Earlier in the week, Uncle Chubby’s came back with a big 2nd half against the Cowboys to win their play-in game for the right to play the top-seeded Ferrall Ballerz in Montvale’s semi-finals. That’s where their run ended.

On Monday night, James Kopfensteiner had 21 points and 11 rebounds to lead the way as Chubby’s shot 41% from beyond the arc and 38% from the field overall. Those numbers would not be repeated in the next round.

Uncle Chubby’s tried to disrupt the Ferrall Ballerz offensive flow from the start of the game by using a zone defense, but it didn’t work as the Ballerz took control of the game. The Ballerz got out to a 6-2 lead after Scott Ferrall (4 pts, 9 reb) got his own transition miss and hit Dan Bronstein (18 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast) for a short jumper.

The lead kept growing for the Ballerz as Chubby’s had trouble scoring all half. It went from 10-5 with 12 min left in the 1st half to 15-5 with 5:30 min left to 17-5 after a Justin Leon (11 points, 8 reb, 7 ast) layup. The Ballerz scoring run was finally interrupted by a Tommy Christensen (2 pts, 7 reb) jumper at 3:45 left in the half. Then Kopfensteiner (8 pts) brought Chubby’s into double digits by completing a 3-point play with 1 min left in the half. Another Bronstein jumper just before the break gave the Ballerz a 24-10 lead after the first 22 minutes.

The offensive output for Uncle Chubby’s more than doubled in the 2nd half as Mike McClendon (10 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast) and the rest of the team traded baskets with the Ballerz for the first 10 minutes of the half. There were even a few chances for Chubby’s to get the lead into single digits with about 12 minutes remaining, but they couldn’t convert on their shots and the Ballerz turned solid defense into transition offense and took the game over.

Vinnie Graff (14 pts, 3 ast, 2 reb) threw a great pass that Ferrall finished for a 41-27 lead with 8 minutes left in the game. Then a Leon layup with 3:30 left in the game pushed the lead up to 50-31 and the game closed out at 59-32. The Ballerz defense held Chubby’s to just 25% from the field and 5% from outside the arc.

The Ballerz keep their 2nd perfect season alive as they move to 9-0 and try to win their 3rd championship and 2nd in a row.

To see the rest of the highlights from this game, go watch the Semi-Finals Playlist on the UHoops Montvale YouTube Page.

Before the game Ferrall caught up with Uncle Chubby’s leaders Brian Cooke and James Kopfensteiner to get their thoughts on their first season in the league.