On March 23rd, the SQ Warriors began their season with an opening day game against their outside arch-rival, Town Boogie.
The official start of the season was scheduled for April 27th, but Town Boogie didn’t want to wait and decided to schedule games so they could come down the hill ready to take on some new faces and old faces of the residents.
Music by Jamal “Mal” Harrison accompanied everyone entering the gym in anticipation of the first game of the season.
Jamal “Mal” Harris spoke on the mic as fans and the teams stood in honor as the color guards held each flag as a tribute to those who gave there life for our nation.
Before the “family affair” SQ Warriors’ trio of guards, “Duty,” Keyshawn “Steez” Strickland, and Donnell “JR” Pimpton expressed the team’s enthusiasm. “Excited and anxious to see this new team ball together,” said “Steez”. “Duty” added, “I was nervous, but ready to see what we’re going to do.”
The trio hoped the team would be similar to last years and would continue to play hard, stay together and keep everyone involved. The SQ Warriors’ primary focus for the season remains beating the Golden State Warriors organizational team during their annual visit.
Town Boogie’s outside sponsor, Geoffrey “Free” Gary didn’t play in the game as he usually does but he talked smack about the first game. “I’m excited about this new roster and we came ready,” said Gary.
“Free’s” confidence proved warranted as Town Boogie went on a 9-0 run to start the game and the SQ Warriors did not score until Darius “DP” Poole made a free throw.
The rhythm of the game picked-up after nerves and rust wore off by the end of the first quarter after Town Boogie took a 20-10 lead.
In the second quarter, the teams traded buckets before the half ended with Boogie leading 42-43 at halftime. Boogie’s star point guard, Autumn continued his personal onslaught totaling 18 points and the SQ Warriors’ “Steez” led his team’s scoring with 17 points in the first half.
Momentum shifted at the beginning of the third quarter as Duty, Steez, Toaisi “Shaka” Matagni, DP and JR swarmed Town Boogie with a defensive intensity that allowed the SQ Warriors to streak to a 9-2 run in the first three minutes of the period.
After a jump ball and quick timeout, the SQ Warriors went on another 5-0 run to take the lead 47-44 with 6:48 left in the quarter. This was the last lead the home team would have.
Town Boogie went on to completely dominate the boards, allowing them to tie the game 54-54.
With 2:10 left in the third quarter, the entire game flipped after a monstrous fast-break dunk by Town Boogie’s center caused the gym to explode.
The poster dunk made the gym erupt so much that Head referee Ish Freelon was forced to call an official’s timeout to clear the court of spectators who ran to hi-five and chestbump Colin.
The center’s dunk gave Team Boogie a lead they’d never relinquish as the third quarter ended with the SQ Warriors down 57-54.
Town Boogie continued their barrage, storming out to a 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter.
SQ Warriors’ Head Coach, “JB” called a timeout, but the team did not regroup because none of the SQ Warriors’ big men had an answer for the force that was Sam.
Sam controlled the paint and dominated the game after his dunk, becoming Boogie’s lead scorer with 25 points and eight rebounds as he dictated the tempo of the game. Boogie’s offense ran through him and eventually took away The SQ Warriors’ speed advantage.
The SQ Warriors never got back into the game and the final score was 82-70.
The score did not reflect rivalry.
Town Boogie coach “Free” said, “Basketball is a game of runs, and, luckily, we had the last run.” He also added, “The Warriors were fast and physical and I was relieved Boogie won.”
SQ Warriors captain, “Steez” led the SQ Warriors with 30 points on an 11-25 shooting night; “Duty” contributed 17 points on a 7-15 shooting night, and had a game-high 11 rebounds, five assists and three steals.
As a team, the SQ Warriors had 16 turnovers and shot a dreadful 34% from the field.
“Free” agreed with the fans that Colin’s dunk changed the game.
Jason Satterfield contributed to this story.
