Happy Friday, TOC Nation. Week 1 of Moneyball is in the books. We have seen a couple nights of competition for each of the six teams. Here are some stats and observations through the first two games. But first, here is a reminder of what the rosters look like.
Team Tristar
Coen Carr, Michigan State
Jesse McCulloch, Michigan State
K.J. Torbert, Bowling Green
Xavier Pendergrass, Northwood
William Young II, Northwood
Cameron Essell, Albion
Chancelor Mullins, Trinity
Mehki Ellison, Eastern Michigan (2026)
Austin Stone, Kuyper
College
Devan Wilson, Lansing Community College
Team Faygo
Jasiah Jervis, Michigan State
Cam Ward, Michigan State
Anthony Benard, Wayne State
Treyvon Miller, Wesleyan
Nathan Thompson, Great Lakes Christian
Shamar Howard
Xavier Johnson, Henry Ford Community College
Tracy Holbrook, Austin Community College
Sidney Droughns, Lansing Community College
Team BLTs
Kaleb Glenn, Michigan State
Matthew Watkins, Michigan State
Myles Sidney, Grand Valley State
Shamus Thompson, Grand Valley State
Darius Welch, Trine
Tucker Loynes, Grace Christian
Deshawnta Malone, Mid-Michigan College
Trendon Hankerson, Akron (2023)
Kameron Hankerson, UW-Green Bay (2020)
Team Motorcars
Carlos Medlock, Michigan State
Anton Bonke, Michigan State
Marcus Gray Jr., Grand Valley State
Austin Tory, Grand Valley State
Carter Bishop, Hope
Keyshawn Sommerville
Evan Rolston, Montcalm Community College
Shannon Henderson, Lansing Community College
Chris Pearl, Davenport (2020)
Team LAFCU
Jeremy Fears, Michigan State
Ethan Taylor, Michigan State
Tevin Ali, Olivet
Rasheed Dyson, Great Lakes Christian
Cayden Ali, Lansing Community College
Jayce Branson, Henry Ford Community College
Logan Blackledge, Jackson
Marcus Wourman, Hope (2026)
Mafiaion Joyner, UM-Dearborn
Team SPS
Jordan Scott, Michigan State
Julius Avent, Michigan State
BJ Walker, Grand Valley State
Deaire Lee, Cleary
Dylan Smith, Grand Valley State
Forrest Bouyer Jr., Calvin (2021)
Ryan Franklin, Olivet (2021)
Malik Ellison, Saginaw Valley State (2020)
Anajuwon Spencer, Wheaton (2020)
On night one, we had these 3 scores:
- Faygo def. Motorcars, 78-73
- LAFCU def Tri-Star Trust, 87-84
- SPS def BLTs, 85-64
Just looking at these scores, you see two close games and then one blowout. It should come as no surprise that the team that took the worst loss, BLTs, is the one that features the new walk-on to the MSU basketball team, Matthew Watkins, not to mention Kaleb Glenn who did not play at all last year due to injury. Watkins only scored 2 points, while Glenn chipped in with 26. For SPS, it was incoming freshmen Julius Avent who was the high scorer across all night 1 games with 30 points. His teammate, Jordan Scott, added 16.
The other top scorers in game 1s were Cam Ward (Faygo) with 29, Jasiah Jervis (Faygo) with 27, and Jeremy Fears Jr. (LAFCU) with 26.
We had a couple of players sitting out on night 2. Freshman Carlos Medlock Jr., who had 22 for Motorcars in their opening loss, did not play due to a hamstring issue. Another news source called this a “precautionary” step. Coen Carr was also not in attendance, though no information has been made public as to why.
The scores for night 2 were:
- SPS def Motorcars, 84-80
- Tri-Star Trust def Faygo, 104-102 (OT)
- LAFCU def. BLTs, 96-92.
The two teams that saw one of their Spartans missing in action on Thursday ended up in the loss column, though they still kept the scores very close. We did not have any blowouts on night 2; the games were decided by 2, 4, and 4 points.
The high scorer on night 2 was once again a freshman. Jasiah Jervis dropped 44 points, but it was not enough to get Faygo a win. That game went to overtime, where Jesse McCulloch hit a pair of FTs to win it. McCulloch ended up with 31 points to lead Tri-Star.
For the second straight game, Julius Avent showed out, this time to the tune of 40 points. He is the main reason that SPS is one of two teams to go 2-0 in week 1.
The other undefeated team is LAFCU. After a modest 10-point performance in the opener, Ethan Taylor went off for 23 on night 2.
Moneyball is off next week due to the 4th of July. Games will resume on July 7.
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