By Tim “Shoe” Sullivan and Bobby Sullivan

“It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it”.

So said Todd “Marvin” Barnes of Partner’s Pub as his team needed a five-minute overtime to beat Hoffman Hobbies 70-65, in the second Stevens Point Rec League Basketball Tournament.

The championship game was played Saturday afternoon before a spirited crowd at P.J. Jacobs.

Hoffman Hobbies, playing in their third game of the day, went into halftime with a 27-21 lead. Partner’s Pub, which had an opening round bye, came roaring back in the second half and outscored Hoffman’s, 35-29, to tie the contest and send it into overtime.

Hoffman’s Trent Pate of Wausau, the Tournament MVP, barely missed a shot at the buzzer at the end of regulation which would’ve sent Hoffman’s home with the gold. In overtime, key three-point baskets by Nick Krull and Mitch Koski along with a pair of free-throws by Todd Barnes and his son Josh were all Partner’s needed to offset five points by guard Mario Johnson of Hoffman’s.

Early in the second half, the crowd went into a frenzy as Hoffman’s tied the game at 35-35 when guard Jeana Magyar dished out a beautiful lob pass to forward Matt Lund for an assist on a reverse layup.

Onlooker Erin Widenski, a Partner’s rooter, commented, “That was an awesome pass!”

Arriel Council then swished a “3” from downtown to give the Hobbies a three-point lead, but Partner’s guard Josh Barnes answered with three straight three-pointers from NBA range to give the Pub the lead again.

Partner’s fan Emily Wendt said, “Those shots by Josh were huge.”

Hoffman’s ran out of gas with two minutes remaining in overtime as their solid rebounder Matt Lund fouled out.

Onlooker Josh Ciseski was on hand to watch the action and observed, “Hey Dude, there was a lot of talent out there!”

Following the spirited title game which was officiated by Travis Stuczynski and Nick Schlagenhaft, Partner’s captain Keith Schwenn said, “A.C. (Arriel Council) always has a good team and plays us tough. We had to come from 13 down earlier against the New Guys and were lucky to pull that one out. We knew our game against Hoffman’s was gonna be tough.”

Onlooker Taylor Borgrud agreed, saying, “The entire championship was exciting and intense.”

Josh Barnes of the champs had high praise for Hoffman’s, saying,  “It was fitting that the whole tournament came down to overtime.”

Trent Pate of Wausau was voted the Tournament “MVP” as the Hoffman forward had 71 points and 41 rebounds in his three games. Pate noted, “It was a real blessing to win that MVP award. Actually, I’m used to playing against those guys at the YMCA in Wausau.”

Pate had a “double-double” in the title contest with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Hoffman’s captain, Arriel Council, said, “Partner’s played a great game, but I think we should’ve won. And our team won three of the overall league awards. Our players won the league scoring title (Council), the rebounding honors [Ervin Johnson], and the tournament MVP [Trent Pate].”

The Tournament Game ended the second season of the Stevens Point Rec League.

According to league founder Keith Schwenn, the league begins each November and games are typically played at the Stevens Point Rec Center on Sims Avenue.

BOX SCORE:

Hoffman Hobbies 27 29 9 65
Partner’s Pub 21 35 14 70

SCORING:

Hoffman’s: Trent Pate 18. Arriel “A.C.” Council 13. Matt Lund 12. Keith Hoffman 11 Mario Johnson 11. Jeana Magyar 0. Codey Flatoff 0. Dalvin White 0. DID NOT PLAY: Ervin Johnson, Jasper St. Bernard.
Partner’s Pub: Nick Krull 23. Josh Barnes 21. Mitch Koski 9. Ryan Shulfer 7. Todd Barnes 6. Keith Schwenn 4. Rob Konkol: 0. Travis Kempf 0. Kyle Murphy 0.

LEADING REBOUNDERS:

Hoffman’s: Trent Pate 10.
Partner’s: Nick Krull 8. Travis Kempf 7. Todd Barnes 5.