Ugly Game Results in Victory

The Human Highlight Reels followed up a loss in their final preseason game with a win, albeit an ugly one, against Uncle Drew. Stating that the game was an ugly one may be putting it lightly. The Hunter brothers, who are combining to score just over 30 points a game, shot 1 of 17 from three point range (6%) and could only manage 5 of 14 baskets from everywhere else on the floor (36%). Jason Hunter also missed his two free throw attempts. The brothers totaled only 13 points in the teams mere 40 point output. Other sour notes include the missed layups. There were many baskets within five feet that just did not seem to roll the right direction most of the night. Big man Alex Yablonsky, playing in his first game of the winter season, was shaking off the rust all evening. He was only 1 of 7 from the floor, 2 of 8 from the line, but did grab 11 rebounds, a few coming from his own back to back misses. Chuck Caldwell did hit two three points, which doubled the teams total. He added six more points and two rebounds. Also, veteran big man Kerry Hunter scored four points and picked up two rebounds in limited minutes. The bright spot came from energy-guy Andy Kempf. Kempf has not lost a step from the preseason as he scored 10 points on 5 of 8 shooting from the floor and also had a team high 15 rebounds. Kempf is averaging 16 rebounds on the year, which is his best mark of his career in the organization. Kempf is playing on a contract year and is truly looking worth the money he will likely receive this off season. The teams schedule was not posted as of this writing.

Offensive Explosion as the HHR Win First Preseason Matchup

A 73-46 victory over Team Yeungling in their first preseason game is a great to start off the winter league in the BMRBL. Four out of the five players scored in double figures and three players grabbed 10 or more rebounds. Two of the previously mentioned players locked up their first double-doubles of the year. The team was led by captain Jason Hunter who maintained his strong shooting performance from the fall season. Hunter was three of six from deep and made his first six of seven shots, mostly easy lay-ups set up by dribble drives and movement under the basket. Hunter hit on 7 of 12 shots from inside the arc and also grabbed six rebounds. Team Yeungling closed the gap to 8 points with about 10:22 in the second half, but the Human Highlight Reels never looked back after a timeout. Brandon Hunter and Andy Kempf recorded their first double-doubles of the winter season. Hunter went for 18 and 14 (three-three pointers, field goals, and free throws), Kempf went big on the glass totaling a year high 23 rebounds and made six of the 10 shots he took from the field. Kyle Komer was the other Reel to score in double figures as he totaled 12 points on the night. Komer was instrumental in a lot of easy baskets for the good guys on offense and pestered Team Yeungling on the defensive side of the ball. Big man Justin Woo missed a double-double and a double figure scoring night by just one bucket of any kind. Woo grabbed 10 boards and scored nine points on four of 12 shooting from the field. The next preseason game has yet to be scheduled as of this writing. The HHR will look to continue their winning ways next week in the second and final preseason game.

The HHR Fare Well in Round Robin Tournament

Heading into the Round Robin Tournament of the fall league, the Highlight Reels sat at a .500 record going 3-3 during the regular season. The team really seemed to turn the corner however over the past two weeks, posting two wins against teams they lost to previously in the season. A 68-47 win over M-Town in game one of the round robin was lead by Brandon Hunter, who may have had his best game of the shortened fall season. The middle Hunter shot 58% from the floor (11/19) and hit on all three of his free throws for 28 points, pacing the HHR. Hunter had his best shooting season from two point range this year, shooting over 60% (63%) on the year. His previous best was the 41% shooting from two point range back in 2011-12 for the Mailmen. One area he also improved over the past two games was his three point shooting. Going six of fifteen over the last two contests (40%), pushed his season percentage up to 26 on the year, but the strong performances over the past two games will likely carry into the winter league. His best season from beyond the arc also came in 2011-12, posting a 33% mark. Kyle Komer, who had been absent during one of the earlier year losses, also stepped up during the win over M-Town. Komer ran the ball offense efficiently and had 11 points on five of seven shooting from the floor. He led a defense that held M-Town to only six point in the second half. The teams starting point guard shot 48% from the floor during the fall season and averaged just a touch over eight points a game (8.3). A third player that is seeming to find himself during the victories over M-Town and Powerstrokes was big man Andy Kempf, who posted 26 rebounds in those two games. Kempf has come a long way from his Reignmakers day of just 2.9 points and 4.2 rebounds a game. The up-tempo big man averaged 10.3 rebounds per game this season, leading the team. With the HHR adding more offensive power to their lineup, Kempf was able to use more of his energy on the boards and defensive end of the floor. He piled up 16 rebounds in the final game of the year in a win over the Powerstrokes. A new addition to the team, Justin Woo started to find his spot on the team on both sides of the ball as well. Woo totaled, six, five, and six rebound marks in the past three games and found some range from three, hitting going 4/9 from deep. He has been finding his niche on offense in the low post, using his size and ability against a few smaller defenders adding a low-post presence that the HHR truly need. His final numbers shooting wise do not show the large improvement he has had over the past three games and hopefully his growth continues as the team moves into the longer, more competitive winter season. Two other new adds to the team this year are big man Alex Yablonsky and guard Chuck Caldwell. Both added their own element to the team and helped push the HHR to the 5-3 record this season. Caldwell was missing from the final round robin tournament, but did add another scorer to the floor, which the team definitely missed in years past. He had one of his better games of the season, albeit in a loss earlier in the year to Powerstrokes when he scored 12 point on five of eight shooting from the field. Caldwell averaged just over 7 points a game and shot 41% from two point range. The aforementioned big mane Alex Yablonsky again added another big man element to the team which was needed as veteran Kerry Hunter (8.3 ppg 79% shooting from the floor in three games) had been rarely used this season. Yablonsky may have had his best streak of the season in the past three games totaling 18 rebounds and 33 points (6 rpg, 11 ppg). Though an up and down season for captain Jason Hunter, his strong scoring performance in the final game against Powerstrokes pushed them to a win. The oldest of the Hunter siblings found his shooting stroke again from the field after two woeful games scoring, going seven of ten from the field (3/4 from three), and battled on the defensive end of the floor. Like his brother, the captain had his best shooting season of the past four shooting 61% from two point range, 38% from three, and average nearly 10 points a game at 9.7 The HHR will be moving into preseason winter league action this coming Monday at 6:30 when they face off against an unknown opponent in Team Yeungling but hope to continue their winning ways deep into the winter league playoffs.

Starting to Find Their Stroke, Yet Losses Pile Up

The Human Highlight Reels have dropped two straight, falling to 3-3 on the season heading into the Round Robin Tournament. Despite adding up and comer Brent Hunter for the game this past Monday (21 points, 9/16 from the floor), and shooting 45% from the field as a team, the good guys could only muster up a ten point loss to The Refs, who frequent the upper Division once the winter league begins. Big man Andy Kempf has been absent for his marriage and honeymoon the past two games however and should return to the lineup this coming Monday against M-Town, whom the Highlight Reels lost to earlier in the season by only two points. The team was without big man Alex Yablonsky for that contest. The Highlight Reels should be in full force this coming Monday however and they will need it against the stout M-Town team. The team has been firing on all cylinders from the offensive end. Leading scorer Brandon Hunter went 7/12 two games in a row from two point range (58%) and Justin Woo has started to find his niche in the offense, scoring 11 in back to back games and shooting 44% from the field (8/18). He also connected on two of three free throws and has helped on the boards totaling 7 in two games. Though the offense has started to flourish, the other side of the ball has left little to be desired. Usually the key to the Highlight Reels game, the team has allowed 162 points, 70 and 92 respectively, in the past two games, both losses. However the team still remains in the top five for overall defense for the league, allowing 342 points (57 per game) the entire season. The Human Highlight Reels look to put it all together at 6:30 in the first game of the Round Robin Tournament. They will need an equally balanced offensive and defensive effort in order to get back to their winning ways.

Game Time Updates

For the Human Highlight Reels, the game this coming Monday has been switched to 5:45 due to scheduling conflicts with other teams. The HHR will take on Wilson Group as scheduled. --- Hunter Dealing With Jammed Finger Though not reported earlier in the week, captain Jason Hunter suffered a jammed ring finger while on the defensive side of the ball during the second half of last weeks game. Though it ended up being no ordinary jammed finger, as the top third has been stuck at a slight angle since the injury occured. The team doctors have been taping the finger during the week and icing, trying to get the finger to flew back into its normal positon. Though he isn't in much pain during the normal day, any pressure towards the top of the finger does cause discomfort and Hunter is still not sure how his shot or handling will be affected. He will likely have the finger taped up for this coming Mondays game.

A Win and a Loss as Shooting Woes Haunt the HHR

17 and 18. 29 and 26. 32. The numbers above correlate as follows: - The teams three-point shooting percentages for over the past two games (W, L). - The teams total field goal percentage over the past two games. - The teams combined field goal percentage from the past two games. Those numbers rarely equal victories, though in the HHR's case, they eeked one out two Mondays ago. The good guys defeated NBN 44-35, in a game that wasn't as close early, yet ended closer than it should have; then followed that up with their hardest fought game of the season, albeit a loss, to M-Town 53-55. Brandon Hunter led both efforts, totaling 31 points and 15 rebounds over the two games, yet has yet to find the long range stroke. Sitting just under 20% for the season, he is well below his career total of nearly 33%. But the sub-par shooting bug has not only affected the teams leading scorer. The team is totaling a mere 24% from beyond the arc this season (21 of 87) and only has two players about the 40% mark (Jason Hunter 60%; Kerry Hunter 50%), yet Kerry has only taken two three pointers on the year, connecting on one. Explosive point guard Kyle Komer is below his 48% shooting percentage from last season as he is below 40% (38%) from the field this year. Komer has been getting to the basket with penetration, yet has been slightly off the mark finishing. Energetic middle man Andy Kempf, coming off a career season last year, got off to a slow start in game one, but has slowly begun to regain his 2012-13 form. Justin Woo got his first in-game action two Mondays ago, as well as playing this past Monday, but is still finding his niche in the offense, scoring only once in two games. For all the negative from the floor, there is some positive to take from it. The HHR's are shooting better from two point range (48%) than they did all of last year (43%) and are also connecting on more free throws (67%) than the previous year (63%). Once the big scorers and leaders of the offense begin to find their true ability from the field, the team will start to look like the group it intends to be. The Human Highlight Reels (2-1) face Wilson Group next Monday at 7:20. The Vegas line has the Wilson Group slated as an 11 point underdog. The Reels are currently #5 in the latest power rankings out of 12 teams.

Some New Faces Equals a Season-Starting Win

The newly named Human Highlight Reels have some new faces on their 2013 fall roster.  Yet the new faces molded quickly with the old ones to take a 1-0 start on the fall season, defeating Soda Slingers 72-39.

Better yet, Soda Slingers were a recent winner of a spring season, showing that the HHRs have come together quite well early on.

The HHRs were led by long-time leading scorer Brandon Hunter, who totaled 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting from the field (8/9 from two point range).  He also added 11 rebounds for his first double-double on the year.

Following his lead, four year team captain Jason Hunter scored 18, going 4 of 7 from deep and also adding 5 rebounds.

Returners Kyle Komer and Andy Kempf added nine and two points, as well as six and 10 rebounds, respectively.  The new faces also filed in.

Newly added big man Alex Yablonsky totaled 10 points and was a rebound shy (9) of his own double-double and guard Chuck Caldwell hit his first three pointer of the season, then added two more during the game.

The team is also in the process of signing forward Justin Woo, but had yet to complete the contract signing, so he was unable to join the team for their first win of the season.  Finally, veteran Kerry Hunter has been brought back in a limited role, but will be available when called upon.

The Highlight Reels will face NBN this coming Monday at 5:45.  They will be without Jason Hunter and may be missing Kyle Komer for the first half.  Justin Woo may make his debut tomorrow, if his contract situation is inked out by tonight.