While the old mantra that “defense wins championships” may ring true throughout the duration of a season, it doesn’t hurt to have some offensive firepower in your repertoire. The latter certainly proved true this past Saturday. The lights-out shooting of Jake Mattson and Bryce Levin, combined with dominate post play from David Safstrom and some late game heroics by Brian Barhanovich, led the ’06-’07 Gulls to an undefeated championship run through the 2011 EHS Alumni Basketball Tournament, culminated by a 36-33 victory over the ’91-’97 team.
Mattson could not be contained in the 20-minute championship game, hitting 4 three-pointers in the first 5 minutes as his squad jumped out to a 15-4 lead. The resilient guard play of Jessen Schilaty and Shean Nasin helped the ’91-’97 team fight back to make the game competitive late, but in playing their sixth game in a four hour period the old guys simply ran out of gas.
The highlight of the day came in the semifinals. With the score deadlocked between ’06-’07 and the pre-tourney favorite ’03 team, the 6’3” Barhanovich banked in a 25 footer as time expired, sending a roar through “The Pit” as the spectators in attendance went bananas.
1st Place – ’06-’07
2nd Place – ’91-‘97
3rd Place – ‘03
4th Place – Pre ‘90
With the 2011 Tourney in the books, thanks need to be given to the many individuals and entities that made the tournament a success. The EHS Blue & Gold Club – specifically Ross Rettenmier, Ross Johnson, and Allan White – were instrumental to the event’s success. They secured the facility, provided the insurance coverage necessary to allow the event to occur, participated in the planning process, and were a huge help in coordinating the event day responsibilities (thanks to Jane Johnson, Betsy Johnson, and Kelly Cooper for helping run the sign-up table and concessions).
The tournament t-shirts were a huge hit; special thanks are in order to Dave Rucker, who single-handedly spearheaded this task by ordering the shirts, selecting the design, and by working with H&L Sports and Screen Printing Northwest to make the shirts a reality.
Special thanks to EHS Head Coach Aaron Nations and the entire Boy’s Basketball Program. The players were in attendance all day, and were responsible for gym set-up and clean up, as well as scorekeeping and officiating. With the officiating piece, the players really wanted to step up and ref the games without the assistance of Alums, because they felt that it was their duty to give that to the Alums. It was their “rite of passage” moment, just as many of the players participating had when we were in the program. While they weren’t perfect with their calls (what official is?), it was a great learning moment for them, and their efforts are much appreciated.
Lastly, a big thank you to all that attended and participated. Through the contributions gained throughout the day, event proceeds will allow B&G to contribute nearly $500 to the Boy’s Basketball Program. I’m proud that we were all able to come out, celebrate the program through competition, and give back financially in a way that help the viability of the program moving forward.
It’s a wrap! With the renovation of “The Pit” scheduled to commence in the Spring of 2012, we are currently searching for other viable locations for the 2012 tournament (Maybe here?). So stay tuned for updates in the coming months; see you all December 31, 2012.
Mattson could not be contained in the 20-minute championship game, hitting 4 three-pointers in the first 5 minutes as his squad jumped out to a 15-4 lead. The resilient guard play of Jessen Schilaty and Shean Nasin helped the ’91-’97 team fight back to make the game competitive late, but in playing their sixth game in a four hour period the old guys simply ran out of gas.
The highlight of the day came in the semifinals. With the score deadlocked between ’06-’07 and the pre-tourney favorite ’03 team, the 6’3” Barhanovich banked in a 25 footer as time expired, sending a roar through “The Pit” as the spectators in attendance went bananas.
1st Place – ’06-’07
2nd Place – ’91-‘97
3rd Place – ‘03
4th Place – Pre ‘90
With the 2011 Tourney in the books, thanks need to be given to the many individuals and entities that made the tournament a success. The EHS Blue & Gold Club – specifically Ross Rettenmier, Ross Johnson, and Allan White – were instrumental to the event’s success. They secured the facility, provided the insurance coverage necessary to allow the event to occur, participated in the planning process, and were a huge help in coordinating the event day responsibilities (thanks to Jane Johnson, Betsy Johnson, and Kelly Cooper for helping run the sign-up table and concessions).
The tournament t-shirts were a huge hit; special thanks are in order to Dave Rucker, who single-handedly spearheaded this task by ordering the shirts, selecting the design, and by working with H&L Sports and Screen Printing Northwest to make the shirts a reality.
Special thanks to EHS Head Coach Aaron Nations and the entire Boy’s Basketball Program. The players were in attendance all day, and were responsible for gym set-up and clean up, as well as scorekeeping and officiating. With the officiating piece, the players really wanted to step up and ref the games without the assistance of Alums, because they felt that it was their duty to give that to the Alums. It was their “rite of passage” moment, just as many of the players participating had when we were in the program. While they weren’t perfect with their calls (what official is?), it was a great learning moment for them, and their efforts are much appreciated.
Lastly, a big thank you to all that attended and participated. Through the contributions gained throughout the day, event proceeds will allow B&G to contribute nearly $500 to the Boy’s Basketball Program. I’m proud that we were all able to come out, celebrate the program through competition, and give back financially in a way that help the viability of the program moving forward.
It’s a wrap! With the renovation of “The Pit” scheduled to commence in the Spring of 2012, we are currently searching for other viable locations for the 2012 tournament (Maybe here?). So stay tuned for updates in the coming months; see you all December 31, 2012.
