Anthony Hubbard has dominated the Prime Time League all summer long, but he’s not perfect.
The Iowa forward admitted he mishandled the final play of Tuesday’s game, a mistake that resulted in a 87-85 loss.
With fewer than five seconds remaining and his team down by 2 points, Hubbard passed up an open 3-pointer on the right wing that could have won the game. Instead, the 6-5 Hawkeye swung the ball to an open Joey Woods, who missed a game-winning trey from the left wing.
“That was kind of a mistake on my part,” Hubbard said. “I didn’t realize we were down [by] 2. I should have had more knowledge of the game. I think I would’ve drove to the bucket and sent it into overtime.”
The situation was the only one Hubbard mishandled in Tuesday’s game, though. He led his team with 27 points and grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
Trailing by as many as 18 points in the second half, Hubbard scored 13 points after halftime to help pull his team back into the game.
A defensive switch also played an important role in Coach’s Corner/Two Rivers’ (5-2) near comeback.
After several opposing players drove to the bucket with ease in the first half — the first six buckets for Monica’s/Pelling (4-3) were lay-ups or short-range jumpers — the team switched to a 2-3 matchup zone in the second half.
Having only played six games together, it appeared Monica’s lacked the team chemistry to break down the defensive scheme.
“We couldn’t figure [out] what it was,” forward Devon Archie said. “We couldn’t tell if it was a regular zone or what. Once we figured out what it was, we started attacking and making plays.”
Archie and teammate Anthony Lee were a force down low. The two combined for 6 of the squad’s first 12 points of the game, including a thunderous dunk by Lee that gave his team an early 8-point advantage.
Lee, a forward from Temple University, paced all scorers with 28 points on 13-of-15 shooting to go along with 13 rebounds.
“I feel like this is one of the best games I’ve had,” Lee said. “I took my time on my jumpers and my turn-around shots, and I attacked [the hoop] a lot.”
The two posts also received a significant boost off the bench from Darryl Moore. The ex-Hawkeye sunk a 3-pointer from the right corner with under a minute to play that turned out to be the winning bucket.
Moore provided balanced scoring throughout the game, scoring 9 points in each half.
“He has played the game for a long time, so he’s like a second coach on the floor,” Lee said. “He told us what we need to look for and what wrinkles we need to change in our defense.”
Monica’s received a scare when Iowa guard Roy Devyn Marble injured his left ankle late in the game.
The Hawkeye sophomore landed on Hubbard’s foot after lofting a 3-point attempt and came out of the game momentarily. While he did return to the action, he was seen on the bench with a trainer with his left ankle taped around 15 minutes after the game.
Marble appeared to have rolled his ankle on the play, but he was unavailable for comment.