ESCAPE HATCH: Chris Hatchell of Winberie’s/Miller Lite, left, looks to elude Tommy Soulias of Ivy Inn last Monday in Game 1 of the Princeton Recreation Department Summer Men’s Basketball League championship series. Hatchell scored 13 points to help spark Winberie’s to a 48-41 win over Ivy Inn. Winberie’s can wrap up the best-of-three title series on Wednesday night when the teams play Game 2 at the Community Park courts. If necessary, Game 3 will take place on Friday night. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Even though Winberie’s/Miller Lite brought an undefeated record into last year’s championship series of the Princeton Recreation Department Summer Men’s Basketball League, the team was not at 100 percent.

“I hurt my knee against Team TB in the semis before we even got to play [University] Radiology and then Kurt [Simmons] went out in the same game and broke his wrist,” said Chris Hatchell, a star guard for Winberie’s. “We were banged up last year.”

Winberie’s put up a valiant fight in the 2011 series but ended up falling 2-1 to University Radiology, dropping a 36-34 nailbiter in the finale.

When Hatchell and second-seeded Winberie’s hit the Community Park courts last Monday for the 2012 best-of-three championship series against No. 5 Ivy Inn, they believed that experience would hold them in good stead.

“Other than Ivy, we are the most veteran team,” said Hatchell. “We know that if we take care of the ball and don’t turn the ball over, we should be able to beat anybody.”

The series opener against Ivy Inn predictably turned into a nip-and-tuck contest with Winberie’s up 20-19 at halftime and the teams knotted at 36-36 with seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Down the stretch, Winberie’s displayed its savvy and chemistry as it outscored Ivy Inn 12-5 to pull out a 48-41 win and put itself on the verge of a title.

In Hatchell’s view, Winberie’s triumph came down to taking care of basics. “I think rebounding and holding to one shot and not letting them get three-point shots off was key,” said Hatchell, reflecting on the win that improved Winberie’s to 10-2 this summer.

Another key to the triumph was Hatchell’s clutch free throw shooting as he drained four straight in the last minute of the game.

“Before this game, I was playing at Mercer County Park in the Trenton 6’2-and-under league and I actually missed four free throws out there tonight,” said Hatchell, who scored 13 points in the victory with Evan Johnson chipping in 14 and Cliff Pollard adding 11 while Ivy Inn’s Mark Aziz led all scorers with 17.

“I thought I have got to make these now; I hardly ever miss free throws. Instead of going to the line and thinking about it, I was just going up there and shooting. I was thinking too much.”

For Hatchell, the championship series matchup is a bit uncomfortable as he had started this summer with Ivy Inn and played a game with the team in June before returning to Winberie’s.

“We had a good team last year but I didn’t know if all of the guys were coming back,” explained Hatchell, noting that he played with such Ivy Inn denizens as Bobby Davison and Shahid Abdul-Karim during his college years.

“But when I found out that Evan Johnson and a couple of other guys were coming back, I felt bad about leaving that team and I talked to Mark [team manager Mark Rosenthal] and said ‘my fault.’ It makes more sense for me to come back with these guys.”

Hatchell is hoping that Winberie’s can come back on the court on Wednesday and close out the series with a win and avoid having to play a decisive Game 3 on Friday.

“They are a good team but we are a veteran team and we just need to control the ball,” asserted Hatchell.

“We are good inside and outside. I like this team. We play together; we are a good mesh. It is a good group of older guys. As long as we don’t turn the ball over, we should be alright.”