Through the first week of the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League post-season, three teams are 2-and-0 while three others remain winless at 0-and-2. 

Mackie's continues to surprise, coming from last place in the regular season to a pair of wins to open the playoffs, putting them in a solid spot to potentially make the final four. 

The OrangeAde's (2-0) blew out Talbot Trail Physiotherapy (0-2) 87-61 Wednesday as five players reached double-digits offensively. 

Jackson Lale picked a great time for his season high with 23 points to lead the way for the winners, scoring eight times in the paint, and adding a pair of triples to come within one of his career high. 

Taran Beekhuis added 14, with Ian Thomson and Brent Lale adding a dozen each and Nic Roberts-Neef adding 10 for the winners. 

A strong defensive effort held league leading scorer Ryan Pflanzer to 26 points while Geremey DeSchutter added 19 and Jesse Foster 13 for TTP who are off to a winless start. 

In the opener, Elite Stars Elgin conitnued their strong start taking advantage of a short-handed Cole-Munro squad to win 73-54. The Stars jumped out to a ten-point lead at the break with the Trout playing hard to keep it close. 

Rob Wakefield was too much to handle in the paint scoring 14 of his game high 32 in the opening half, with Brian Apfelbeck adding a dozen of his 15 in the first 20 minutes. 

The Stars (2-0) maintained a ten-point cushion heading into the fourth, before wearing down their opponent and winning by 16. Karsten Groen had 16 points for the Stars to help offensively. 

Andrew Cole had a team high 18 points for the Trout (0-2) with Jack Girden adding 14 and Jakob Dugas 13. 

On a night where the weather played a factor in attendance, both Home Hardware and Ambrose Plumbing only had four players available at tipoff. Both teams picked up a fifth and played the contest. 

After a sluggish start, both teams started to make shots. and after the Home Owners took the lead in the scond, the Plumbers four-triples utlimately gave them a 33-27 lead at the break. 

After the half, an 18-6 third quarter by the Plumbers looked like it was going to be a runaway.  However the Home Owners came out on a 13-2 run to cut the defecit to as little as seven at 53-46, but a three-point shot by Blair Umeri stretched it back to ten and they were able to finish a 61-52 win. 

Steve Barton had a game high 21 points for the Plumbers (2-0) with Andrew Lynch adding 16 and Merrick Mount 13. Mark Cummings had 16 points and Alex Roberts-Neef 15 for the Home Owners (0-2). 

Action continues with just one game next week, and the teams with losing records needing to find a way into the win column to put them in contention for a final four spot. 

It's always a brand new season when the St. Thomas Men's Basketball League hits playoff time. The regular season records go out the window and it's a tournament-style playoff where anything can happen. 

That was evident on the opening night of post-season play. 

Mackie's - the last place club in the first 20 games- pulled off an overtime thriller 73-72 over Cole-Munro Foods to open their post-season with a crucial victory. 

This was a dead-even contest throughout the night with neither team grabbing a lead to pull away. 

Trailing by a point with under five seconds to go, Taran Beekhuis went to the line for the OrangeAde's and despite missing the first free throw, he came up clutch making the second with 2.9 seconds, sending the game to OT tied at 66. 

In the four-minute period, Andrew Cole of the Trout (0-1) scored the first four points. However Brent Lale came right back with his sixth triple of the game to cut the defecit to 70-69. Nic Roberts-Neef then scored a bucket to give the OrangeAde's (1-0) a one-point advantage. Tai Montfort would make two key free throws to put the lead to three points and the Trout could never equalize. 

Mackie's with Lale's 24 point effort, coupled with Beekhuis (17), Roberts-Neef (15) and Montfort (13) held on for a win. Despite winning just five times in the regular season, they open with a win. Cole had 20 points in a losing cause for the Trout, with Jack Girden scoring 16 and Oliver Taylor 15. 

The other two openers were not nearly as close. Ambrose Plumbing (1-0) took control of their game in the second quarter, outscoring Talbot Trail Physiotherapy (TTP) 26-16 as they made seven first-half three pointers in a 92-69 win. 
Jimmy Hendricksen added an inside punch with 28 of his 30 points in the paint, while Steve Barton (27) and Tyler Annett (17) made it a big-three effort for the winners. 
Ryan Pflanzer scored 33 points in a losing cause for TTP (0-1) but had to work hard all night to get those buckets, both from the field and the charity stripe. Geremey DeSchutter had 18 points to compliment Pflanzer. 

In the other game, Elite Stars Elgiin (1-0) lead throughout to beat Home Hardware 76-52. Mike Morrison got the Stars off to a great start, scoring all 11 of his points in the first quarter as they lead by seven. The Home Owners with Mark Cummings' 14 first-half points kept it within eight at the break.  In the second half, the Stars smothered them en route to the victory. 
Rob Wakefield lead the way with 25 points, going 7-10 from the line, while Josh Vigars and Brian Apfelbeck added 10 each. 

Cummings was the leading scorer for the Home Owners (0-1) with 14, and Juan Carranza added a dozen. 

The 20-game regular season has come to a close with Elite Stars Elgin finishing as the Blair Clarke Memorial Trophy winners as regular season champions. 
The Stars (15-5) defeated Ambrose Pluming 76-58 in an old-fashioned four-point contest which included a make-up game from October. 

The Stars got 20 points from Mike Morrison, with Rob Wakefield adding 17 and Josh Vigars 12 in the win, which they lead most of the way. 

They will be the favourites heading into the post-season. 

Jimmy Hendricksen had 23 points and Andrew Lynch 14 for the Plumbers (10-10) who may have been a .500 team but if they come together, can be a tough matchup in the playoffs. 

It's been a difficult season for Mackie's who have played a number of games without their top picks or without forwards, but they ended the season with a nice 86-67 win over Home Hardware. 

Tai Montfort lead four players in double-figures with 21 points, while Nic Robets-Neef added 20 and Brent Lale 18 for the winners (5-15.  If their centres show up together in thhe playoffs, they could be a sneaky final-four contender. 

Home Hardware (9-11) has been plagued by injury as well. They got 18 points from Ben Girden, with Kamal Aizimi adding 17 and Mark Cummings 15 Wednesday. 

Ryan Pflanzer set a new league record for most three-point field goals in a game when he made 19 in Talbot Trail Physiotherapy's (12-8) win 83-77 over Cole-Munro Foods. 

The game was a glorified pickup game but Pflanzer game out hot making seven triples in the first, five more in the second and seven more in the second half. 
He finished with 60 points in thhe victory. 

Jack Girden had 30 points for the Trout (9-11) with Jakob Dugas adding 20 and Oliver Taylor 15. 

If anyone is interested in ordering one of the new Men's League hoodies, let me know. 

New logo, stiched on the hoodie and can be ordered in styles of Gildan, Under Armour and others. 
Made by Union Sports on Centre Street. 

Prices vary from around $65-$100 depending on type of hoodie.