NDToday.com, Keyplay.com roll to Final Four victories
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Associate Sports Editor
NDToday.com romped through the Bookstore Basketball semifinals with a 21-10 ride over the No. 10 Majestics.
The second-seeded team scored the first four baskets of the game on drives by Todd Titus and B.J. Kloska, a 3-point range shot by Kloska and an off-balance jumper by Dave Mikolyzk. The Majestics' Justin Heberle, who was named to the Second Team All-Tournament, tried to answer with two shots from behind the 3-point line, but NDToday kept on knocking shots down.
"We always think we're going to go out and play harder than the other team," NDToday's Tim Muething said. "If you just get off to a good start, then you're on a roll and it helps."
The favored team went into halftime up 11-4. Mikolyzk nailed nearly all his attempts from the field, hitting five of his team's 11 baskets in the first period.
"They were falling today," Mikolyzk said. "We wanted to jump out quick and make them play from behind."
To start off the second half, Muething aced in a jumper, one which Majestics' Corey Hartmann quickly countered with a jump shot of his own. Kloska, a former Notre Dame basketball walk-on, swished three shots from near the 3-point line or beyond to give NDToday a 15-6 lead.
The two teams traded baskets the next two times down the court. Heberle made a jump shot for Majestics, then Mikolyzk drove the lane to make the score 16-7. Heberle drove beneath the basket for a reverse lay-up, and NDToday's Muething swooshed a trey to put the score at 17-8.
"We get our offense from our defense," Mikolyzk said. "Even when we got ahead by a lot, we didn't let up on defense, and that made it hard for them to get back into it."
An NDToday foul put Hartmann at the line to knock down a free throw, and Majestics' Peter Ryan scored to close the score to 17-10. After that, NDToday finished off the Majestics. Titus put back a rebound for a bucket. Kloska and Mikolyzk nailed free throws. And following a lay-in by the Majestics' Ryan, Kloska dropped in a long jumper to ice the victory.
The on-fire shooting of NDToday was the key to the victory, as it rarely missed a shot.
"They were sharp from the outside," Majestics' Matt Wolbeck said. "We tried to swing out on their shooters, and get a hand in their face every time. Obviously, it's disappointing to lose in the semis. Our ultimate goal was to win the whole thing, but we came up a little short. We'll be back next year."
Top-ranked Keyplay.com suffered through sloppy play and ice-cold shooting to advance to the finals with a 21-15 victory over fifth-ranked Versatility.
"It was nice to get in a close game for once," Keyplay's Tom Dietrich said. "It was a pretty rough game. Our rebounding helped. We didn't get them too many extra shots."
The semifinals round match was filled with turnovers and defensive stops for both teams. After Keyplay jumped out to a 6-2 lead on three baskets by sharp-shooter Dietrich, there was a stretch in which neither team scored on 15 straight possessions. The offense improved somewhat after that, as Versatility's Ross Hansen got into a groove and Dietrich converted on a couple key drives.
Following an 11-7 halftime lead, Keyplay let Versatility back into it. Versatility's Joe Lillis drove the lane, Jason Childress banged in a bucket and Chris Dillon pulled up for a long jumper to make it 12-10.
Keyplay's Jimmy Dillon put back a bucket and Dietrich hit a free throw to widen the gap to 14-10.
As the game wore on, the careless play continued. But Keyplay got a few more of its shots to fall, and that was the difference in the game.
"They just had too many weapons," Childress said. "It was a scrappy effort by both teams. I think we missed a lot of shots we should have hit. They played good defense though."
Quarterfinals
Fourth- and fifth-ranked Coco Butter and Versatility battled to the finish, with Versatility winning out 21-18 by earning the edge on free throws.
Versatility stormed to an early 10-4 lead behind the play of First Team All Tournament player Ross Hansen.
"We started off too slow, and just could never get things going," Coco Butter's Red Croker said.
But Coco Butter climbed back into competition, as it got two baskets by Croker, one by John Owens, one by Justin Thomas and another by Doug Conners to make the score 10-9. Coco Butter scored three of the next four points to grab a 12-11 lead on two Croker jump shots and a Tony Fisher rebound putback.
Things were nip-and-tuck early in the second half, but Hansen nailed a reverse layup and a jumper to put Versatility ahead 17-14. Fisher answered with a long-distance shot, but Versatility scored the next two buckets.
Owens missed a key free throw, one of three he bricked down the stretch. Versatility, on the other hand, hit two of its three free throw attempts. And Hansen banged in the final bucket for the victory.
"It helped, us getting 10 fouls on them," Joe Lillis said. "We've all played high school ball, and we've played a lot here, so we know how to shoot those pressure free throws."
While Coco Butter and Versatility engaged in their tight quarterfinals battle, No. 6 Majestics and No. 3 Franchise played a similarly close game on the next court over, with the two games matching one another point for point.
Majestics worked its way to a 9-4 lead, and Franchise came back a la Coco Butter, scoring the next five points to tie things up. The two teams matched points on every bucket up until the teams were even at 17.
Suddenly Majestics figured out how to shut Franchise down. Hartmann drove for a basket, starting a four-point run for the underdogs.
"I thought there were some calls that didn't go our way, and in the end, we didn't hit our shots," Franchise's Dan Reidy said.
NDToday.com survived a challenge from the upstart No. 7 F-Bombs, outdueling its competition 21-19.
"They played really rough and physical," Kloska said. "We were just fortunate to pull this one out."
NDToday carried a one to two point lead through most of the game, but could never pull away. Todd Titus and Mark Godish hit consecutive shots to give NDToday a 17-14 edge. Sean McCarthy, a First Team All Tournament selection, answered with a bucket of his own. Godish and McCarthy traded hoops again, followed by an F-Bombs hoop to narrow the scoring gap to 18-17.
Titus made a shot, followed by a basket by the F-Bombs' Matt Canna that left the score 19-18 NDToday. Two First Team All Tournament players finished things off for NDToday, as Kloska sealed an off-balance driving jumper and Mikolyzk hit the game-winning shot.
"Both teams gave it the best they could," F-Bombs' Doug Bartels said. "Some shots didn't fall the way we wanted them to, but that's basketball."
Senior-laden Keyplay.com used its age and experience to beat the all-freshman Please Call Us Bosephus squad.
Dietrich, Dillon and Paul Moore combined for all 11 first half points by the winning team. In the second period, Schneller lit things up with a 3-pointer, layup break and drive. Referees had to pause the game just before completion as Dietrich was bleeding at the elbow and the knee.
Although Keyplay didn't have too much trouble with Please Call Us Bosephus, it expects the young team to be a force to contend with in future Bookstore tournaments.
"We think they are the team to beat the next three years," Schneller said. "They're going to be great."
All Sports Stories for Monday, May 1, 2000
