Wow. Frankfort got Butlerized in the first half. Down 26-6 after the 1st quarter, and down 48-18 with 3:00 left in the half....somehow managed to make it "respectable" 50-27 at the half. Clock. Cleaned.
Then the second half started. The deficit was halved by the end of the 3rd quarter, 68-58. By now Uncle Mo was a Deacon Blue. The 4th quarter was mostly trading baskets until the 5:00 min mark (an important time in these sim games, I've found). Score 80-69. Frankfort methodically reduced a 30 pt deficit to 11, but no longer had the leisure of time. Urgency was needed. A three by Kit James cut it to 5 with 2:30 to play. Frankfort gets one more basket to narrow the margin to 3, trade empty possessions, then Bernard Tuttle hit a 3 with :05 left, and Carnegie couldn't get a shot off.
The Potters couldn't believe they squandered a 30 pt lead, and couldn't let it go. The Deacon Blues continued their second half momentum, and won in OT 88-93. Unreal game. I feel like apologizing - it would suck to lose a game with a 30 pt lead.
I've described this game as basketball themed coin flips. Carnegie got +10 heads in the first half, and I got +11 tails in the second and OT.
Both Carnegie PG's got 0 pts (as did their bPF). Sure, their SG got 24, but the guard average was 12 ppg each. That's why I doubt pass-first PG's. The Deacon Blues had an unusually good night shooting three's (7/12), and had the ad on the line 18/24 vs 8/9. Frankfort also valued the ball better (8-18 TO's).
Frankfort gets Philly in the Final. Blake Paschke at SG could do some damage against Fair defending (but Exc Ath and Sr) Kit James. I was in the max tie for Paschke. Winston Labaron is another pass first PG, so that helps tone down their guard scoring overall. We'll have a modest height advantage, but they beat taller teams to get here. Should be a good game.