Max's All Stars win Watson debut

Max's All Stars won their debut at Watson Classic against Team O.T.R. by a final score of 69-63. Early on, Kevin Briggs was blocking shot after shot as Max's All Stars raced out to an 8-0 start. The team played their best defensive game of the summer (so far). Anthony Nieves, Branden Gibson, Corey Orgias, Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Doug Herring, Kevin Briggs, Kevin Pegram and Stefan Bonneau all played hard. Everyone worked together and contributed to help Max's All Stars secure the victory.

Max's All Stars play to a tie at West 4th

Max's All Stars played to a tie at West 4th Street against the defending champions, Sean Bell All Stars. The final score was 94-94. It was a back and forth battle the whole game. Max's All Stars led by 10 points in the fourth quarter, but Sean Bell came back to force overtime. The officiating was horrendous - they assessed three very questionable technical fouls to Max's All Stars, one to Dave Seagers and two to Darryl "Truck" Bryant (who was ejected). Towards the very end of the fourth quarter, rain drops started coming down and when regulation ended it got a little stronger - causing the court to get slippery. Thus, the overtime period was postponed and the game ended in a tie (for now). Corey Orgias, Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Dave Seagers, Doug Herring, Kiwan Smith, Michael Anderson, Patrick James, Reed Morgan, Rob Thomas and Troy Whittington all played hard throughout the game. Max's All Stars record now stands at 4-1-1.

Max's All Stars improve to 4-1 at West 4th

Max's All Stars returned to West 4th Street for the second straight day, defeating the previously unbeaten NJ Blazers by a final score of 101-95. Branden Gibson, Corey Orgias, Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Kevin Johnson and Patrick James held it down in the first quarter - keeping the team in the game until Kiwan Smith, Marvin Billups Jr and Rob Thomas showed up. It was a back and forth battle until the third quarter when NJ Blazers built a 13-point lead and frustration started to set in for Max's All Stars. However, the boys turned it up in the fourth quarter (as usual), coming back and outscoring their opponent 32-13 in the final 10 minutes. Everyone worked together and contributed to help Max's All Stars secure the victory and improve to 4-1.

Max's All Stars bounce back at West 4th

Max's All Stars bounced back at West 4th Street with a 115-112 win over X-Men. After back and forth start in the first quarter, Max's All Stars built an 8-10 point lead towards halftime. In the second half, the lead went up to as many as 16 points midway through the 4th quarter - but X-Men would not go quietly, rallying to within one point late in the game. Max's All Stars held on and prevailed thanks to the efforts of Branden Gibson, Corey Orgias, Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Dave Seagers, Doug Herring, Kiwan Smith and Rob Thomas. The Wonder Twins were dominant, as Kiwan dropped 14 points with 12 assists and 26 rebounds while Rob was unstoppable with 40 points and 12 rebounds. Everyone worked together and contributed to help Max's All Stars secure the victory and improve to 3-1.

Max's All Stars let one slip away at West 4th

Max's All Stars let one slip away today at West 4th Street against Team Gabriel by a final score of 111-103. Up by 12 midway through the first half, the team struggled down the stretch. Poor defense and too many turnovers led to Max's All Stars going down by nine points late in the game (the officiating did not help either). Despite that, the boys made a comeback bid - narrowing the deficit to just two points inside the final minute, but everything fell apart after that and Max's All Stars lost. Branden Gibson, Corey Orgias, Craig Davis, Doug Herring, Patrick James, Prince Jackson, Rob Thomas and Troy Whittington all tried there best, but could not get it done today. Max's All Stars record now stands at 2-1.

Max's All Stars improve to 2-0 at West Fourth

Max's All Stars improved to 2-0 at Kenny Graham's West Fourth Street with a 95-77 win over Green Dream. Patrick James and Derrick Stanton held things down with three random fill-in players for the first few minutes of the first quarter before Kiwan Smith and Rob Thomas came through. At halftime, Branden Gibson, Corey Orgias, Doug Herring, Troy Whittington showed up and Max's All Stars overcame a seven-point deficit, building a 20-point lead and never looking back. During the last couple of possessions, PJ started throwing lobs to Troy who threw down a ferocious dunk and soon after, the game was called with about 1:00 remaining as Max's All Stars secured the big win!

Max's All Stars 13-game winning streak comes to an end in Harlem4Life Championship Game

Max's All Stars lost the Harlem4Life Championship Game against KYDA by a final score of 72-66. The team was shorthanded as only 6 players suited up - Corey Orgias, Darryl "Truck" Bryant, Dave Seagers, Kiwan Smith, Patrick James and Rob Thomas all played hard in this game and throughout the season. Also, shout out to Aaron "Problem" Williams, Anthony "Africa" Pimble and Marvin Billups Jr who couldn't make it, but helped get Max's All Stars to the final game. There were definitely some miscues and missed opportunities for Max's All Stars in the game, but they were right there down the stretch. Unfortunately, the referees made some very questionable calls and missed a crucial intentional foul late in the game. Down six points, but rallying, Dave Seagers stole the ball from a KYDA player. Seagers was then blatantly fouled as the KYDA player grabbed his jersey causing him to fall and lose control of the ball, but the referee (who was right in front of the play) did not blow the whistle and play continued. KYDA regained possession, one of their players immediately drew a foul, went to the line and sank two free throws. Thus, this was easily a four or five-point swing - but c'est la vie! This is a valuable learning experience and motivation for the summer. Harlem4Life provided Max's All Stars with the necessary exposure and experience for Summer 2013. On to the next one.
With the loss, Max's All Stars 13-game overall winning streak comes to an end and they finish the Spring 2013 Harlem4Life League with a 7-2 record.