Loudmouths top scribes in 2006 Oxman '01 Classic

When five-foot, nine-inch sophomore point guard Mike Gallo stepped into the jump-ball circle a moment before the opening tip of the 2006 Matt Oxman '01 Classic, he fearlessly stared into the eyes — or, rather, the chest — of the behemoth standing across from him, 6-10 junior center John Reynolds. And as the ball floated into the air, Gallo leapt into the air with all his might, willing himself higher and higher and higher.

Gallo came nowhere near touching the ball, of course, just as he and his Daily Princetonian Sports teammates came nowhere near beating Reynolds and the shock-jocks of WPRB Sports on Tuesday afternoon at Dillon Gym. As several varsity players watched and tried not to laugh, the loudmouth broadcasters jumped out to an early lead and cruised to a 73-52 win, their second straight victory in the annual contest.

The 'Prince' still leads the all-time series, 83-6.

Despite the writers' history of dominance, however, few expected them to even come close this year — Las Vegas odds-makers anointed the broadcasters as 47-point favorites on Monday afternoon. Nonetheless, the always plucky 'Prince' scribes played with the heart of Rudy Ruettiger and the gusto of the Mighty Ducks, giving the broadcasters all they could handle. Ultimately, though, there would be no David-and-Goliath-caliber upset this time, as the scribes' Pulitzer Prize-caliber reporting talents sadly did them little good on the basketball court.

No, on this day, WPRB was simply too good. The loudmouths' lightening fast backcourt of junior Freddy Flaxman and senior A.J. Gafford proved deadly in transition and penetrated into the lane with ease. Flaxman finished with a game-high 27 points, while Gafford dished out nine assists. Meanwhile, senior power forward and captain Grant Edwards provided steady scoring both inside and from the perimeter, finishing with 13 points in his fourth and final Oxman '01 Classic.

But it was Reynolds — who signed with WPRB as a free agent this winter — who undeniably made the biggest impact on the game's outcome. Thanks to his six inch height advantage over the writers' tallest player, he utterly dominated inside, finishing with 24 points and 19 rebounds, 11 of them offensive, in his Oxman '01 Classic debut.

"Last year's game was pretty close and we graduated some key players, so I knew I needed to make a splash in the free-agent market," explained Flaxman, who serves as WPRB's general manager when not organizing dodgeball tournaments or getting kicked out of student government elections. "It's impossible to fill the shoes of guys like Jeff Bullian '05 and Rob Anderson '05, of course, but John came up big for us today."

Despite his shrewd off-season maneuvering, however, Flaxman was still left scrambling to field a full team after junior stalwarts Meka Asonye and John Boscia failed to show, likely because they were afraid of being posterized by the 'Prince' writers. With tipoff minutes away, Flaxman made several frantic cell phone calls from the bench, before finally plucking senior Jake Harter from a neighboring court. Harter actually works for WPRB's music division, not its sports staff, but he does qualify as a loyal 'Prince' hater thanks to his recent Nassau Weekly diatribe that included numerous ad hominem attacks on the 'Prince' staff.

Amid the chaos and confusion, the 'Prince' writers calmly and professionally ran its layup line and received a final pep-talk from their honorary captain, senior Daniel Satterfield. Because he is roughly 5-1 and distinctly Asian, Satterfield was not allowed to play. Instead, he spent the entire game shouting inspirational, if generally incoherent, suggestions from the sidelines, where he was serving as scorekeeper and timekeeper.

"You'll remember these 40 minutes for the rest of your lives," Satterfield exhorted the scribes just prior to tipoff. "The inches you need are all around you."

Duly inspired, the 'Prince' raced out to a 5-4 lead, stunning the loudmouths with their hustle and grit. Senior captain and power forward David Baumgarten set the tone, tenaciously diving to the floor to grab a loose ball, and junior center Clarke Smith's aggressive defense kept Reynolds at bay.

Then Reynolds went to work, windexing the offensive glass with aplomb to create easy putback after easy putback. With Flaxman and Gafford pushing the tempo at every opportunity, the loudmouths' lead quickly neared 20 points, as the scribes struggled to break double-digits.

Late in the half, though, the 'Prince' found its stride as its three-guard lineup began to pay dividends. With sophomore point guard Mike Gallo, freshman shooting guard Jake Miller and sophomore swingman Karl Micka-Foos patiently working the ball around the perimeter, the scribes began creating open shots and draining them, closing the gap to 33-18 at intermission.

"I think the gigantic fros the both Karl and Jake have threw us off," WPRB's Gafford explained afterward. "You're trying to play tough defense, but those things are so darn distracting — how on earth does someone's hair get so big and puffy?"

The hot shooting continued after the break, as Gallo, Miller and Micka-Foos all drained trifectas that left the broadcasters pointing fingers on defense. Even Baumgarten got into the act, shaking off a rough-shooting first half, first dropping in a nifty hook shot in the lane and then stepping out to drain consecutive threes to cut the loudmouths' lead to 12 points midway through the half.

But the scribes were unable to come any closer, as Flaxman responded with three consecutive treys of his own. The writers continued hitting from the beyond the arc, finishing with a dozen made three-pointers — including a rainbow by Gallo at the buzzer that provided the final points — but it was too little, too late.

"It was a great way to go out," said WPRB's Edwards, who was awarded the newly created Zach Pierce '05 career-achievement trophy after the game. "I'm confident these guys will carry on without me next year — as long as we keep recruiting the entire club basketball team to work for WPRB, we'll have the series all tied up by 2083."

WPRB 73, Daily Princetonian 52

Daily Princetonian

(83-6): Micka-Foos-14, Baumgarten-13, Smith-4, Gallo-8, Miller-13.

WPRB

(6-83): Harter-2, Edwards-13, Reynolds-24, Flaxman-27, Gafford-7. Halftime: WPRB 33-18. 3-Point Goals: Daily Princetonian-12 (Micka-Foos-4, Baumgarten-3, Miller-3, Gallo-2), WPRB-9 (Flaxman-7, Gafford-1, Edwards-1). Rebounds: Daily Princetonian-27 (Smith 6), WPRB 44 (Reynolds 19). Assists: Daily Princetonian-13 (Gallo, Micka-Foos-4), WPRB-18 (Gafford-9). Total Fouls: Daily Princetonian-4, WPRB-6. Attendance-7.