It was too little too late when Ashcroft started to play their game in the fourth quarter. The score was 83-48 36 minutes into the game, and it ended 99-76. One of the keys to Squares victory was that they went to the free throw line 3 times as much as the Xerocoles. One of the reason for that was Ashcroft's solid but foul-prone center, Mohammad Ibn-Bilal, fouling out in just 14 minutes.
Every player for Squares came to play, so it's hard to pick just one performance that stuck out. The same goes for the Xerocoles, but if I had to pick one from each, it would be Sami Aakula for Squares  who had 8 assists, and 15 points, and for Ashcroft, Ibn-Bilal's replacement, Bleart Fakaj who led his team in rebounds and assists with 11 and 5, respectively.
The Xerocoles will come home for a must-win game 2. "We are going to give it our all" said team captain, Diego Montoya  "This one got away from us early, but we will have our home fans for the next one, and I can promise it will be a different game."
Ashcroft hopes it will be a different game. Game 2 will be on March 2nd, 8:00 PM ET in Xerocole Arena. If Ashcroft pulls out of that with a victory, the tie-break game will be the next day at Matrix.

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"It was a team effort. I got a double-double, but I could not have done it without help from my coach, and my teammates." The Greek power forward Efthimios Galaxidis (Pictured; with playoff beard), spoke with a thick accent as he said this to reporters after the Xerocoles took care of Browncoats earlier this evening, to earn them a spot in the Season 22 Div. III.5 Finals.
Galaxidis continued to give Browncoats too much to handle, as he got a double-double in all three of their meetings this season. He walked off the court tonight with 16 rebounds and 20 points.
 Another thing that happened in all three of the games, is that the Xerocoles trailed for most of the first quarter or second quarter before running away with the game in the second half. Because of this, when Ashcroft fell behind by 20 in the first, the margin didn't seem unsurpassable. The Xerocoles dominated the rest of the game (75-30 in the second and third quarters) and it finished 117-88.
The next obstacle for Ashcroft now is the undefeated Squares.  It looks like quite a mountain to climb, but remember; this team made a 20 point comeback in the semis, and a 19-3 team beat an undefeated team in the finals in last season's final game. 
Will Ashcroft pull off a movie-style finish? Only time will tell...

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In the final game of the 22nd season of BuzzerBeater Severín Jusko, playing in his 47th game as a Xerocole, scored 17 points to cross over the millennium mark. The game was against Toronto gunners, and Ashcroft won handily, 99-47. Jusko was at 990 points going into the game. With 2:18 left in the second quarter, shot one from the top of the key with Stuart Baikie contesting the shot, but despite Baikie's greatest efforts, it found the net. Jusko was 7-9 from the field with a 3-pointer. He also got 2 points from free throws.
"It's an honor to be a part of history for this basketball franchise" Jusko told a reporter after the game.
Jusko is the second Ashcroft player to reach 1,000 points. The other is the player who backs up Jusko (although he started with the Xerocoles as a starter), Israeli Small Forward, Binyamin Ben-Yehuda.

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The Ashcroft Xerocoles played against Browncoats yesterday, in a game that would either clinch first place, or put the two teams in a tie for first, with one regular season game remaining. It was clearly an important game for each team. 
Although they were winning for most of the first three quarters, Browncoats's high paced full court press left them out of energy in the 4th. Ashcroft managed to outscore their opponents 41-24 in the final quarter, and beat their opponents 120-107.
Efthimios Galaxidis was the high man, as he got his second consecutive double-double, and 10th of the season (13th including cup games). He shot a very impressive 11-14 (0.786), had 14 rebounds, and 22 points. Two other Xerocole players had over twenty points: Gvozden Repotoćnik had 23, and Severín Jusko had 22.
This game is a likely preview of the Great 8 final, as the only other team in contention, the Best Raptors, folded and have been replaced by the unprepared Tough Beaver. Ashcroft is confident they will make the Canada Div. III.5 championship, as all-star Shooting Guard Diego Montoya is healthy again, and back in the lineup. Beating Squares in the finals is another thing...

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