Nerd Herd Flashback Part 2: Recapping Games 1 through 6

-- West Lake vs Valley, aka the Cambodian Menace vs Jerome the Giant

Game One -- West Lake 51, Valley 46

A glorious day for the West Lake alums. After weeks of petty trash talk we finally clashed on the court. With pride and honor on the line, it wasn't going to be pretty. Everyone struggled in the initial minutes of the game, but Bunna was determined not to be silenced. The mighty Asian with the eyes of a nation upon him ended the game with 24 points and West Lake came away victorious. But success was not attributed to Bunna's scoring alone. This was the night West Lake shut down Jerome the Giant, this was the night of Spencer's 7 steals, Austin and Ronér's 24 combined, and Ryan.

Sidenote: Shoutout to Rebecca Squire for the maintenance of the statistical records and to Nathan Ballard for hanging onto these for 15 years. Please shield your eyes if you value shooting percentage:

Wednesday May 19, 2004
Jensen: 20 pts on 10/29 shooting,  3 assts, 27 rebs, 8 blcks, 0 stls

Ballard: 10 pts on 5/23 shooting, 1 assts, 3 rebs, 1 blcks, 0 stls

Farnsworth: 10 pts on 5/12 shooting,  0 assts, 5 rebs, 1 blcks, 0 stls

Squire: 2 pts on 1/10 shooting, 6 assts, 3 rebs, 0 blcks, 1 stls

Santana: 2 pts on 1/9 shooting,  0 assts, 2 rebs, 0 blcks, 5 stls

Veth: 24 pts on 11/19 shooting, 1 assts, 2 rebs, 1 blcks, 2 stls

Roner: 12 pts on 6/12 shooting,  0 assts, 10 rebs, 1 blcks, 3 stls

Hansen: 3 pts on 1/6 shooting, 3 assts, 6 rebs, 1 blcks, 7 stls

Higginson: 12 pts on 5/7 shooting,  3 assts, 2 rebs, 1 blcks, 2 stls
Pearspn: 0 pts on 0/4 shooting,  1 assts, 2 rebs, 2 blcks, 0 stls

Game Highs
Points: Veth (24)
Rebs: Jensen (27)
Assts: Squire (6)
Blocks: Jensen (8)
Steals: Hansen (7)
FG%: Veth (58%)

Game Two -- Valley 51, West Lake 39

Valley over West Lake. A game not worth remembering, but a game that will not be forgotten.

Tuesday May 25, 2004
Jensen: 26 pts on 13/25 shooting,  2 assts, 15 rebs, 6 blcks, 0 stls

Ballard: 9 pts on 4/20 shooting, 1 assts, 1 rebs, 2 blcks, 4 stls

Farnsworth: 8 pts on 4/15 shooting,  0 assts, 2 rebs, 3 blcks, 0 stls

Squire: 4 pts on 2/11 shooting, 1 assts, 4 rebs, 0 blcks, 2 stls

Santana: 4 pts on 2/7 shooting,  0 assts, 2 rebs, 0 blcks, 1 stls

Veth: 13 pts on 6/25 shooting, 2 assts, 5 rebs, 1 blcks, 1 stls

Roner: 10 pts on 5/24 shooting,  0 assts, 14 rebs, 1 blcks, 1 stls

Hansen: 4 pts on 2/17 shooting, 2 assts, 9 rebs, 1 blcks, 5 stls

Higginson: 8 pts on 4/16 shooting, 1 assts, 3 rebs, 2 blcks, 2 stls
Pearspn: 4 pts on 2/12 shooting,  1 assts, 6 rebs, 2 blcks, 0 stls

Game Highs
Points: Jensen (26)
Rebs: Jensen (15)
Assts: Jensen, Veth, Hansen (2)
Blocks: Jensen (6)
Steals: Hansen (5)

FG%: Jensen (52%)

Game Three Part I -- West Lake 4, Valley 4

It was a furious start. Hyrum Jerome Jensen of Valley set the pace by scoring 4 quick points which was swiftly answered by Hansen's back-to-back steals, Higginson’s breakaway layup and Bunna's two-foot jumper. But as Jerome was going for his third bucket, he plowed his shoulder into Ronér’s mouth causing his lip to split open. Being the nerds that we are, we couldn’t handle the sight of blood so Ronér called home and we postponed the game. 

Game Three Part II -- Valley 52, West Lake 44
After a two week hiatus, we finally hit the dusty hardwood for the pivotal (but not so pivotal after losing game two) game three. Valley jumped out to an early lead with the heroics of birthday boy Ballard and the usual Jensen dominance. But West Lake would not go down without a fight, inching back from a 14 point deficit to only 4 by halftime. But it was all for not. Jerome the Giant answered the call and went on a rampage, earning a game high of 24 points and 17 boards. Game three, Valley.

Saturday June 12, 2004
Jensen: 24 pts on 12/19 shooting,  3 assts, 17 rebs, 3 blcks, 2 stls

Ballard: 16 pts on 7/24 shooting, 2 assts, 3 rebs, 3 blcks, 0 stls

Farnsworth: 10 pts on 5/11 shooting,  2 assts, 6 rebs, 1 blcks, 0 stls

Squire: 2 pts on 1/11 shooting, 7 assts, 7 rebs, 0 blcks, 0 stls

Santana: DNP - absent

Veth: 20 pts on 9/30 shooting, 4 assts, 2 rebs, 0 blcks, 6 stls

Roner: 20 pts on 10/25 shooting,  1 assts, 12 rebs, 2 blcks, 0 stls

Hansen: 2 pts on 1/13 shooting, 5 assts, 7 rebs, 2 blcks, 4 stls

Higginson: 2 pts on 1/11 shooting, 4 assts, 2 rebs, 0 blcks, 1 stls
Pearspn: DNP - Groin

Game Highs
Points: Jensen (24)
Rebs: Jensen (17)
Assts: Squire (7)
Blocks: Jensen, Ballard (3)
Steals: Veth (6)

FG%: Jensen (63%)

Game Four -- West Lake 51, Valley 26

Perhaps it was the sense of urgency. The intense trash talking by Ballard and Farnsworth. The return of Pearspn. The fresh haircuts which graced Hansen and Veth's heads. Or perhaps it was the fear of losing in front of a visiting Frenchman. Whatever the catalyst, the West Lake Stangaroos made a mockery of the highly anticipated game four, nearly doubling up the Ligers by an embarrassing score of 51-26. 

West lake was led by an inspiring performance from the Cambodian menace, Bunna Veth, who led the way with 20 points, 6 assists, and 4 steals [all game highs]. Yet he was quick to credit his teammates claiming that "individual success comes only through team success." Indeed a truer statement had never been spoken. Twas Hansen's acrobatic maneuvers that raised the Stangs' morale to unprecedented levels. Twas Roner's shutdown defense and rebounding that denied the Ligers second chance points. Twas Higginson's deadly accuracy with regards to shooting, passing, and stealing that alleviated any pressure of a Valley comeback. And finally, it was Pearspn's downright dominating defense that, if not alliterative, at least threw the Ligers off there game. 43 days, 21 minutes, and 18 seconds passed between the conclusion of game three and the commencement of game four yet surprisingly enough, it was well worth the wait.

ALAS - No statistical record available (which makes sense as this would be perhaps the one game I played well in)

Game Five -- Valley 51, West Lake 37
If a game is played so early in the morning that one team's player sleeps on the court -- ahem, Pearspn -- has a game really been played? The record books say yes. Valley wins, and takes a 3-2 lead in the series.

Jensen: 16 pts on 8/29 shooting, 4 assts, 36 rebs(!!!!)11. OMG., 4 blcks, 1 stls

Ballard: 14 pts on 7/30 shooting, 0 assts, 3 rebs, 0 blcks, 5 stls

Farnsworth: 12 pts on 6/12 shooting,  0 assts, 8 rebs, 0 blcks, 1 stls

Squire: 5 pts on 2/16 shooting, 8 assts22. A most underrated part of the Liger attack, Squire was a machine feeding Jerome in the post., 4 rebs, 0 blcks, 1 stls

Santana: 4 pts on 2/10 shooting, 0 assts, 6 rebs, 0 blcks, 4 stls

Veth: 13 pts on 6/34 shooting, 2 assts, 3 rebs, 1 blck, 5 stls

Roner: 8 pts on 4/29 shooting, 2 assts, 12 rebs, 1 blck, 2 stls

Hansen: 8 pts on 3/18 shooting, 4 assts, 14 rebs, 3 blcks, 5 stls33. By george I nearly pulled off the Kirilenko 5x5 in this game. Alas that doesn't make up for the **shudders** 3 for 18 shooting. 

Higginson: 4 pts on 2/7 shooting, 0 assts, 6 rebs, 0 blcks, 0 stls

Pearspn: 4 pts on 2/12 shooting, 0 assts, 10 rebs, 0 blcks, 0 stls

Game Six -- Valley 25, West Lake 15
Spencer Hansen may have struggled mightily with his shooting touch throughout the series, but down 10 points at halftime in an elimination game, the Uruguayan Lion gave the most rousing half-time speech this side of Hollywood. Roner let loose a roar, Higginson nigh burst a blood vessel in his eye, and Veth physically withdrew into "the zone" known only to the great sharpshooters of the world. Meanwhile Pearspin nodded. 

The West Lake five raced onto the court with fire in their bellies to face the Vallerians, but alas there was another on the court: a high councilman who didn't much like the sight of dark skinned folk in his gymnasium. The game was postponed... 

Never to be completed.