14th Century Rolls

Athens--That’s more like it.

After a monumental collapse in the High Middle Ages Conference tournament against the 13th Century, Dante Alighieri and his teammates righted the ship with an 85-50 pounding of the 2nd Century BC.

“It was like we were lost in the woods there at the end of the season,” said Alighieri, who finished with a game-high 24 points. “We had to get over some things as a team, but now we’re back on the way to that shining hill.”

The 14th Century opened the game with a 13-3 run and closed the first half on a 16-0 tear, going into the locker room with a staggering 53-21 advantage. The lead ballooned to as much as 62-22 early in the second half. The 14th Century shot 58 percent from the field for the game.

“We’ve had some setbacks, but nothing like this,” said 2nd Century forward Polybius, who finished with 12 points. “It’s not how I would have liked to go out. I’ll probably be thinking all offseason about how they got to be so good.”

He could start with their scorching 3-point shooters. In the decisive first half, the 14th Century was a sizzling 8 of 10 from behind the arc, with shooting guard Geoffrey Chaucer going 5 for 5.

It looked as though the underdogs might get at least one highlight out of the game in the second half after Terence stole the ball from reserve point guard Boccaccio near midcourt and raced to the basket with no one in front of him. As he went up with the ball, however, Julian of Norwich, who had been racing up the floor, came out of nowhere and stuffed him from behind at the rim.

“I knew three things about it as I went up to block that ball,” said the English mystic. “First, that God made it, second, that God loves it, and third, that God was going to keep it out of the basket.”

Quintus Ennius, who had told reporters the day before the game that he had had a dream in which Homer told him that he would carry the 2nd Century to victory, finished with 3 points on 1-7 shooting and did not speak to the media.

Players of the Game
14th Century AD: Dante, 24 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
2nd Century BC: Terence, 13 points, 3 assists, 2 steals