Back Row: Andy Langone, Tim Carney, Cory Donlan, Brendan Francois,
Andrew Murkidjanian
Front Row: Thomas Nicholson, Michael Patti, Kyle Pernock

Championship Game Summary
The Black Outs 53, Screaming Koalas 34

The annual holiday basketball tournament featured more teams than ever before with 28 men's teams. The Black Outs and Screaming Koalas had competitive pool play games, losing only one game combined. Screaming Koalas won in the playoffs by a mere 6.3 points per game, including upsetting the number 1 seed in the quarterfinals.  The Black Outs, led by captain Andy Lagone, were more dominant in the playoffs winning by 21.5 points per game.  The championship game figured to be a competitive contest between teams that could score points with ease.

For the Screaming Koalas, the game did not play out the way captain Russ Haverty would have liked.  The teams traded baskets early, but the Black Outs went on a late run to end the first half with a 13-point advantage.  The Black Outs featured balanced scoring in the first half with nine points from Tim Carney, eight points from Andrew Murkidjanian and seven points from Lagone.  Meanwhile, the Screaming Koalas got solid play from Clifford Bouchereau inside with eight points in the first half. The Black Outs played solid defense to limit the Koalas' potent outside shooting and led at the half 31-18.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, the Black Outs extended their lead to 24 points. Every player scored for the Black Outs. Brendan Francois hit two big three-point shots in the second half to help extend this lead.  As for the Screaming Koalas, they were left looking for answers how to stop the Black Outs' offense. The Screaming Koalas had a little burst in the second half and went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 17 points with six minutes left. Leading scorer Bouchereau contributed 12 points for the game but fouled out with just over a minute to go. In the end, the Black Outs cruised to a 53-34 victory behind stifling defense and timely shooting.