SAM vs. Boncourt was a high scoring affair with a final score of 113-105. This was a game that we really needed to win. I guess at this point in the season we need to win them all, but in my mind, we were better and definitely needed to win the game to qualify for the playoffs. I can't say a whole lot of defense was played obviously. I would like to say the game went into 4 overtimes but it wasn't the case. The American quartet of Dan Fitzgerald, Kameron Gray, Ross Morin, and myself scored a combined 104 points. Pretty astonishing.
Our last game before Christmas was at Meyrin. According to the standings, they are the worst team in the league. They only have 1 win and that came against us. We played an awful game. It was supposed to be a home game for us but we played the game in a room that resembled a gym but definitely did not feel like one. This was a revenge game for us and another must win.
After a long 6 hour drive (apparently the Swiss don't believe in going the night before on road trips) we came out blazing. We were up by 19 after the first quarter. We lost our momentum in the 3rd quarter a little bit and were only up 15. After half time was when the wheels fell off. Meyrin came out in a box and 1 offense on our point guard and we had no idea what to do. We had never practiced against it and it definitely showed.
Despite the tricky box and 1 we won the game by 2. If the game was 1 or 2 minutes longer we probably would have lost. As it was, Meyrin and my old teammate Ricardo Fischer got off a pretty good shot off at the end to tie it. Thank god he missed it and after a couple tips, the rebound was secured by Dan Fitzgerald and we went home for Christmas as happy as can be.
The Meyrin game was on December 19th and we didn't play again until January 10th. That is a huge gap between games. I was a little worried for the game against Monthey. They are a very good team that we managed to beat on the road after our first coach quit. They definitely wanted revenge on us. They even came down the day before so they were well rested for the game. I thought we were going to win but I thought it was going to be a slug fest.
The game was pretty much what I expected. Monthey is probably the most physical team in the league. Their center is Kareem Johnson from the University of Cincinnati. Every post up, every rebound and every loose ball was a battle. The day after the game my whole body was sore. I didn't think it was a particularly well reffed game but what game is?
Anyways, we never trailed Monthey during the game and I thought we played very well for our first game back. We were up by 10 at the half and ended up winning by 4. It would have been more but they made some shots at the end.
Now, SAM Massagno is on a 3 game winning streak and our next 2 games are against the 2 best teams (on paper) in the league. We play Lugano on Saturday in the derby at the Istituo Elvetico. A derby is a cross town rivalry game. They are extremely talented and are strong at every position and every position coming off the bench. They just fired their coach over Christmas and their point guard, Travis Walton (Michigan State.) I hope for a strong game and a SAM win.
It doesn't get any easier after that either with Nyon at home on January 20th. They too fired their coach over the Christmas break. Loyalty means nothing over here and it is cut throat. I'm sure they will be ready to play. We just need to be too.
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