Despite holding a 14-point halftime lead, AAA Mortgage relinquished their lead in a 68-58 loss to Morgan Stanley during the first game of San Diego Hoops play on Jan. 11. AAA jumped to an early lead as Morgan Stanley tried to catch up. Five minutes into the game, AAA led 12-5, and by 10 minutes into the first half, that lead grew to 20-9.

Morgan Stanley was not playing their best and had difficulties with defense. AAA Mortgage was taking no prisoners, and continued to hammer the baskets in to keep Morgan Stanley on their heels. Twice in the first half, AAA’s lead grew to 15 points.

Morgan Stanley rallied at the end of the first half and scored 4 points during back-to-back drives off a stolen pass. This caused AAA to take a time out and stop Morgan Stanley’s momentum, but they still trailed 35-21 at the half.

Both teams took to the court in the second half with a renewed desire to win. Morgan Stanley needed to come back, and AAA was determined to hold onto their lead and upset the undefeated team.

Morgan Stanley came out a bit overly aggressive and ended up giving up back-to-back penalties to AAA, who quickly caught up as tensions rose, each team struggling to slow down and focus. Seven minutes into the second half, Morgan Stanley had closed the gap, making it a 1-point game.

Both teams drove hard, sinking baskets on both ends of the court, keeping the score virtually tied. With seven minutes left on the clock, Morgan Stanley pulled ahead by two points, 50-48. The teams continued to trade baskets, but Morgan Stanley managed to keep their lead, gradually extending it to 5 points.

“It was a tale of two halves for us. We really struggled in every facet of the game in the first half,” said Morgan Stanley captain/coach Paul Demke, who contributed 21 points. “But, we didn’t give up and won the game in the second half with a little heart and a lot of defense. We had a number of huge team defensive stops in the last two minutes of the game, and that was the difference. It was one of the best comebacks that I have ever been a part of as a player. We definitely earned this win.”

S.D. Hoops’ top scorer, Larry Granville, was limited to 20 points for AAA, and Robert Wiggins added 16. Morgan Stanley’s Robert Simmons scored 18.

Morgan Stanley improved to 8-0, while AAA dropped to 5-3.

In a low-scoring affair, The Loft defeated Pecs 44-34 in the second game of the night.

The Loft won the jump and was off to a quick break right from the whistle, but Pecs managed to score first, showing both patience and control. Pecs kept the lead for the first eight minutes, before The Loft focused and began to connect with the basket.

There were a lot of fast breaks, steals and strong offensive and defensive plays, but a lack of scoring during this first half. The Loft held a 21-14 lead at the half.

The second half was peppered by tit-for-tat buckets on both sides, with neither team managing to break away at any point.

Pecs’ Danny Newbold played solid defense and offense throughout the night, and was the evening’s second highest scorer, contributing 22 points. Rick Saunders led The Loft with 16 points.

The Loft evened their record at 4-4, while Pecs fell to 0-8 overall.

Hamburger Mary’s defeated Colorworks Painting 66-42 in the third game of the night. The game could have been a lot closer, but Colorworks was missing two key players –Tom Nagashima was out with a back injury and David Matta was unable to play.

Colorworks challenged Hamburger Mary’s throughout the first half and only trailed by 3 points at the half 31-28. During the second half, signs of fatigue appeared in Colorworks, and Hamburger Mary’s capitalized on it.

“Hamburger Mary’s struggled a little in the first half, but played defense and gained momentum in the second half to rout Colorworks by 24 points,” Hamburger Mary’s coach/captain Mike Anderson said.

Despite the loss and the lack of players on the bench, Colorworks coach/captain Jose Cruz said he was happy with his team’s play during the first half and remains optimistic about the rest of the season.

“We needed everyone to play at full power, and we just didn’t have that. The best we could do was try to match our first half efforts,” Cruz said.

Anderson led all scorers of the evening with an impressive 35 points for Hamburger Mary’s. Brandon Patchett led Colorworks with 16 points .

Hamburger Mary’s improved to 5-3, and Colorworks fell to 3-5.

In a game that was tight all the way down to the buzzer, Pomegranate narrowly defeated 2200 Club 43-41. The closeness of this game contrasted greatly compared to Pomegranate’s 43-26 lopsided victory during S.D. Hoops play on Nov. 2.

2200 Club has improved over the course of the season so far.

“Pomegranate faced a much-improved 2200 [Club] team, who was looking for a much-needed upset,” said Pomegranate coach/captain Rick Kilgore.

Although Pomegranate led at the half 25-19, 2200 Club went on an 8-0 run during the second half to bring themselves within 2 points. But turnovers were the difference. With one second left in the game and the score tied at 41-41, Eric Edwards was fouled driving in for a layup. Edwards sank both free throws to give Pomegranate the win

2200 Club had an opportunity to tie the game, but threw the ball away. The inbound throw never made it in, and the game was over.

Sergio Villegas led 2200 Club with 16 points, and Leo Valenzuela led Pomegranate with 13.

Pomegranate improved to 6-2, and 2200 Club fell to 1-7.