On 7 July 2016, the Celtics and Hawks reported to North Highland Assembly of God's Church Gymnasium to play their last game of the regular season.  We saw a battle between two dynamic teams.  Both teams have coach/players and they have tenacious spirits.  The Hawks is a championship team.  They are the champions of NOSBL XII.  They know what it takes to advance in the playoffs and to battle in the finals.  Additionally, they have multiple scorers with a great supporting cast.  The Celtics have won seven titles and are the defending champions of NOSBL XV.  The league of players respect them as being a very strategic team.  I see them as a closed group of magicians who put themselves on the ledge, every night, because they refuse to increase the size of their roster.  They have a system and history together that keep the brotherhood in tact.  Regardless of how you describe the Celtics - they are Champions.  The Celtics will enter the playoffs as the number one seed in the Eastern Division.  There are six teams aiming to take their spot.  We have never had a complete field of teams comprised to win the National Title, but we do now and it is exciting to see.

The starters for the Celtics were:  #23 Tim Sanks, #24 Jerel Jackson, #1 Al Wilson, #15 Christopher None, and #8 Jerald Mahone.

The starters for the NHA Hawks were:  #34 Ernest Adams, #0 Michael Smith, #22 Kevin Douglas, #11 Kenyatta Hardge, and #25 Roderick Williams.

The first half started with the Hawks winning the tip-off.  We knew, from the start, that this was going to be a great game because both teams were fighting to maintain a comfortable lead.  The Celtics', Jerel Jackson, opened the game with a barrage of 3-pointers.  The Celtics took their lead with an opening three, but the Hawks countered with two 2-pointers to take an early 4 - 3 lead.  They held the lead until the Celtics recaptured the lead at 11 with another 3-pointer from Jerel Jackson.  The lead continued to change at 12, 14, 15, and 16 when the Celtics finally went on a 37 - 20 point run to end the first half at 53 - 36.  The Celtics were led by Jerel Jackson with 29 points and Tim Sanks with 13 points.  The Hawks' Ernest Adams, Michael Smith, and Kevin Douglas combined for 28 of the team's 36 first half points.  The Celtics committed three team fouls and the Hawks committed six.  The Celtics are known for their second half prowess.  They consistently turn up the heat, on defense, to put pressure on their opponents.  We did not expect any difference - especially with them holding a 53 - 36 first half lead.

Evidently, the Hawks did not get the message in the second half because they returned to the court to show the Celtics that they can play by the same rules.  As the Celtics' Tim Sanks and Jerel Jackson continued to score points, the rest of the team disappeared.  That left the door open for the Hawks to go on a 25 - 8 run to tie the score at 61 behind the scoring of the Hawks' complete roster.  Roderick Williams opened the door, in the paint, by scoring 8 points.  Kenyatta Hardge dropped 10 points, Kevin Douglas catapulted 12, Michael Smith delivered 6, Yohance Thompson added 4 and Ernest Adams punched in 2.  There were lead changes at 62, 64, 65, 66, 70, 71, 77, and 81.  The scores were tied at 61, 68, 75, 77, and 80.  Those players had all of us on the edge of our seats waiting for the end of the thriller.  The Hawks scored 44 second half points and held the Celtics to 28 points.  The Celtics' strategy to not use a timeout began to wear on new cast members - that would leave a hole on offense and defense for the Hawks to exploit.  With 16.6 seconds remaining in the game, the Celtics had taken an 81 - 80 lead.  The Hawks called a timeout.  Following the timeout, the Hawks' Kevin Douglas received the inbound pass and began to dribble time off the clock.  The Celtics were careful not to foul and to keep the lanes closed for a layup.  With .6 seconds remaining in the game, Kevin Douglas passed the ball to Michael Smith, at the 3-point arc for a quick shot, but it was blocked by Christopher None which allowed the buzzer to sound and the Celtics to escape with an 81 - 80 victory.  The NOSBL XVI Playoffs is set.

The scorers for the Celtics were:  #24 Jerel Jackson with 41 points, #23 Tim Sanks with 27 points, #15 Christopher None with 6 points, #8 Jerald Mahone with 5 points, and #1 Al Wilson with 2 points.

The scorers for the Hawks were:  #22 Kevin Douglas with 26 points, #0 Michael Smith with 15 points, #25 Roderick Williams with 12 points, #11 Kevin Hardge with 10 points, #34 Ernest Adams with 9 points, and #23 Yohance Thompson with 8 points.