FRANKLIN
The NC Ballers won the championship game of the 2017 Men’s Basketball League of the Franklin Department of Parks & Recreation. The games were played in the Peggy Wilkins Gym at Franklin High School on Thursday.

To get to the final game, the NC Ballers in a hard-fought semi-final game defeated last year’s champions, the NC Fire, by a score of 64-56. The NC Ballers’ win allowed them to advance to the championship game pitted against the regular season champions the Rockets.

The final game started off fast with back-to-back scoring by both teams. There were many lead changes, but by the end of the first half, the Rockets were ahead with a score of 27-26.

Opening the second half, both teams continued to run the floor and score. With only seconds remaining on the clock, the Rockets — with the opportunity to win it all — failed on a scoring attempt. With the score tied at 60 all, the game went into overtime. The two teams continued to battle score for score but as the final buzzer sounded this time, the NC Ballers squeezed ahead to win the championship with a score of 70-68.