BOOKSTORE: Sack, Cloth makes We're Gonna Suck live up to name
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Senior Staff Writer
Mike Perrone's team had two strikes against it from the start of Wednesday's Bookstore Basketball second-round game.
Strike one — Perrone, Lance LeClare, Rob Mallory, Holt Zeidler and Stephen Torchen named their team We're Gonna Suck.
"Seeing by our team's name," Perrone said, "we didn't expect to win one game, let alone two."
Strike two — We're Gonna Suck was taking on a team with God on its side, with Sack Cloth and Ashes made up of five members of Old College, the feeder dorm for future seminarians.
Two strikes were enough to lead Sack Cloth and Ashes, which plays together twice a week at Moreau Seminary, past We're Gonna Suck 21-11.
"We wanted to win two games," Sack Cloth and Ashes' Matt Vereecke said, "and we did that. Anything else is a bonus."
Sack Cloth and Ashes, made up of Vereecke, David Esch, Steve Davidson, Andrew Polaniecki and Tom Hofmann, took a 13-6 lead and kept the advantage down the stretch. Vereecke and Esch combined for the final six points to carry their squad into the third round.
"We have some defense and quickness," said Esch.
Sack Cloth and Ashes picked off We're Gonna Suck for a number of steals during the game, leading to several fast breaks.
Their motto didn't get them yet as Live Fat, Die Young.com stayed alive in the tournament with a 21-18 victory over Team 431.
"We got out to an early lead and got lucky," said Live Fat, Die Young.com's Adam Koch, who hit the game-winning jumper.
Koch and Zak Kordik paired up for 13 of Live Fat, Die Young.com's 21 points, with C.J. Murray, Danny Goodwin and Tyler Roberts putting in the rest.
Live Fat, Die Young.com jumped out to an 11-6 halftime lead with its height advantage. It slowed down the stretch, letting Team 431 score five straight points to pull back into the contest before Koch's final basket.
"It's a scrappy squad with a lot of talent," Kordik said of Team 431.
Playing for Team 431 were five Zahm guys — Mike Sena, John Tozlowski, Divish Ranjan, Nick Bondi and Greg "Smitty" Smith.
A ranked team of the tournament went down for the second time on Wednesday when Prill and Co. upset No. 28 Rival Pipe 21-15.
"We really got into a rhythm real early," said Prill and Co.'s Greg Sech. "It was 9 - 3, so we were really feeling good, but they kind of closed in on us and the halftime score was 11-8."
Rival Pipe didn't roll over and hand the win to Prill and Co.
"They were definitely good," Sech said. "They had a strong inside presence from this guy that they called Rudy. In the second half, he got kind of injured. Another guy on the team was pretty much shooting lights out."
In the end, though, the Prill brothers, Matt and Chris Prill, led the team named after them to victory and the round of 128.
"Sixty-four has been my goal," Sech said. "I've never gotten past the round of 256. I've always had some bad draws. Now I'm in uncharted territory."
Castro did something right as Four White Guys and Castro dictated over Dumper 21-8.
"Castro here came over on a boat about five years ago," joked Four White Guys and Castro player Carey Tri of his teammate Rene Perez, whose Cuban background gave the team its name.
"They were a lot better than the team we played the other day," Perez said of Dumper.
Dumper's squad of Phil Dittmar, John Heyl, Dean Koralis, Tim Ryan and Ryan Regan dropped behind early and couldn't catch up.
"It was really physical," said Dittmar, a former Fisher resident. "They came to play.
Sean Williams, Dan Kaiser and Nick Kheriaty joined Perez and Tri on the winning team. Four White Guys and Castro won the right to take on No. 3 seed NDToday.com.
NDToday.com's high ranking doesn't scare Tri, who promised another win.
"We're gonna destroy NDToday.com next," Tri said. "I guarantee a victory."
The No. 4 seeded Majestics didn't have much trouble getting past He Hate Me, advancing with a 21-12 win.
The Majestics, with a team of Corey Hartmann, Justin Heberle, Derek Gautier, Matt Wolbeck and Sean McCarthy, were able to sink their shots to get past He Hate Me.
"Usually teams kind of have a cakewalk the first few games," Hartmann said. "They made us work. It's good to get competition in an early round game.
He Hate Me had the unenviable task of trying to beat a top-five team in the second round.
"It would have been nice to play them in a later round when we were playing a little better," said He Hate Me's Joe Napolitano. "I think they're probably one of the top two or three teams in the tournament, so it was going to be a tough game either way."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 19, 2001
