2016 FBA Season/16.06.09/MON@SEA/Capsule
How's it going, eh? Mitch Dunn reporting from GAME ONE of the Western Conference between the Seattle Summit and Montana Howlers. Two different teams with their own unique attributes. We will see how the two will fare in this heated tilt live from Seattle. First Quarter: It seems that Seattle is reserved and is feeling their opponents out, which is curious, because the two have played each other well over a month ago during the regular season. But it is a familiar pattern for both teams as Montana strikes first on the scoreboard, while Seattle contently studies their opponents. From what I'm feeling, this might become a hot tilt later on.
Second Quarter: Montana's head coach O'Neill sent out his bench to start off the second, giving Seattle a chance to capitalize. Early efforts showed promise, but the Montana defense has become a force to be reckoned with, as Matsuura collected 6 rebounds in total after the first half and gained a MASSIVE block on fellow avian Evan Marshall at the 8-minute mark, sending the Summit fans into a collective gasp. While Turner was able to double his scoring account at 12, Kresta lets a few of her shots hit nothing but net to improve her standings to 11. Seattle continued to press throughout the quarter, but Montana managed to answer them so far. Montana can be satisfied with maintaining their lead into the second half.
Third Quarter: The two teams come out of the break very aggressive, as fouls were exchanged between them. Even Sterling Bengtzing had a heated moment where he got into his opponent's face, only to be held back by his point guard. This game showed its ugly side in this quarter as no team wanted to give the other any space. Niko McNamara lets out a buzzer-beating longball to end the period to cut the double-digit lead and the fans spiked the decibel rating for a least a few seconds as the teams went back to their benches. Montana will start the final frame up by eight. Turner has 17 points and a huge block under his belt, Kresta Renstill leads the visitors scoring with 16.
Fourth Quarter: Seattle finally began to feed on their home crowd energy and momentum from McNamara's buzzer-beater to quickly erase Montana's lead with a 10-2 run to open the fourth. It's back and forth down to the wire, though reserves Brisbane and Rodrigues crumble under the Summit's intensity and are pulled for injuries. Marshall re-injures his elbow and also sits out, as does rookie Ryan Ottley, tangling up with Maraundi and falling awkwardly onto the floor. Ren Inoue saves the Howlers with a last-second three from the corner to nullify the Summit's lead and tie the game up, with 0.7 seconds to spare. Turner can't convert on the final possession, so there'll be overtime!
Overtime: OT> With Kinny sliding/slithering to PG, Velasquez and McNamara step in and lead the home team in the extra frame, with long doubles and threes, while Turner pads his stats with another block on a high-flying Conkale and a few more points. Kresta's deep shots haven't been the same since the second quarter and neither Matsuura nor Wescot Yobia can grab enough second chance points to hold back Seattle. With a great push fueled by the lively Seattle crowd, the Summit come from a 8-point deficit after the third quarter to a respectable 4-point win in Overtime, the crowd giving their team a standing ovation as they headed back into the locker room.
PotG: Jake Turner (30p, 13r/3off, 2a, 2b).
High Howler: Kresta Renstill (21p, 1r, 2a).
Notables: Vincent Maraundi (10p, 2r/1off), Jamie Velasquez (15p, 3r/1off, 4a, 1b).