*Overtime, champion of the Fanrun Final Four*

By Fanrun Sports

The Fanrun Final Four is in the books.

Four radio shows turned into four below average to bad basketball teams last Thursday at Next Level Performance in Oliver Springs, Tennessee.

Big thanks to Next Level for providing a terrific hooping experience with adequate rims and basketballs.

The teams competed in a double elimination tournament full of surprises, stamina, and sweat. They played half-court to 21 by two’s and three’s.

Here’s everything that happened:

Game 1: Overtime (1-0) def. TalkSports (0-1) 22-20

The action began with the boys from the morning putting up a hell of a fight against the youngest and most in-shape team of the tournament. TalkSports settled in to a slow-tempo approach that allowed star Jack Pianta to find plenty of baskets. The hard-nosed defense and high-effort rebounding kept TalkSports in the game, but ultimately the more talented, more athletic team prevailed at the end. William Patteson hit a 12-foot shot in the lane to give Overtime the W.

*(L-R): Russell Smith’s head, Matt Graham, Dawson Wise, William Patteson*

Game 2: The Drive (1-0) def. Under Review (0-1) 22-20

This was a stalemate for several minutes with absolutely no scoring. This game took a good half hour despite all the other games taking about half that amount of time. A real defensive struggle. And physical. Just ask Jace Brown, who took a disgusting elbow to the eye from Sam Beard. Brett Hullander seemed to be the only one in good enough physical shape to handle this game. Finally, though, after a long period of no scoring, Bob “Bobby Buckets” Baskerville found his rhythm and began knocking down big shots. Bob was hard to stop offensively, but The Drive’s length and solid fundamentals kept them in the game to the end. Under Review was up 20-17 late until The Drive hit a clutch three to tie things up. It was then Russell Smith, with ice in his veins, nailing an 18-footer to finally put Under Review away.

Game 3: TalkSports (1-1) eliminates Under Review (0-2) 21-15 or 21-16, something like that

After a brief rest period, Under Review had to take the court again for a difficult matchup with TalkSports, a team that was slightly more fresh. There was no stopping Pianta, who was one of the true ballers of the tournament. Jon Reed added seven points to go along with his ferocious defensive effort keeping Under Review at bay. It was Cody McClure who took over at the end, believe it or not, scoring the game’s final four points. McClure came in extra rested late after intern Luca spelled him throughout the second half. McClure gives credit to Bubba, as well, for playing him tough in this game. The game was somewhat controversial near the end with a couple of loose balls that probably needed a second look. Unfortunately there was no instant replay and it would have taken too long for these plays to be …under review.

Game 4: Overtime (2-0) def. The Drive (1-1) 21-18

The Drive did all it could do against the young studs of Overtime. The length of the afternoon boys gave Overtime some trouble, but ultimately they had too much difficulty covering up OT’s scorers. It was emphasized by a member of The Drive afterwards that this game had a lot of foul calls. “Soft” is what one Drive member called Overtime as a team. And Dawson Wise had “what many people are saying was” a travel at a critical juncture in the game. Overtime ended up hitting a three to win. “Very controversial. Very, very controversial,” said the Drive member. It should be noted as well that The Drive missed a lot of open looks in the game. They got more and more tired as the tournament progressed.

Game 5: Losers Bracket Championship, TalkSports (2-1) eliminates The Drive (1-2) 21-15

These old dogs finally just laid down and died. The Drive was absolutely gassed by the time it had to face TalkSports in the losers bracket championship. Big Walker Smith was tough to guard but he never had a breather. Pianta and Reed led the way for the morning boys in this one, with intern Luca also knocking down a critical shot to keep mornings better than afternoons. Credit to The Drive for fighting back in the game. The depth finally did them in, though, as they had absolutely no rotation. Really, what were you thinking Russ? Each team was allowed four players and you chose to play with three. Maniac.

Game 6: Tournament Championship, Overtime (3-0) eliminates TalkSports (2-2) 21-11

The lack of endurance finally caught up to TalkSports, which played a tournament record four games in just two hours. If TalkSports had won the first game, the script may have been somewhat different. But having to beat this young, energetic squad of college dudes twice was a task too tall for a team whose average age was closer to 30. Credit to Overtime for coming up big when it mattered and winning the championship. Credit to Wise for being lowkey physical in the paint. Credit to Jackson for putting in good minutes. Matt Graham hit the team’s final dagger to extend the lead from 18-11 to 21-11. And Patteson, despite his unbecoming trash talk throughout the tournament, was totally unstoppable in this game.

Tournament Accolades:

Most Valuable Player — William Patteson

Offensive MVP — Jack Pianta

Defensive MVP — Jon Reed

Biggest Surprise — No critical injuries and only one minor dust-up in Game 6

Biggest Disappointment — Sam Beard (no disrespect, it’s just that a lot of people thought he’d be the best player and he scored 6 points)

All-Tournament Team — William Patteson, Jack Pianta, Bob Baskerville, Russell Smith, Matt Graham

(also shoutout to intern Lily who filmed and hit a big halfcourt shot in between games of the tournament and shoutout to intern Caroline who filmed and shoutout to the boss man Ryan and SM Athletics for fitting us all with tremendous jerseys)

Team Photos:

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