In a low-scoring, defensive effort, Morgan Stanley dominated Pomegranate to remain unbeaten in a 48-38 win during the first game of San Diego Hoops action on Feb. 15.

The game started slowly, with a full two minutes passing before the first score. Morgan Stanley found the bucket and started a 7-point run, their play involving much more passing than in their previous games. Pomegranate finally scored six minutes into the first half.

Morgan Stanley came out with a strong defense, which closed down all holes and kept Pomegranate from getting to the basket. Maintaining the pressure, Morgan Stanley managed to set up a 22-point lead. Picking up a couple more free throws in the last seconds of the half, Pomegranate dropped the lead to 20 and trailed 33-13.

The second half was more of the same, but Pomegranate did improve their offensive output slightly. After sinking a 3-pointer in the last second of the game, Pomegranate got within 10 points of Morgan Stanley.

Morgan Stanley captain/coach Paul Demke said he was satisfied with Morgan Stanley’s defensive effort in the first half.

“We held an excellent Pomegranate team to only 13 points at halftime,” he said. “Rob Simmons is known for his offensive skills, but his defensive effort on Pomegranate’s best player, Jason Farr, was impressive, to say the least.”

Demke said Morgan Stanley suffered some injuries during the course of the game. Center player Ray Robinson had a season-ending nose injury. Danny Player suffered a non-basketball injury after the game and Demke said he hopes Player will be able to play during playoffs, which begin on March. 1.

Pomegranate captain/coach Rick Kilgore said: “Our team started the game flat on offense. Morgan Stanley played us well defensively, and made it tough to get into our offensive flow. In the second half, we started attacking the basket and moved the ball around better; and, in turn, our offense began to flow better. I believe our defense did a decent job, considering Morgan Stanley is a high-octane offensive team.

“Our team loves challenges, and hopefully will get another shot at them in the playoffs,” Kilgore added.

Morgan Stanley’s Player was the high scorer for his team with 21 points, while Leo Valenzuela led with 15 points for Pomegranate.

Morgan Stanley remains undefeated with a 13-0 record for the season. Pomegranate remains in second place at 10-3.

2200 Club continued to play well during Feb. 15 Hoops play, handing Colorworks Painting a shocking 45-31 loss during the second game of the night.

Neither team had scored two and a half minutes into the game. 2200 Club hit the board first with a 3-point basket, coming out with a bang and controlling Colorworks defensively.

Colorworks was consistently unable to make their shots, and were not as effective in rebounding during the first half. 2200 Club held a commanding 26-14 lead at the half.

The second half showed a marked improvement for Colorworks, as they were able to match points with 2200 Club and stay in the game. After a close game against Morgan Stanley last week, Colorworks was favored to win, but was unable to recover from 2200 Club’s significant lead.

Sergio Villegas led 2200 Club with 19 points. High scorers for Colorworks were Tom Nagashima and Dave Matta, both with 9 points.

2200 Club and Colorworks are now tied for sixth place with 4-9 records going into the last week of regular season play.

“For the first time ever, I can say I was a little disappointed,” Colorworks coach/captain Jose Cruz said of the game. “We were not recovering the loose balls and weren’t running much. We were not making good shots. We were simply out of sync….

“I give tremendous credit to the 2200 Club team,” Cruz said. “They played a very good game. They hit their shots and clearly wanted this game more than we did.”

During the third game of the night, Pecs almost won by default over AAA Mortgage, since they only had two players on the floor three minutes before the game began.

AAA had their full team on the court by the starting whistle, and managed to squeeze out a 64-55 win over Pecs.

AAA came out strong from the jump and took control of the game with an 18-1 lead within the first nine minutes. At halftime, AAA held a commanding 39-9 lead.

Pecs had a hard time finding the basket and getting their offense past AAA.

Pecs found some rhythm in the second half, making their shots and capitalizing on offensive drives. They managed to bring the game within 7 points, but AAA buckled down and held on.

AAA’s Larry Granville led all scorers of the night with 24 points. Dan Newbold led Pecs with 23 points.

AAA remains in third place for the season at 9-4, while Pecs is still searching for their first win of the season at 0-13.

In the last game of the night, Hamburger Mary’s held on for a 47-40 win over The Loft. This was not a particularly great game to watch, as both teams have played better in previous games. Key players on both teams were missing, and each team was forced to adapt their games accordingly, which took some adjustments in the beginning. Hamburger Mary’s jumped to an early lead and led at halftime 28-18.

In the second half, Hamburger Mary’s Mike Barrow got his groove back and led scoring with 22 points for the night. The Loft got to within 3 points of tying the game, thanks to good offense and even better defense by newcomer Sereeta Jones. Time just ran out before The Loft could come back from the 10-point deficit at the half. Hamburger Mary’s remains in fourth place with a 7-6 record. The Loft stands in fifth place at 5-8.