| Would this count as an upset? |
Jan 28, 2008 |
The history between these two teams is well documented with respect to their earlier meeting. What is now know simply as the “5 on 2 game” has dogged Ma’un as a team unable to finish games or have the basketball sense to make the right plays at the right time. Qadr would have to hope that they would not need Andrew Mutta’s heroics to get a win this time. Qadr did have their full roster available for the first time this season so it would be interesting to see how their chemistry would be.
Ma’un started off strong as Darko Trifunovic drilled an early three pointer and was hitting the boards hard for his team. Qadr did not seem to have a particular strategy and started arguing over playing time. Mutta hit a pair of late three’s to bring his team closer on the scoreboard but at the half; it was Ma’un leading 22-15. Mutta led Qadr with 10 points while Ma’un was led by Rendardo Brown with 7 points while Trifunovic finished with 6 points and 7 rebounds.
The second half saw Ma’un continue to hold onto their lead but Qadr started to chip away. With 15 minutes left in the game, Ma’un was up 26-20 but looking worried. Qadr continued to push the ball but poor shot selection allowed Ma’un to re-establish their comfortable lead. Kenrick Williams completed a lay-up off a no-look pass from Trifunovic to give Ma’un a 36-26 lead and forcing Qadr to use a timeout to try and reorganize.
Qadr seemed to refocus and Ma’un started to display the mistakes that lost them the first meeting as they mismanaged possessions and threw up quick shots. Qadr made it a 36-31 game with 7:21 left after Bronco Kordic hit a three pointer. Ma’un managed to build their lead back a bit as they led 40-33 with five minutes left. The wheels seemed to be falling off for Qadr as they were forced to use their final timeout with 2:47 left and down 46-36.
Ma’un was up 10 points and Qadr had no timeouts left which meant that Ma’un just needed to keep swinging the ball and not take any quick shots to run out the clock. Yet what should have been a simple game plan turned into another adventure for Ma’un as they forced unnecessary shots and gave Qadr a chance. Mutta hit a three pointer to make it a 47-41 lead for Ma’un. After Brown hit a pair of free throws, Mutta came back and hit another three pointer to make it 49-44 and make it a stop-clock affair. Ma’un missed the front end of a single bonus and Qadr quickly got the ball to Mutta who hit yet another three pointer while surrounded by three Ma’un defenders. With the score now 49-47, Brown was sent to the line but he missed his bonus shot and gave Qadr a chance for the win or tie. Qadr moved the ball quickly and with just over a second left on the clock, Kordic was fouled in a single bonus situation with his team down two points. Needing to hit both free throws to force overtime, Kordic missed the front end of the bonus shots and Louay Hamoudi grabbed the rebound as the clock ran out. Qadr made a spectacular run and almost snatched another win away from Ma’un on the back of Mutta but it was not to be.
Ma’un was led by Brown with 18 points while Trifunovic finished with 8 points and 13 rebounds. Qadr was led by Mutta with 35 points which included a 7 for 12 performance from the three-point area.
With the win, Ma’un advances to face Tamjeed in the semi-finals. |
