Champions: Stone Cold Steve Austins

Back Row: Michael Meola, Michael Bowler, Eric Jensen, Peter Menchin, Jacob Schladenhauffen
Front Row:  Theodore George, Drew Polakowski, Matthew Fausch, Patrick McAndrews, Tyler Barsaian

Championship Game Summary: 
Stone Cold Steve Austins Def. Sauce 38-34

On Monday, March 19th Sauce faced off against Stone Cold Steve Austins in a heavy-weight battle to determine who would be crowned the 2018 Men’s Just Fun Basketball Champion! Stone Cold Steve Austins, captained by Matt Fausch, went 3-1 in the regular season, and had won four straight playoff games before heading into their matchup with Sauce, captained by Michael Newfield, who went 4-0 in the regular season, and powered through the playoffs on their way to the Finals.

Sauce started the game off quick, as Brien Couture got fouled on the first possession of the game driving to the basket. He was able to convert the layup and the succeeding free throw attempt to give Sauce an early 3-0 lead. Stone Cold quickly ramped up their defense, as Teddy George drew a charge to ignite his team’s spirits after going down early. Couture could not be stopped in the first half, as he was driving and diming with ease through the lane all throughout the first half, and Sauce took an 18-11 lead into the break.

After an inspired halftime huddle, Stone Cold Steve Austins came out hot on the defensive end. They played as though they had an extra man on the court, as they had four straight steals leading to scores on the other end. During their 11-2 run, George had two steals and four points, lighting a fire under the Stone Cold Steve Austin defense. However, Drew Polaski had enough, and hit back to back three pointers for Sauce to give them a seven point lead with just 7:00 minutes remaining. Stone Cold quickly answered, as Mike Bowler and Tyler Barmasian hit a combination of threes and layups to tie the game up at 31 with just 2:00 minutes to go. After a George layup put Stone Cold up two, Matt Fausch drilled a three to put Sauce back up by one. Soon after that, George calmly sinked two free throws and stole the inbound pass. He smartly called a timeout, giving Stone Cold a three point lead and the ball with just seconds remaining. After Sauce fouled, Stone Cold hit one of two free throws, and the horn sounded giving Stone Cold Steve Austins a 38-34 win over Sauce. It was a hard fought game, but Stone Cold Steve Austins are the 2018 Men’s Just Fun Basketball Champions!

Runnerups:  Sauce

Back Row: Ethan Peterson, Jackson McGrail
Front Row: Drew Goldstein, Brian Couture, Michael Newfield, James Bowler