In an exhilarating game, Hamburger Mary’s slipped past Colorworks Painting 62-51 during the San Diego Hoops’ second week of play at the Golden Hills Recreation Center on Nov. 2.

Both teams seemed pumped up and ready for the confrontation, trading baskets back-and-forth during the final game of the night. Patrick Jackson hit the scoreboard first with a three-pointer, but Hamburger Mary’s coach/captain Michael Anderson quickly followed suit with a three-pointer of his own. Halfway through the first half of the game, the score was tied 7-7.

Hamburger Mary’s Sean Stokes sank two free throws to pull ahead, where they remained for the rest of the half. Colorworks battled back to bring them within seven points, but Brian Robbins sank a basket to bring Hamburger Mary’s lead to 31-22 at the end of the first half.

The second half of the game was a lot of tit for tat, but Hamburger Mary’s remained steadily in the lead throughout the remainder of the game. Brandon Patchett began hitting and capitalizing on quick turnovers to bring Colorworks within eight points near the end of the game, but time ran out for a comeback.

“We tip our hats to the Hamburger Mary’s team. They played good defense and shot well,” Colorworks coach/captain Jose Cruz said. “Our team played hard, especially defensively, but did not capitalize on its running game until late in the contest ... and our shots just did not fall…. I was most proud that our team came back to make it a close game at the end, putting our opponents on their heels, forcing them to take a time-out, and causing them to slow the game down,” he said.

Anderson cited defense as the key to Hamburger Mary’s victory.

“We started a little slow, but gained confidence pretty quickly and took the lead. I think defense is the key to our team, and that will be the focus for us next week,” Anderson said.

Morgan Stanley squeaked out a 48-40 win over AAA Mortgage Market in the first game of the night. Morgan Stanley held a slim 25-20 lead at the half. After the break, both teams played great defense, but AAA could not make up for their early deficit.

Morgan Stanley coach/captain Paul Demke was pleased with his team’s aggressive play.

“Our defensive effort was outstanding, holding AAA Mortgage to 40 points for the game. Danny Player, Ray Robinson and Vinny Adame had great defensive games. The key to our win, though, was the offensive play of Rob Simmons [22 points]. Rob really stepped up for us, showing everyone why he was last year’s MVP.”

The second game found Pomegranate trouncing 2200 Club 43-26, in the largest point spread of the night. Pomegranate came out strong against 2200 Club by playing great defense, demonstrating great speed and attacking the boards.

2200 Club started to show a lot of improvement in teamwork, getting the ball to the open players. Although it was difficult to catch Pomegranate’s lead, 2200 Club did its best to hang in. Jason Farr led all scorers with 16 points for Pomegranate.

The Loft walked away with a 46-29 win against Pecs in game three. The Loft started scoring right away against Pecs. Pecs came together in the second half, but The Loft’s lead was too much to overcome.

“Both teams were playing without their big men. We were able to pass the ball around and get everyone involved in the offense,” The Loft’s coach/captain Rod George said. “The defense lapsed for a little in the second half, but we were able to shake that off and finish strong.”

Pecs captain/coach David Valenzuela said his team continues to struggle with shooting.

“I was a little heartbroken of the loss. We play well together, but we just couldn’t get our shots to drop,” Valenzuela said. “Our defense was there, but our offense was a little short.”

Morgan Stanley and Pomegranate both remain undefeated in league play with 2-0 records.

For more information on the schedule, facilities, standings and upcoming events, visit the SD Hoops Web site at www.sandiegohoops.com.