The 2005-06 San Diego Hoops basketball season kicked off Oct. 26, playing four games at the Golden Hills Recreation Center.

In the opening game, Colorworks Painting had the highest offensive output of the evening to blow past Pecs 65-37. Colorworks’ offense opened up during the first half, scoring 42 points while holding Pecs to just 14.

Pecs regrouped during the second half, scoring with more consistency and upping their defense. They kept the game from being a complete runaway, but were unable to overcome the initial disparity in score.

Colorworks’ Brandon Patchett led the scoring with 24 points, followed by David Mata with 15 points and Tom Nagashima with 14. Bonnie Koerner scored 12 for Pecs.

“I drafted a team of runners and scorers. I also picked players who are compatible with each other,” Colorworks captain/coach Jose Cruz said. “On the inside, I have a strong center whose strength is rebounding, throwing picks and creating chaos in the middle.”

Pecs coach/captain David Valenzuela acknowledged his team’s lackluster shooting in the first half.

“We weren’t able to connect with any of our shots and theirs were dropping,” Valenzuela said. “As for our team play, we tried different things to try to get our scoring going and on the defensive side we did OK, but we could have done a little better. Overall, I was happy with our play, but it’s going to take a few games for all of it to come together.”

AAA Mortgage Market defeated 2200 Club 55-36 in the second game of the night. AAA started off strong, while 2200 Club had a hard time completing their plays and effectively communicating. AAA seemed to be more in tune, relying on their impressive agility and speed and managing to outmaneuver 2200 Club on the court.

AAA’s Larry Granville led all scorers in all games for the evening with 32 points. Robert Wiggins chipped in 16 and Todd May scored 12.

In a low-scoring game, Pomegranate got past The Loft 41-26. Both teams played strong defense from the start, but the teams weren’t connecting with the basket. Pomegranate led 21-15 at halftime.

“Considering it was only our second game playing together, I thought we played well as a team. If we hustle and continue to play good defense then our offense will come along,” Pomegranate coach/captain Rick Kilgore said.

Pomegranate made some changes in their offensive strategy during the second half, passing the ball more effectively to hit their shots. This allowed them to pull steadily ahead of The Loft, even after giving up a number of defensive fouls.

“We knew they would be very competitive after watching them play Pecs in the pre-season game,” Kilgore said. “Keeping them from shooting open three-pointers and slowing down their layups inside was a key to our win.”

The final game of the night was an impressive display of athleticism between Morgan Stanley and Hamburger Mary’s. Morgan Stanley has been consistently strong and competitive, posting the best record in the league last season. This season seems to be no exception, as Morgan Stanley walked away with a solid 46-32 win over the highly competitive Hamburger Mary’s.

Morgan Stanley appears stronger than ever after drafting last season’s MVP, Robert Simmons. Hamburger Mary’s started off strong in the first half, but only managed to score a handful of buckets as Morgan Stanley led 28-12 at the half.

Morgan Stanley used a combination of speed, effective defensive reads, accurate passing and lightning-fast transitions from defense to offense to capitalize on every offensive opportunity. Hamburger Mary’s played better in the second half but was ultimately unable to keep up with Morgan Stanley.

“I was really pleased with our defensive effort in the season opener,” said Morgan Stanley coach/captain Paul Demke, who led all scorers in the game, with 19 points. “Danny Player showed he can play defense as he shut down Mary’s best scorer, Mike Anderson. And even though our offensive game didn’t click, we had stretches of great transition play led by Robert Simmons, Ray Robinson and Vinny Adame. A great start to the year.”