By Matt Fulkerson/sports editor
It was all or nothing as SE Campus began the single-elimination rounds of its 5-on-5 basketball tournament March 29.
The Freeballers defeated the Flappy Birds, 47-30. The Starshooters beat back TCC Squad, 44-30. Just Don’t fell to Murderfield Mafia, 62-40. We Trash made easy work of the Freeballers, 47-33. Triple D Allstarz squeaked by the Starshooters, 46-42, and Free Agents wiped the floor with Los Mavericks, 47-20.
In the biggest upset of the day, Los Mavericks lost their momentum during the second half. When the buzzer rang for halftime, Los Mavericks were down by one point, 20-19.
The Free Agents spent the break discussing their game plan, and once the second half started, they were unstoppable.
“Free Agents came out the first day strong,” said We Trash team member Denzel Winston. “They’re a good little team.”
While Winston respects the Free Agents, the Triple D Allstarz are who he’s keeping an eye on.
“Triple D is probably our biggest threat,” he said. “They’re definitely going to give us a run for our money.”
The Triple D Allstarz did not disappoint as they took the court against the Starshooters. Despite a strong performance by Justin Jones, who brought in 18 of the Starshooters’ 42 points, they couldn’t pull ahead of Triple D.
Despite some fantastic 3-point shots from Dute Manyang, TCC Squad couldn’t get a foothold against the Starshooters in its first game of the day.
Ashton Martin of TCC Squad said he treats any error during a game as a learning experience.
“Every time I mess up, I do pushups on the court,” he said. “I do a set number for any type of mistake.”
Just Don’t was full of mistakes as it faced off against Murderfield Mafia in the biggest defeat of the morning.
It took over 11 minutes for the team to score its first layup. By halftime, it was obvious that trouble was in the air as Just Don’t sat with a comfortable lead, 27-8.
“Overall, it was our teamwork that pulled us through,” said Shane Brandes of Just Don’t. “We weren’t selfish on the court and moved the ball around.”
The tournament semifinals begin April 5 as Murderfield Mafia goes up against the undefeated We Trash at 9 a.m. before Triple D Allstarz battle the Free Agents at 10 a.m.
The winners of both games will battle it out at 11:35 a.m. for the title of SE 5-on-5 champions.
