By Colt Langley/sports editor

Competition tightened in the fifth round of intramural basketball games on South Campus March 9.

In the first game, Team 2 beat Team 1, 66-27. Jeff Lane of Team 2 said his team was on its game.

“We played better than usual,” he said. “We played good defense. They [Team 1] did what they could, but we just played stronger. We were determined to play strong.”

Team 1 player Blake Hoover said his team played too independently.

“We need to play a little more defense and not be so selfish with the ball and pass it,” Hoover said. “We had some good opportunities, but we just couldn’t finish the plays. Our shots just wouldn’t fall in.”

Hoover’s teammate Johnny Elliot said he was disappointed with his team’s loss.

“It was pretty rough, especially for them only having five people,” he said. “We didn’t play as a team.”

Tony Dreamer of Team 1 felt his team played well despite the loss.

“We played good, but the points didn’t show it,” Dreamer said. “The only thing that matters is that we have fun.”

Game 2 between teams 4 and 6 was the closest of all the games. Team 4 defeated Team 6, 60-57.

It looked as though Team 6 would win, but as soon as halftime ended, Team 4 took the lead.

Kendrick Speed of Team 4 said everyone on his team played hard.

“Things looked different this week. We got a comeback victory, and we worked good as a team,” Speed said. “Everyone played to the best of their ability, and we got the win.”

On the opposing team, Charles Simmons said ego led to his team’s defeat.

“In the beginning, we had the win, but everyone wanted to be selfish,” he said. “No one wanted to play defense.”

Regis Small of Team 6 said it was the turnovers the team suffered that kept them from winning.

“We played good. We just had a couple of turnovers,” he said. “We’re going to have to meet the team again in the playoffs and beat them.”

In the last game, Team 5 beat Team 2, 60-34. This game was Team 2’s second of the day.

Jeff Lane of Team 2 said the other team played to its advantage.

“I don’t want to blame it on us being too tired, but the second half is when we started making turnovers and stopped playing defense,” he said. “So the other team took advantage.”

Johnny Jordan of Team 5 said it’s the team’s chemistry that helped his squad win.

“Best thing about this team is our chemistry,” Jordan said. “Most of us have been playing together for a long time, so we know everyone’s tendencies as well as what we can do and what we can’t do.”

South intramural director Michael Daniels said he didn’t like how the teams were matched up.

“I didn’t think the teams were evenly matched,” he said. “I don’t think the better teams played against each other this week.”