Short Handed HHR Pull off Team Victory

With their smallest dressed lineup to date with only five guys, the Human Highlight Reels went up against the Monstars this past Monday.

The Monstars, in turn, suited up eight.

However, with no subs available, the good guys came up with a 62-47 victory, anchored by leading scorer Brandon Hunter (30 points, 8 rebounds) and a defensive 2-3 zone that held the opposition to only 15 points in the second half.

Without Kyle Komer, Justin Woo, and recovering big man Alex Yablonsky in the lineup, the Reels had to ensure that they played better team basketball and made their open shots when they had them. 

Check.

The ball moved quickly and efficiently throughout the contest. It wasn't rare to see four, five, or six passes on one possession a good handful leading to wide open layups or three pointers. A few times, after the ball movement and offensive movement by the players, two guys would be open in the same spot actually leading to someone "stealing" a pass from a teammate.

The open layups were an added bonus, as were the free throws. The good guys shot 17 free throws on the evening and made 12 of them, well over their sub 60% mark for the season. Brandon Hunter went 3 of 6, Jason Hunter 4 of 4, leading free throw shooter Andy Kempf was 4 of 5, and Chuck Caldwell added one more (1/2).

Back to Brandon.

His 30 points came on a night where the team needed a little offensive output from his direction. Hunter scorched the Monstars in the first half with four three pointers (4/8) and followed up with three more in the second (3/6). He added the three previously mentioned free throws and three more buckets from the field (3/6).

Even with the great effort of the team offensively, they only led 34-32 coming out of halftime to much more athletic team. The 2-3 zone had given up six three pointers in the first half, but as the Monstars broke down physically and mentally (picking up a technical foul late in the half), the Reels held their opponents to zero three pointers in the second half, which helped to open up the game.

It was a great team effort all around, possibly the best team game that the Reels have played all season, and it resulted in their third victory on the year. The HHR currently sit at 3-4.

The team hopes to have Komer and Woo back for their upcoming game on Monday at 6:30.