Heading into the holiday break, the teams in the San Diego Hoops basketball league are starting to spread out in the standings. Currently, Morgan Stanley is the only team in the league with a perfect 7-0 record, but with Fusion on a winning streak, that could change very quickly.

This week’s games Fusion took on Powerhouse Gym in the first game of the night. Powerhouse welcomed their coach, Jackson Addington, back after an ankle injury had her sidelined for the last two weeks. It was the first time since early in the season that Powerhouse had their entire eight-person team together for a game.

“It was nice having a lot of the bodies,” Addington said about her team. “The talent is there, it’s just a matter of getting to where we play together on a consistent basis so we can start to gel. If we have that, I wouldn’t be surprised if we do a lot better in the second half of the season than we have in the first half.”

Powerhouse has struggled so far this season, only picking up one win in the first seven games.

In this week’s match up, Fusion took a quick lead in the first half behind the shooting of Jeff Wyngaert. Powerhouse had some good shots that weren’t falling, and the strong inside play of Trevor Kuecker helped Fusion pick up a number of rebounds.

“Trevor is always a worry on the rebounds,” Stuart Leung, Fusion’s coach, commented. “He gets us at least eight extra possessions every game and it makes a difference. If we score on all eight that’s the difference between a close game and a blow out.”

At the half, Fusion was up 19 points and Leung added to the lead, starting the second half off with a three-pointer. Powerhouse continued to have scoring problems, but put up a valiant effort. In the end it was Fusion’s game, 59-32, led by Jeff Wyngaert with 25 points. Powerhouse leading scorers were Chris McBride and Josh Logan, with nine points each.

Game two was a match up between Brians’/Hummingbird and Pecs. In the first half, Brians’/Hummingbird came out with some even scoring, with six players putting points on the board. For Pecs, Charissa Kolich had some nice shots but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the scoring of Brians’/Hummingbird, who took a 10-point lead into the half.

In the second half, Brians’ came out determined to seal the victory. The balanced scoring continued and the Brians’/ Hummingbird team proved to be too much for Pecs to handle. The final score was 73-43 Brians’\Hummingbird, with Amy McClure leading the team with 21 points.

Game three featured a showdown between Moby Dick’s and Kickers. The two teams were tied for third place going into the night. Kickers served up Moby Dick’s the first loss of the season and the Moby’s team was out for revenge. The game pitted two great inside players, with Moby’s Eric McDaniels matching up with Robert Wiggins of Kickers. The two posted the same score in the first half, but the combined team effort of Moby’s gave them a 30-22 lead at the end of the half.

In the second half, Moby Dick’s faltered early on and Kickers narrowed their lead down to two points. Moby’s regrouped and got back on track successfully, attacking the inside defense of Kickers. In the end Moby’s came out on top, 63-44. Leading the team in scoring for Moby Dick’s was Eric McDaniels, with 30 points, and Bryan Leigh, with 18 points. Roberts Wiggins was the top scorer for Kickers, with 26 points.

In the final game of the night, it was the undefeated Morgan Stanley against The Loft. Morgan Stanley came out with their standard run and gun offense to take a quick lead. The Loft struggled in shooting and Morgan Stanley went into the half with a 24-point lead.

The Morgan Stanley assault continued in the second half as they successfully converted turnovers into baskets. Dan Taylor got the offense started for The Loft, but it was too little, too late, as Morgan Stanley went on to win the game, 56-24. In scoring, Morgan Stanley was lead by Dan Newbold, with 15 points, and for The Loft it was Dan Taylor, with 13 points.

The San Diego Hoops basketball league will be taking a two-week break for the holidays, but when league play resumes, third place Moby Dick’s will be taking on first place Morgan Stanley. This will be the first time these two teams have faced off since their first match up was postponed because of the firestorm in October. The basketball excitement starts back up at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 7, at the Golden Hill Recreation Center.