Perez Zeledon 82 Sanatura Escazu 103

David Carnegie making it rain.

Perez Zeledon came in with its high octane offense, featuring three of the league's top scorers. Newest addition, Hernol Gardener, was rolling into our gym for the first time with sharpshooter Jackie Acuña and Thomas Douglas in tow. PZ is tied for fourth place and is in need of wins to tie up the last playoff slot.

The two teams were very even throughout the first half as Hernol scored from different spots. Our offense, again missing Alonso Sanchez, was generally effective and balanced, but we had a hard time stopping PZ's various weapons. We built small leads only to see PZ recover each time. Finally we got some stops to take a 5 point lead going into the half.

Javier Bustamante getting inside.

The first five minutes of the third quarter was quite possibly the best stretch of basketball we've played. Bodies were flying on defense, we shut down the defensive boards and were able to attack on the fast break, making the extra pass to generate easy baskets. Dave Milliner found his groove hitting from different spots on the floor and answering Hernol basket for basket. What had been a close game at the half turned into a 13 point lead as PZ became disjointed on offense. As has been custom throughout the season, our bench came into play to help grow the lead.

PZ made one last stand at the end of the third quarter as two steals turned into two quick baskets, reducing our lead to eight as the fourth quarter began. Sebastian Lacayo came in to bang bodies and scored a couple of nifty baskets. PZ coach Didier Alvarado got called for a technical which helped us re-establish the lead. And then...David Carnegie got hot from three point land. After a first half where he had issues handling the ball, David made three three pointers )and a long two where he stepped on the line) to break the game wide open and carry us to a substantial win over a dangerous PZ team.  With the win we have a virtual lock on second place.

Game Notes

Sebastian Lacayo with the jumper.

• Dave Millinier led the scoring with 32 points, while Hernol Gardener tallied 27 points for PZ. Jackie Acuña scored 20 for PZ but Thomas Douglas had an off shooting night, scoring only 7 points.
• Guard Dwayne Grant led our rebounding with 8, while Semaj Inge led PZ rebounding with 7. Inge had a big night defensively, getting five or six blocks around the basket. 
• San Ramon beat Barva 57-56 in the night's big game. Should be an interesting playoffs.