IceMen top Old School Ballers in an ugly, bloody season opener

David Stroik (black jersey) and Josh Davis, playing against each other last season, are now teammates for the IceMen.

Basketball can be a game of beauty. It can produce breath-taking plays, such as “The Shot” by MJ, “The Block” by LeBron and on a UH level, “The Step Back”.

Sometimes though, it can be brutal to watch.

“U-G-L-Y,” was the way Fort Worth League Coordinator, James Jones, described the 47-45 overtime win for IceMen over Old School Ballers in the Fort Worth Open League last night.

You didn’t have to be at the Fort Worth Life Time last night to see how ugly this game was. Just take a look at the box score:

·      There was a combined 32 made shots in the game and a combined 30 turnovers.

·      Both teams had more rebounds than the combined made field goals in the game – 36 for Old School Ballers and 34 for IceMen.

·      The teams combined to shoot 32% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc.

·      The shooting was even bad at the free-throw line, – 56% between both teams – where points are supposed to come easy.

·      Eight of the 14 players in the game shot 20% or worse from the field.

·      IceMen had 14 points at halftime…and still won

·      Old School Ballers scored 45 points in a 47-minute game, an average of 0.96 points per minute.

Not only was this game ugly, but it was also bloody. Jones, who came off the bench for Old School Ballers in a losing effort, said there were two incidents that drew blood.

“One required three stitches after the game, and a busted lip to me after an elbow to the face,” he said.

Jones added some more details, saying no team scored for the first four minutes of the game. Old School Ballers had a 7-10-point lead throughout the game, but IceMen started a full-court press that forced three straight turnovers from OSB to tie it up late. The IceMen missed a chance to win at the buzzer in regulation, but they ended up winning the game from the free-throw line in overtime to start the summer season 1-0.

While most players had forgettable offensive numbers, there were a few players who were able to find the bottom of the net routinely. Luke Feely and Jonathan Davis combined to score 32 points on 11-17 shooting from the field for the IceMen. Bradley Parker was the only bright spot for Old School Ballers, scoring 21 points on 7-12 shooting.