With only one week of games left in the San Diego Hoops 2003-04 basketball season, Morgan Stanley has locked up the number-one seed for the playoff tournament to determine the top team of the season. Teams are fighting it out for the rest of the top four seeds in the league with Moby Dicks, Fusion and Kickers in a three-way tie for second place following this week’s games.

Week 14 of the San Diego Hoops basketball league started off with Morgan Stanley picking up an 86-37 win over Pecs. Morgan Stanley had the game from the start, jumping out to an 18-4 lead in the first five minutes of the game forcing Pecs to use their first time out to slow things down and reorganize their defense. Despite their best efforts nothing could stop Morgan Stanley who went into half time with a 53-20 lead.

In the second half Morgan Stanley didn’t let up, going on to increase their lead and win the game 86-37.

“We’re just happy with the win tonight because we secured the number one seed in the tournament,” Morgan Stanley’s coach, Paul Demke, said following the game. “No matter what happens next week we have the number one seed, so obviously we are pleased with that and we worked hard to get that seed. We’re looking forward to next week playing number two Moby Dicks and hopefully getting revenge there, and then getting ready for playoffs the following week.”

Dan Newbold led Morgan Stanley’s scoring with 30 points. Demke scored 20 in the effort and Chris Arnold contributed 18. For Pecs, the high scorers were Chris Battistuz and Charissa Kolich, with 12 points each.

Game two of the night was Hummingbird/Brians’ versus The Loft. It was a great game from the beginning, with both teams flexing their defensive muscles but Dwight Dunn’s outstanding shooting for Hummingbird/Brians’ was enough to give them a 10 point lead at the end of the first half.

In the second half The Loft narrowed the deficit until Hummingbird/Brians’ got on a run to win the game 69-57. Dwight Dunn led Hummingbird/Brians’ in scoring with 42 points. Dan Taylor was the leading scorer for The Loft with 27 points.

Powerhouse Gym was matched against Kickers in game three of the night. Powerhouse was playing short handed but played their hearts out as Chris McBride tried to keep Powerhouse in the game contributing 24 points to the effort. Kickers retaliated with more balanced scoring from its entire team and ended up taking the win 62-42. The leading scorer for Kickers was Jonathan Knapp with 23 points.

In game four it was Moby Dicks against Fusion. Both teams played excellent defense but it was Fusion with a 10 point lead at the half.

In the second half Moby Dicks tried to fight back from the deficit but each time they would close in, Fusion would go on a run. In the end it was Fusion 52, Moby Dicks 39. The leading scorer for Fusion was Trevor Kuecker with 15 points. Bryan Leigh chipped in 13 points for Moby Dicks.

This week marks the final week of regular season play in the San Diego Hoops basketball league and all eyes will be on Morgan Stanley as they take on Moby Dicks. Morgan Stanley may have first place locked up, but a loss could knock Moby Dicks out of their tie for second place, all the way down to the fourth place seed in the tournament. Playoff action begins on Wednesday, Feb. 25, and then the countdown is on to the league championship that will be held on March 10.