By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
Later this summer Tim Guers will head to St. Anselm College with hopes of a successful college basketball career.
But before Guers heads off to college he’ll do all he can to help bring Aria Health its first title in the Princeton Recreation Men’s Summer Basketball League.
Guers scored a game-high 14 points to lead a balanced effort as fourth-seeded Aria knocked off fifth-seeded Winberie’s, 55-39, in the playoff quarterfinals on Wednesday night. The win lifted Aria Health into the playoff semifinals, where they will meet top-seeded Ivy Inn tonight at 8:30 p.m.
“Our game plan tonight was to come out and run,” said Guers, who graduated from Germantown Academy this spring. “We knew they only had six guys and we have a bunch of younger guys and were able to go eight deep. We wanted to get out and run. And we have a lot of guys who throughout our careers have played together before so the chemistry comes natural.”
Joe LaStracco had 10 points in another typical balanced scoring effort for Aria Health. Chris Hatchell led Winberie’s, the defending league champions, with 11 points. Ivy Inn reached the semifinals with a 67-54 win over eighth-seeded Princeton Pi. Sherm Brittingham had 32 points and Mark Aziz added 14 in the win. Zavon Johnson and Markees Grant scored 17 points apiece in the loss.
In the other semifinal, second-seeded Bring Me Food will face third-seeded SAT Smart/Princeton Soup and Sandwich. Bring Me Food topped seventh-seeded King’s Pizzarama, 69-50, on Wednesday as Nick Davidson scored 18 points, Vince Anfield had 15 and Bert McCallum added 11 in the win. Anthony Gaffney had 14 points in the loss. SAT Smart/Princeton Soup and Sandwich topped Belle Mead Physical Therapy, 50-47, on Monday. Erick Klacik had 14 points, while Nick Brackett and Eric Murdock added 10 apiece. Jon Gregory had 13 in the loss.
Aria Health heads into tonight’s semifinals having won six games in a row since an early-season three-game losing streak.
“The first few games I think some of us were getting used to the size and speed of the league,” Guers said. “Now we’re used to it and also used to playing outdoors more. It’s a different game outside. We’re finding ways to get easier baskets.
“We know it will be a good game (against Ivy Inn). They are another big team so we’ll come out with the same game plan and try to outrun them and see what happens.”
