The 2003 San Diego Hoops basketball season came to a close this week with two teams competing for the title that took completely different paths to the championship game. Morgan Stanley battled with Powerhouse Gym the entire season for first place in the league. The two teams spent most of the season in a tie for the top spot until they faced each other in the final week of regular season play and Morgan Stanley prevailed. Moby Dick’s started the season out going 0-5 and turned things around when they picked up Dustin Mears, last year’s MVP, who was gone for the first part of the season. The combination of Dustin Mears and Dwight Dunn, Moby’s top scorer, proved to be a potent one as the team climbed from last place in the league to a number three seed going into the playoffs.

Before getting around to the championship game though, the consolation game between Numbers and Powerhouse Gym was up. Powerhouse lost to Moby’s in the semifinals and Numbers lost to Morgan Stanley to end up in the game, scrapping it out for third. The absence of Stuart Leung, who injured his ankle in the semi-finals, definitely hurt Numbers, but forced the rest of the team to step up and play. At the half Powerhouse held a 26-21 lead, but Numbers hung in throughout the second half and managed to tie things up at 35 with six minutes left in the game.

Powerhouse pulled things together and poured it on in the final six minutes of the game, holding Numbers to only four points as they went on to win the game, 50-39.

“We’ve played better,” Powerhouse Gym coach Brandon Culley said. “It was just a really sloppy game and Greg Torrence had a really good game, but we just grinded it out and came away with a victory.”

Torrence led Numbers with 29 points, but with only five people on the floor and no subs it was an Iron Man competition for Numbers, who were facing Powerhouse with a full squad on the bench. Every Powerhouse player scored in the game, with Robert Wiggins leading the team with 16.

“That’s the best team I have ever been on and I didn’t even get to play this year,” said Numbers coach Bonnie Koerner, who sat out the season because of knee surgery. “It was the best record of any team I have ever picked or produced, so it was really fun.…We played the best two games … of the year [in the last two weeks of playoffs].”

It was a packed gym for the season finale, with Moby Dick’s taking on Morgan Stanley. Early in the game Morgan Stanley was getting more rebounds and second chance shots, thanks to Jeremy Olsowsky’s inside game, but the aggressive play also got Morgan Stanley into foul trouble. At the half the game was tied up at 29, but Chris McBride and John Moore of Morgan Stanley were in foul trouble with four and three fouls, respectively, as they took on the daunting task of covering Moby’s big shooters, Dwight Dunn and Dustin Mears.

The tide in the game definitely turned in the second half, as McBride fouled out with 13 minutes left in the game. Morgan Stanley was able to battle and tie the game up at 56 each with four minutes left in the game, but Dwight Dunn nailed a three-pointer for Moby’s and it was all downhill for Morgan Stanley from there. Paul Demke and John Moore both fouled out, leaving their team with only three players on the court. The final minutes of the game turned into a slam-dunk showdown between Mears and Dunn as Moby’s went on to win the game, 72-60.

“We just have to give Dwight the kudos, because he hit the shot when it was tied up and he hit a couple of big threes and that was the difference,” Demke said following the game. “I’m just really proud of our team; we had an amazing run and an amazing year.”

Demke, who scored 26 points before fouling out, led Morgan Stanley in scoring. Dwight Dunn led Moby Dick’s with 39 points, followed by Dustin Mears, who sank 19.

“It was a good close game,” David Valenzuela, Moby Dick’s coach, said following the game. “Everybody battled hard. Unfortunately, one of their good players fouled out. It was a good, fair game. We made some stupid mistakes and we let them back in it, but other than that it will sink in when it sinks in. I know I am number one for this year and I get to take Moby Dick’s their first, first place trophy in any sport.”

The basketball league will hold their annual awards banquet on Monday, June 9, when awards will be handed out to the top three teams. The league MVP and all-star team will also be announced. Open gym nights for basketball will return later this summer.