Morgan Stanley squared off against The Welch Group in San Diego Hoops play on Jan. 10. Going into the game, Morgan Stanley was undefeated and was sitting squarely at the top of the standings.

Both teams came out with a strong defense and hard-driving offense knowing they had to both score and control the game or the other team would blow them out of the water.

The Welch Group was on the board with the first basket, but was unable to hit any of their next few shots. Several unsuccessful drives later and there were still only 2 points scored. After three minutes of failed drives by both teams falling short of the basket, missing shots, making bad passes and timely steals, there were no more scores on either end of the court.

Morgan Stanley’s Paul Demke finally hit the board, putting them in the game. He then sunk two more baskets to bring Morgan Stanley into a comfortable lead. Demke was followed by Brandon Patchett, who made two shots of his own (a 2-pointer and a 3-pointer) and by Vinny Adame, who also sunk a 3-pointer to bring Morgan Stanley ahead by 9 points, at 11-2.

The Welch Group was struggling to answer those six unchallenged buckets and finally did so with a basket by Jason Farr. Morgan Stanley’s Patchett hit another basket to reclaim an 11-point lead, only to have it whittled away again by the next three successful shots by The Welch Group’s Farr, Angel Hernandez and Elijah Cate.

Morgan Stanley’s Patchett was on fire, hitting another basket from the line for 2 more points. Welch Group stepped up their offense and hit their next eight baskets uncontested, keeping Morgan Stanley from making any shots. Morgan Stanley only managed to score once more at the very end of the half to bring the score to 23-21 (Welch Group) at half-time.

Patchett hit the scoreboard just moments into the second half, bringing the game to a tie at 23. Morgan Stanley’s Demke was fouled and made both of his free throws to bring Morgan Stanley ahead by 2 points.

But their lead was short-lived as The Welch Group’s Farr and Dan Mosher both made 2-point shots to bring The Welch Group back into the lead by 2. Farr hit a 3-pointer and a free throw and was followed by another 3-pointer by Julio Montano.

Halfway through the second half, it was now The Welch Group’s turn to be up by 9 points, at 34-25. Morgan Stanley’s Demke sunk another basket trying to narrow the gap, but his bucket was answered by The Welch Group’s Montano.

Morgan Stanley’s Patchett hit the next basket, but Morgan Stanley gave up a free throw on a foul. The Welch Group’s Montano then hit yet another basket, which was in turn answered by two free throws and a 3-pointer, again by Morgan Stanley’s Patchett.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Morgan Stanley, down by 3 points, took a time out to regroup. Coming back into the game, the team hit another bucket, but frustration gave way to sloppy play and they gave up four free throws they couldn’t afford to. In the end, The Welch Group beat the previously undefeated Morgan Stanley 43-40 in a close game.

In other games on Jan. 10, 2200 Club handily defeated Colorworks Painting 61-50. Colorworks Painting only had five players and no subs, and 2200 Club took advantage of their numbers, running Colorworks hard throughout the game. 2200 Club maintained the lead throughout the game, ending the first half with only a 1-point difference, 28-27.

Beach City Market beat Urban Mo’s 37-34 in the second very close and low-scoring game of the night, and AAA Mortgage Mart defeated Pecs 58-51.

With this win and the Morgan Stanley loss, Morgan Stanley and Beach City Market are now tied for first place with 5-1 records. AAA Mortgage Mart and Welch Group are tied for third.

With seven weeks left in the season, it’s still anyone’s guess how the standings will turn out, but there are sure to be some good match-ups in the coming weeks as each team jockeys for position. Look for Morgan Stanley to redeem themselves by fighting harder for each win, and look to the other teams to capitalize on Morgan Stanley’s loss as they try to duplicate The Welch Group’s win.

All games are played on Wednesday nights at either 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. at the Joan Kroc Center, located at 6760 University Ave. Games are open to the public. Log on to www.sdhoops.net for more information.