9th Century AD Outlasts 3rd

Jerusalem—It was one of the great games of the tournament so far, a heavyweight bout between two relatively unknown teams, but in the end coach Charlemagne’s 9th Century squad had just enough to pull off the upset over the 3rd Century AD 64-60.

“You just can’t say enough about how coach prepared us for this game,” said Einhard of the 9th Century,

But Einhard and the rest of his 9th Century backcourt mates endured a difficult night at the hands of 3rd Century point guard Tertullian, whose aggressive defense left them frustrated the whole game. The African theologian had assembled a near triple double by night’s end with 16 points, 9 assists and 8 steals in a losing effort.

“You have to give credit to his energy,” said the Beowulf Poet, who finished with a team-high 19 points.

But the real matchup of the night was at center between John Scotus “Double Scotch” Eriugena and Plotinus, whose back-and-forth battle was emblematic of the whole game. Eriugena finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, Plotinus with 21 and 10, and the two defended each other for much of the contest.

“He’s a player whose game I respect very much,” said Eriugena of his opposite number. “To go after each other the way we did for 40 minutes…It’s great to be a part of something like that.”

The score was tied at 35-35 at halftime, and neither team was able to mount a significant run the entire game. The largest separation between the teams was 6 points, a lead which the 3rd Century held at three different points in the game but was never able to stretch. The 9th Century’s four-point winning margin was their largest lead of the game.

Much of the 3rd Century’s inability to pull away from a somewhat overmatched opponent can be laid on Origen, their leading scorer, who put up possibly his worst game of the season, shooting 1 for 11 from the field for a mere 5 points, well under his season average of 18.2.

The Egyptian theologian confessed to being somewhat distracted. “I knew I might be off my game with women in the building. I’ll have to do something about that.”

Credit should also be given to the suffocating defense of Walafrid Strabo.

Players of the Game
9th Century AD: John Scotus Eriugena 17 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks
3rd Century AD: Plotinus, 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists