If there was a sign hanging up in Summerlin that read, “It’s been (blank) days since the Villains and BTE lost on the same league night”, that blank space would’ve been filled with 860 heading into last night. That sign would have to be updated today to 0, as both Summerlin Open League powerhouses fell in the opening week of the winter season last night.

The night started with Project X, a new team this season, knocking off the defending champs, BTE, 86-85 in overtime.

Tony Eackles Jr., playing in Summerlin for the first time since the Spring 2019 season, led the way for Project X, going off for 37 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and scoring key buckets in overtime to seal the victory. Eackles Jr. is one of the best players in UH Las Vegas, and he’s capable of games like this whenever he plays. It’s significant that he played this well in this game, because it came against Jordan Cannon, who I would argue is neck and neck with Eackles Jr. for the title of “Best Guard in UH Las Vegas”. Eackles Jr. was better last night, as Cannon had 14 points on 5-14 shooting, adding eight assists, five rebounds and seven steals.

Two key additions to Project X this season will be Andreu Johnson, formally of Ball Stars, and Josh McCarver, formally of Villains, as that weakens two contenders in the league. Johnson had 20 points and eight assists last night, while McCarver had a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds.

While Project X walks away with the win, it could’ve very easily gone the other way. With mere seconds left in overtime, BTE down 86-85, Stefan Hanania had a wide-open 3 that clanked off the rim and sealed the fate of the game.

The next game was a rematch of a semifinal matchup from last season, which saw the Ball Stars defeat the Villains 73-72. Last night’s game, while not as close, saw the same result, as the Ball Stars came away with an 82-74 victory.

Looking through the box score, I was quite surprised to see the players fielded by the Villains. They have a few players with little UH experience, as Lyndon Lewis, Sean McGahey and Justin Johnson having played a combined 16 UH games, and Lewis and Johnson have never played with the Villains before.

The biggest problem the Villains faced last night was 3-point shooting, as they shot 2-30 from deep, with the only two being made by McGahey. The Ball Stars shot 9-28 from deep, with five of their six players making at least one.

That helped lead to an even distribution of scoring for the Ball Stars, as everyone scored at least 12 points (with the exceptions of Jerome Williams, who scored nine, but had a game-high 17 rebounds). Jesse Chippoletti led the way with 18 points on 6-10 shooting from the field.

The last time the Villains and BTE both lost on the same night in the Summerlin Open League was on September 5, 2017, almost a full year before BTE started their run of dominance. BTE lost to Las Vegas Unknown (another team led by Eackles Jr.) 83-74, while the Villains lost to Claude Baruk 110-90 (in a five-on-four matchup). The Villains would go on to win the title that season by avenging their only loss, defeating Claude Baruk 99-73 in the championship game.