Rotowire

Defending champs T-Wolves Gaming faced Bucks Gaming on Friday in a matchup of squads looking for their first win of the season. TWG was swept by Hawks Talon GC on Thursday, and Bucks Gaming went down in straight sets Wednesday against Magic Gaming.

Game 1 was all T-Wolves, as the team won every quarter and ran away with a 75-56 victory. Up by only one after the first quarter, TWG broke the game open with a 23-12 second period, and the lead ballooned to 19 in the second half. BearDaBeast caught fire and went off for 37 points on 15-of-27 shooting while making four threes. In the third quarter, the high-scoring point guard drove down the lane and elevated over his defender for a posterizing dunk that’s sure to be a staple on highlight reels. JMoney went for 14 points and center Feast lived on the glass with a 10-point, 20-rebound double-double.

For the losing squad, Regg did the heavy lifting with a 24-point, five-assist performance. Squidris scored 14, ARooks added 11 points and four dimes and Plondo contributed 13 boards, three steals and five blocks in the losing effort.

Game 2 was a well-contested match through two quarters, with T-Wolves Gaming up 32-30 at the break. As was the case in Game 1, though, TWG used a high-scoring quarter to establish an insurmountable lead. A 28-15 third quarter propelled the Wolves to a 15-point lead entering the final period and a final score of 71-61 in the series-clinching victory.
The winning effort was spearheaded by the dynamic play of BearDaBeast and Feast, who came up strong once again. BearDaBeast provided his second consecutive 30-point game on better than 50 percent shooting, dishing eight helpers in the process. Glass-cleaner Feast provided another double-double and his second straight 20-rebound effort, hauling in a healthy 24 boards while handing out six assists. Bucks Gaming was led by Regg, who led all scorers with 34 points, Squidris — who notched 14 points and two steals — and ARooks, who mustered just eight points and four assists while in foul trouble. Plondo came up with another big effort in the non-scoring categories, grabbing 15 rebounds to go with five assists and four rejections.

For at least one night, T-Wolves Gaming righted the ship after stumbling out the blocks in Thursday’s Opening-Night loss, ending Week 1 with a 1-1 record. Bucks Gaming, on the other hand, ends the week 0-2 thanks to a pair of non-competitive sweeps. The team won eight games last season, but they will still be looking for their first win of the new year when play resumes in Week 2.