By Bjorn Burk
Staff Writer

An unusual week was started off Sunday morning with an unusual game where the 76ers, who only had four players, almost managed an upset over a full squad in the Knicks.

With sophomore Bjorn Burk pulling off 33 points and contributing performances from junior John Bates, and sophomores Tyler Mills and Phil Dominici, the 76er’s were winning almost the entire game until the Knicks surmounted a stealthy comeback in the final 4 minutes to take a 68-62 victory. In the win, seniors Brian Rosinski, Ryan Auger, and Rohan Venkatesh played solid but turned it on in the waning moments to finish the exhausted 76er’s.

In the game between the Pacers and Bulls, sophomore Brett Harrison injured his ankle and unfortunately, had to be taken to the emergency room. Despite Harrison’s absence, the Bulls took a 49-39 victory.

“What happened was that I stole the ball and when I landed, I landed on my ankle the wrong way, and just couldn’t run anymore. I knew something was wrong with it,” said Harrison about his injury.

A mid-week thriller took place Wednesday when the Magic barely defeated the Warriors in a 52-51 battle. Seniors Peter Russo and Chris Mariano tagged up again to bring home their 5th win of the season and leaving them top of the table with the Hawks and handing the Warriors their first loss of the season and in second place behind the Magic.

“It was wire to wire to the end and we played really well and it stayed evenly scored,” commented senior Peter Russo about his team’s win.

This loss for the Warriors came when junior Eric Cajolet uncharacteristically missed a free throw in overtime to end the game. Jason Welch had another impressive performance for the Warriors.

Now tied at the top of the league with the Hawks, who beat the Kings 45-36, the Magic seem the team to beat but face a tough road ahead. The Magic are scheduled to play the Pacers, Bulls, Hawks, and Grizzlies, who all have winning records.

Expect a battle for first place between the Magic and Hawks in the second half of the season.

Full Scoreboard:

HSB 13 – Magic 52
HSB 5 – Warriors 51
HSB 14 – Hawks 45
HSB 9 – Kings 36
HSB 1 – Thunder 80
HSB 19 – Bucks 48
HSB 12 – Knicks 68
HSB 11 – 76ers 62
HSB 18 – Bulls 49
HSB 2 – Pacers 39
HSB 21 – Mavericks 75
HSB 8 – Cavaliers 52
HSB 23 – Bobcats 80
HSB 24 – Grizzlies 77
  HSB 3 – Suns 54
HSB 17 – Wizards 45
HSB 6 – Nets 45
HSB 10 – Jazz 40
HSB 7 – Rockets 67
HSB 4 – Clippers 60