Yard Work by Dan, Troiano & Sons Reach Giorgi League Final
Wiggins’ teammate, Taverick “Tank” Roberson, added 27 as their Yard Work by Dan squad jumped out to a 21-point half-time lead and held off a furious second-half comeback bid by defending champion Moonlight Diner before prevailing, 77-65, in Monday’s opener at the Armory.
In the nightcap, Wellington was backed up by 21 points from Lawrence Carrier and 20 from Sedale Jones in a 75-62 win for Troiano & Sons/Kingsbread/Flynn & Dagnoli against Central Radio.
Yard Work by Dan (9-0) will face Troiano & Sons (8-1) on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Noel Field in the league championship game. Yard Work by Dan won their regular season meeting, 86-73, back on July 17.
Yard Work by Dan 77, Moonlight Diner 65
Roberson drove the lane for two points midway through the first half to put his team up, 21-5, and he had 21 points at half-time to help build a 21-point lead.
But Moonlight rallied, thanks in part to a couple of Geoff Kondel 3-pointers, to get within seven, 61-54, with just more than six minutes left. Kondel finished with a team-high 22 points and 10 rebounds for Moonlight.
That is when Roberson fed Wiggins for a bucket in transition. Wiggins was fouled in the act of shooting and converted at the line to push the lead back to 64-54.
The teams traded baskets until Wiggins scored on assists from Deonte Sandifer in transition on back-to-back possessions to push Yard Work by Dan’s lead to 71-60.
Wiggins, who scored 18 in the second half, scored four straight points, and Shaq Ardray (13 points) hit a pair of foul shots down the stretch to push the lead to 77-62 with 34 seconds on the clock before their team settled for the 12-point final margin.
Troiano & Sons 75, Central Radio 62
Just like the first semi-final, the higher-seeded team jumped out to an early lead, this time scoring the game’s first 10 points -- four by Wellington in transition.
Troiano went up by 19 when Jones set up Wellington in transition to make it 28-9 midway through the half, but Central Radio held its own from there, going into the break down, 40-23.
Just like in the first semi-final, the second half started with a comeback bid.
This time, Mitch Scace (team-high 23 points) hit a 3-pointer, set up Jeff Braim (14 points) for a 3 and followed his own shot in transition in a 12-0 run that got Central Radio within five, 40-35.
Troiano & Sons immediately answered with a 12-0 run of its own. Jones converted a conventional 3-point play and set up Wellington with an outlet pass off a defensive rebound to get it started, and Wellington finished things with a pair of 3-pointers to make it 52-35.
Central Radio got back within single digits one more time, when Scace knocked down a pair of free throws with 1:46 on the clock to make it 68-60.
But Troiano & Sons put the game away at the foul line, converting 7-of-10 at the line down the stretch, including three front ends of one-and-ones.
