Games close, competitive in 30 Plus hoops

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   Close games have become the norm in the Hillsborough Independent 30 Plus Fall Basketball League.
   Through the first four weeks of the regular season, the 12 games have been decided by an average of five points. There have been three one-point games and another that went to double overtime. The largest margin of victory has been 12 points and only two other games have been decided by 10.
   The Runnin’ Rebels (3-1) are off to the early lead in the seven-team league standings. Last week’s 60-56 loss to the Nittany Lions ended the Rebels’ three-game win streak. The Rebels opened the season with victories over the Bonnies (34-33), Hurricanes (67-64) and Dukes (64-52).
   Dave Griffith has been leading the way for the Rebels. Griffith ranks fourth in the league scoring race with an 18.8 average. He scored a season-high 28 in the win over the Dukes, hit for 20 vs. the Hurricanes and netted 19 in last week’s loss.
   Frank Cabral has been the team’s No. 2 scorer in the last two games, scoring 16 vs. the Dukes and 14 vs. the Lions. John Herdje (20), Tyrone Conshue (11) and Christian Salvacion (11) also hit double figures in the win over the Hurricanes.
   The Dukes (2-1) and Bonnies (2-1) are ½-game behind the league leaders. The Dukes posted a big 80-75 win over the Hurricanes to jump into the second place fray.
   Tyrone Cokley and Mark Nagel, the top two scorers in the league, combined for 64 points and 10 3-pointers. Cokley, who’s averaging 25.0, hit six threes and scored 35. Nagel, who’s averaging 21.7, hit four treys and netted 29 points.
   The game was a real shootout with Paul Leinbach (22 points, 6 threes) and Alex Voitovich (20 points, 5 threes) also firing away. Leinbach (17.8) and Voitovich (17.3) rank fifth and seventh, respectively, on the league scoring list. Joe Willis (19) and Cliff Zivi (12) also hit double figures in the highest scoring game of the season so far.
   The Hurricanes (2-2) also have beaten the Nittany Lions (53-52) and Orange (56-52) but lost to the Runnin’ Rebels (67-64).
   Nagel and Cokley combined for seven threes and 46 points when the Dukes topped the Bombers by a 72-62 score in the season opener. Nagel hit five threes and led all scorers with 24 points, while Cokley netted 22.
   Chet Leoszewski, the No. 8 scorer in the top 10 with a 17.0 average, led the Bombers with 22. Mike Brader (15) and Pierre Gravier (10) also hit double figures.
   The Bonnies have won their last two games since losing the opener to the Rebels. They knocked off the Bombers (70-64) in double overtime and edged the Nittany Lions (62-61) before last week’s bye.
   Vince Castellano, who ranks third in the league in scoring (20.7), fired in a season-high 29 to lead the way against the Bombers. Castellano also hit four threes. Teammates John Loebs (17) and Rich Rash (15) also made big contributions.
   Four Bombers hit double digits – Mark Blanke (16), Gravier (12), Brader (11) and Leoszewski (10).
   Castellano fired in 23 in the win over the Lions. Loebs and Guy Pedellini added 18 and 11 points, respectively.
   Bob Schwankert drained six threes and scored a game-high 25 points for the Lions, who also got 10 from Al Rollan.
   The Lions improved to 2-2 with their 60-56 triumph over the Runnin’ Rebels. Rollan and Schwankert netted 15 apiece and Bruce Norfleet added 10. The veteran Schwankert ranks sixth in the league in scoring (17.3).
   The Bombers (1-2) got on the board with last week’s 70-65 triumph over the winless Orange (0-3). Leoszewski and Ryan Pearlman tallied 19 points apiece for the winners.
   The Orange remain winless after losses to the Nittany Lions (57-57), Hurricanes (56-52) and Bombers. Terry Mullen (14.3) and Steve Jaynes (13.3) rank 9-10 in the league scoring race but have hit double figures in the same game only once.
   Action was set to resume this week with Week 5 of the regular season, which continues through November. The playoffs are scheduled for December.