Old School Bows Out in Sweet 16

Well, the dream run ended last night but not without a fight. We fought to the bitter end and were only down 19-16 before they scored the two last buckets to win 21-16. We represented ourselves very well, but it wasn't really a fair fight. Turns out the team we played was made up of current players from the Holy Cross College (small school located across the street from ND) basketball team. The tournament has very clear rules about how many NCAA players can be on each team (1) but doesn't say anything about NAIA which is what Holy Cross plays. Needless to say, they had slightly fresher legs than us and knocked down a few more open jumpers than us.

As a side, I have to say that I have played a lot of ball games in my life in front of a lot of different crowds, but nothing is more fun and more special than playing ball and looking over at my beautiful wife and two children watching. It's so hilarious to be involved in this highly-competitive game and then hear this little girl's voice chanting "go, daddy, go!" or look over and catch glimpses of Luke just sitting in his stroller intently watching all the action. My goal is stay competitive long enough for Myla and Luke to one day watch a game or two that they will actually remember. If not, I'll have to rely on Kasey to tell embellished stories about how good their dad used to be and the days when he whooped up on the kids that were 12 years younger then him. Here's some pictures and a copy of the article in today's campus paper:

Size helps Texas Roadhouse defeat Old School to advance
Texas Roadhouse used experience and height to tower over Old School, as athleticism proved victorious over Old School's older but well-conditioned squad in a 21-16 Texas Roadhouse win.

Staff member Matt McCubbins and graduate student Luke Chicoine kept Old School in the game all night long, playing scrappy defense in the post against Texas Roadhouse junior Taylor Williams. Texas Roadhouse junior point guard JT Breveard ran up and down the court tirelessly during the entire game, adding energy at the point guard position.

"It's a tough matchup for us because they had both height and a quick guard out there," Old School coach Todd Hill said. "They started draining outside jumpers there, and we had a letdown."

Texas Roadhouse struggled to pull away, as Old School was almost always within two or three points. Offensively, Old School continued to fight back with the help of staff members Joel Dosmann, Matthew Blazejewski and Mark Bennett. Texas Roadhouse took an 11-8 lead into halftime.

Old School's average age of 34 presented a challenge against a college-aged Texas Roadhouse team.

"We had a comeback, but I think it was a little bit too late there; we couldn't finish," Hill said. "Given we're double their age, I think it's pretty impressive what we've done. We know athletic-wise, we're not going to match up with these guys."

Texas Roadhouse senior Adam Dobrzykowski's height on defense ultimately served as the difference in the game, however, as he held an advantage against all of Old School's guards.

"Going into these games, we expect to win as the fifth seed," Roadhouse freshman Pat Derksen said. "We're pretty confident going in, and we just try and work the ball around, get good shots, box out, grab the rebound and just run — run those guys off the court."