After much anticipation, the Kankakee First Church Men’s League kicked off on Sunday, March 14th. As we will get accustomed to over the course of the next two months, Sunday afternoons will be action packed. There are six games scheduled for each Sunday afternoon, with games beginning at 12:30 pm. Six of the nine teams will play one game, while the other three teams will play two games. When the dust is settled, the nine teams will have played eight games in six weeks, one against each of the other teams in the league. This will all culminate in a single elimination end of the year tournament on May 2nd and May 9th.

Week 1 – Game 1:
Team 1 – 107 (1-0)
Team 7 – 61 (0-1)

In the league’s inaugural game, Team 1 came out firing on all cylinders, putting up a performance that will be tough to match for anyone this season. Team 7 was overmatched from the beginning, as Team 1 won by a score of 107-61. Team 1 shot 18/30 from three-point range, led by Dustin Rennewanz who scored 25 points on 7/10 from three-point range. Ray Lawrence added 21 points, Trey Johnson had 19 points, and Dennis Koger chipped in 17 points. For Team 7, Darian Bosley had 21 points, while Patrick Cullom led the way with 22 points. Team 1 is now 1-0, while Team 7 is 0-1.

Week 1 – Game 2:
Team 8 – 84 (1-0)
Team 7 – 66 (0-2)

Team 7 was faced with a tough task as they were immediately back on court for game two of a doubleheader. The fresh legs of Team 8, coupled with their experience and physicality, proved to be the difference as they rolled to an 84-66 victory. Bobby Crivokapich was unstoppable as he scored 33 points and chipped in nine rebounds. Gerald Duckworth had 14 points and Andre Robertson scored 12. For Team 7, Darian Bosley led the way with 21 points, while Patrick Cullom had 17 points and Shaye Carter had 14 points. Team 8 improved to 1-0, while the tough doubleheader draw pushed Team 7 to an 0-2 start.

Week 1 – Game 3:
Team 9 – 94 (1-0)
Team 8 – 59 (0-2)

In the day’s third consecutive blowout, Team 9 used a barrage of three-point shooting to defeat Team 8 by a score of 94-59. Brian Hernandez dropped 24 points going six for twelve from three, while Red Binion was 7/8 from the field in scoring 22 points. Quon Shaw also contributed 19 points, while Team 9 was an incredibly efficient 25/39 inside the arc. Antonio Brooks led the way for Team 8 with 17 points, while Andre Robertson Jr. and Gerald Duckworth chipped in 13 points and 12 points respectively. Team 9 sits at 1-0 on the season, while Team 8 falls to 1-1 overall.

Week 1 – Game 4:
Team 5 – 68 (1-0)
Team 3 – 53 (0-1)

In a matchup of two of the younger teams in the league, Team 5 defeated Team 3 by a score of 68-53. Terrell Hendrix of Team 5 scored 19 points, as Jordan Winfield scored 15 points. Jonathan Townsend contributed 13 points in the losing effort for Team 3. Despite falling behind by 18 points to start the game, Team 3 battled back to get the game to single digits in the early stages of the second half. However, Team 5 would finish the game strong, winning by 15. Team 5 improves to 1-0 on the year, while Team 3 is 0-1.

Week 1 – Game 5:
Team 2 – 49 (1-0)
Team 6 – 47 (0-1)

In the first of two highly contested games for Team 2, a late basket defensive stand gave them an exciting 49-47 win against Team 6. It was a game that featured tight defense the whole way through, as neither team was able to really distance themselves from the other. Jared Harris of Team 2 led all scorers with 16 points. Braijon Thomas had 13 points while Ahmad Smith had 12 points. For Team 6, Alex Mitchner had 14 points. Team 6 struggled from behind the arc, making just seven of 29 attempts. Team 2 improves to 1-0, while Team 6 falls to 0-1.

Week 1 – Game 6:
Team 2 – 67 (2-0)
Team 4 – 65 (0-1)

In the week’s final game, Team 2 found themselves in the midst of another nail biter. A pair of free throws with 3.4 seconds remaining put team 2 on top by three points. Alex Thorson of Team 4 took an inbounds pass the length of the court and was fouled on a three-point attempt as time was expiring. Needing to hit all three free throws to send the game to OT, Thorson couldn’t come through in the clutch as he just made one of the three, giving Team 2 a thrilling 67-65 win. Jared Harris of Team 2 was the team’s leading scorer, dropping 20 points on 7/8 shooting. Braijon Thomas had 19 points, and Ahmad Smith had 11 points. Kale Maupin of Team 4 stole the show with a superman like performance, dropping a league-high 36 points on 16/21 shooting. He also contributed nine rebounds. Despite falling to 0-1 with the tough loss, Team 4’s Kale Maupin picked up player of the week honors. Team 2 won both of their games by two points to improve to a league-best 2-0.

Standings After Week 1:
Team 2 (2-0)
Team 1 (1-0)
Team 9 (1-0)
Team 5 (1-0)
Team 8 (1-1)
Team 6 (0-1)
Team 4 (0-1)
Team 3 (0-1)
Team 7 (0-2)