate first round knockout, The Purple Cobras came out ready to go. Even with a short squad for the night The Purple Cobras held their 7 point lead going into halftime, Life Time Legends gave them a solid run for their money within the last few minutes of the game. Luckily Purple Cobras held the Legends to grasp a 45-42 victory.

The Bad Boys – 93 vs. Eat, Sleep, Ball, Repeat – 60

Good basketball was played tonight as The Bad Boys and ESBR played their very first game of the new Winter Season. Surprising new member of the notorious Bad Boys team, Blake Mahler, made a solid splash on the roster as he took on his former team, ESBR. Big man Reggie Jackson led Bad Boys with 29 points followed by original member Matt Rice with 14 points shooting almost 50% from the arc. Rice nailed four 3’s that put the nail in the coffin for ESBR. Turnovers and poor decision making were the downfall of ESBR. Bad Boys took advantage with mismatches and really pushing in transition. A much more solid and composed look for The Bad Boys this season could take them far come playoffs, although it’s still too early to tell. If they take advantage of their size, speed, and strength they could be legit contenders throughout the season.