Stroker's win prevents No. 1 vs. No. 2 championship
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Senior Staff Writer
The Bookstore Basketball championships almost went down to a No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle just like last year, but the sixth-ranked Nylon Strokers nixed that possibility with a 21-19 semifinals upset Saturday of second-ranked Versatility. Top-seeded Five Reasons Your Girl Left You defended its rank with a 21-16 win over Verzatility to get to the finals.
Nylon Strokers' Brian "Pepper" Oleniczak won the Versatility-Nylon Strokers game by sinking a free throw to hold off a Versatility comeback.
"We had trouble with our free throws a lot in the earlier games," said Nylon Strokers' Chris Conway. "We were much better now, using our legs, concentrating. If you saw us Tuesday night, we were horrible."
After trailing by a bucket or two most of the first half, the Nylon Strokers put together a 6-0 scoring spurt to open the second half and take a decisive 16-11 lead. Al Vitter, the tournament MVP, scored three of the six points during the stretch.
"This was definitely the best team we've played," Conway said. "This is the first game we've played as the underdogs."
Versatility point guard Chris Dillon, a first-team all-Bookstore selection, kept his team in the game almost singlehandedly. He hit two shots from 3-point land and one from near the halfcourt line to close the gap to 18-15. Teammate Joe Lillis narrowed the score one more with a driving bucket
Nylon Strokers' Conway hit a free throw to give his squad a 19-16 edge.
Versatility didn't give up so quickly. Jason Childress banked in a rebound goal, and after several non-scoring possessions, former Notre Dame basketball walkon John Hiltz hit a pullup jumper to make it 19-18.
Vitter, who scored nine points, hit a shot from behind the 3-point line for game point.
"I guess it was just my day," Vitter said. "We've still got to work on getting the ball down low more. I think we're relying way too much on the outside shots. If we weren't hitting our outside shots today, we would have been dead. The offense definitely can't revolve around me, because I'm not going to be hitting all the time."
Dillon responded to Vitter's basket by hitting a driving hook to put the score at 20-19.
Then came Oleniczak's gamewinning foul shot.
"They made the big shots when they had to," said Versatility's Tim Greene. "We struggled getting the ball to go down towards the end of the game, and in that close of a game, that's a big factor."
All Versatility's players except Hiltz, a junior, graduate this year, ending their Bookstore run just short of a title. Last year, Versatility advanced to the Final Four, and in 1999, it lost in the championship game.
Five Reasons hit nothing but net in its semifinals game, leaving little room for error by Verzatility.
"I don't think they missed a shot," said Verzatility's Jon Bevilacqua.
One or two, maybe, but not many.
"I think turnovers really hurt us, and they were shooting phenomenally," said Verzatility's "Packy" Lyden.
Dan Lustig and Kevin "Mumbles" Muempfer, both first-team all-tournament picks, led the deadly shooting attack for Five Reasons, Lustig scoring eight and Muempfer six.
"I didn't make one shot during warmups," said Lustig, a 6-foot-4 sophomore. "Usually I never warm up, actually. I show up late at Rolfs and my teammates are always ready to start."
Five Reasons held off fatigue after playing a 26-24 marathon decision the day before. After an 11-7 halftime lead, Five Reasons soared with four straight points. Muempfer and Lustig each hit a long jumper, Dan Reidy scored a putback bucket and Muempfer sealed in an off-balance jumper from the baseline.
"Kevin and I went on streaks," said Lustig.
Verzatility's Lyden, Kevin Murphy and former Notre Dame basketball walkon Hunt Hanover combined to close the gap to 16-11, but Reidy ended the brief dry spell for Five Reasons with a jumper.
The two teams then exchanged a pair of buckets. 6-8 Paul Raih knocked in a rebound goal for Five Reasons, and Hanover came back with a bangin goal for Verzatility. Lustig then sank another jump shot off the pass, with Lyden putting in a jumper for Verzatility.
Following a Murphy free throw for Verzatility, Lustig dropped in yet another jumper, this time off a Muempfer assist. Verzatility got as close as four points after a Lyden long-distance shot and a Bevilacqua jam.
Fittingly, Lustig ended the game with a silky soft jump shot that went in despite a Verzatility foul.
"My shots were on," Lustig said.
Verzatility went way beyond expectations, entering the tourney ranked 21st, a seeding which moved up to 13th after the reseeding at the round of 16. Their team was a last-minute put-together. Hanover, Brian MacKinnon and Lyden, all St. Ed's residents, picked up Murphy and Bevilacqua, who had played together before.
"I thought we made a great run at it," Bevilacqua said, "especially since we were ranked 21 going in. When we started playing together, we just really clicked."
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 30, 2001
