By Bob Strohm
bstrohm@wbcowqel.com
When growing up most kids who pick up a basketball dream of playing in the NBA like their hardcourt heroes. While it may not have been the NBA, a few local kids were able to see a portion of their dreams come true Tuesday afternoon as the Dutchtown Dawgs called the Cavs’ Quicken Loans Arena their home.
Playing in two games each split between three teams the Dutchtown Dawgs took on the NWO Steam at the Quicken Loans Arena for two of the games while in the final game the Dawgs took on their second team counterpart.
Logan Neise explained how it felt to play at Cleveland’s NBA arena.
“It feels like playing like LeBron James, just playing at the Q it was really fun,” Neise said.
The first game saw the Dawgs and Steam battle to the final seconds as the team that hails from Dutchtown eked out a 43-40 victory. The second game between the Dawgs’ other team and the Steam was vastly different. The Dawgs walked away with a 43-21 victory.
The Dawgs then battled each other in a game of white shirts versus red shirts. In this game, which featured players switching teams mid-contest, the white-shirted Dawgs walked away with a victory against the red shirts 44-34.
Dutchtown Dawgs’ coach Ben Lash explained that the game wasn’t about bragging rights, but about having fun, and bringing a smile to the kids’ faces.
“I know from bringing kids here before that they are excited and they had a great time,” Lash said. “It’s just a good experience for them, and any time you can make kids happy you are going down the right road.”
Brothers Casey and Elliot Geissman enjoyed themselves at the game.
“Making the 3-pointer from the NBA line,” Elliot said. “It was a pretty cool experience. I hope we get to play here again.”
“It feels really good playing with all my friends,” Casey said. “My favorite part was people just chucking up 3’s. It was really fun.”
Mason Studer and Aiden McDougal were in agreement with Casey Geissman’s statement in that it was great to play at the arena with friends. Studer thanked their coach.
“It was just really fun to play with all my friends,” Studer said. “I want to thank Coach Lash for letting us all play and having a really fun time.”
“Being with all my teammates. It was a really good experience,” McDougal added.
Carter Valentine added that it was fun making shots on the NBA court.
“My favorite part was my friends and I just hitting buckets down here at the Q. It was a fun experience,” Valentine said.
“It was really fun playing with all my friends,” Luke Gurjevic added. “It was just really great being on the same floor as LeBron James.”
After a break to see the sights of downtown Cleveland, the Dawgs were able to return to watch the Cavs take on the Houston Rockets. Unfortunately for the kids as well as the Cavs, James took the night off to get some rest in before the upcoming postseason.
It was a tale of two halves as the LeBron-less Cavs were able to take a 19-point lead into the half, however they faltered in the second half losing the game 106-100.
Related Photo Gallery: Basketball: Dutchtown Dawgs vs. Marion Steam
Related Photo Gallery: Basketball: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Houston Rockets