By: Alex Cable
On the Eve of December 11, the men of Jaywalker Lodge went to war. The finals for Basalt’s Men’s Basketball League was under way and unlike last year, where our Jaywalker men won without question, we were not the favorite. Our team dealt with a lot of adversity this year and lost almost half of the games they played in during the regular season. The Jaywalker team was the 5th seed when the playoffs came around, which out of 6 possible playoff spots meant we were the underdog. The men won their wild card game with ease and moved on to the finals but the day of the finals would prove to be an uphill battle. Our team played in the semifinal game at 6pm last night and for 90% of the night they were down on the scoreboard. Emotions ran high coming into the last minute of the game but with stellar play from Alumni Jake T, Josh J, and Brad N the men rallied and tied it up to send the game into overtime. In overtime Brad N stole the show, going to the free throw line many times, and converting repeatedly. By the end of overtime our guys had a great lead and coasted to the end of the game. Once the semifinal game was over the men had to go right back to battle in the finals with a team they had played hard all year but had yet to beat. Jaywalker started fast and Jake T and Brad N found their rhythm early. Alumni Josh J came on strong as well, taking the ball to the hole with some grown man strength. At half time our boys were up with a 10-point lead, thanks to some great shots from the young blood Jack B, who played with an energy that was infectious. The second half our men got off to a slow start but rallied with some great shooting and even better defense. Steve V, Trevor A, Max E, and Griffin J showed up late in the second half and gave our team the spark they needed to finish strong. When it was all said and done the men of Jaywalker had triumphed and had won the championship back to back years. It was not an easy year for our guys but they trusted the process and in the end came out on top.
I would like to thank Dirk Eldredge and Bobby Ferguson for sponsoring our team and allowing us to represent Jaywalker. Also, I would to thank friends and family who supported us (hey Harper!). I also want give a shout out to our Director of Marketing, Nikki Soda, who stepped up this year when we were down players and dusted off her hoop skills and played with guys. Finally, I would to thank our Alumni Max E, Jack B, Brad N, Steve V, Trevor A, Griffin J, Josh J, Jake T, and Elliot L. You guys made this season great and I am happy I could go “back to back” with you guys
