By Allison Dooley/reporter
The final week of the NE Campus men’s intramural basketball tournament held few surprises as the top four remaining teams battled in a playoff. Top-seeded Team One survived two games to represent NE Campus in the intra-campus tournament April 11 on South Campus.
Instead of creating their own names, the teams were numbered.
Team One vs. Team Five
The first game of the day pitted the first-seeded Team One against fourth-seeded Team Five. The game remained close through most of the first half. With eight minutes left before the intermission, the teams were deadlocked 15-15. Team One exploded on offense and went on a 14-4 run to take a 29-20 halftime lead.
Team Five struggled in the second half against Team One’s tough defense. Steals, blocked shots and a swarming defense by Team One prevented Team Five from gaining momentum. Team One forced turnovers and took advantage of many fast-break opportunities with easy layups adding points to the large lead over Team Five.
Bradley Williams sparkled for Team One with numerous steals and no-look passes to teammate Mitch Zaelit who posted up low, went up strong and drew fouls for a number of three-point scoring opportunities. Point guard Dustin Myers had a solid game by pushing the ball up the court in a fast-paced game that Team Five could not keep up with. Team One easily cruised to a 58-36 victory over Team Five. Leading scorers for Team One were Zaelit with 16 points, Myers with 14 points, Jay Pena with 10 points and Williams with six points. Brelan Walker had 16 points for Team Five.
Team Four vs. Team Three
The second game of the day was a close, low-scoring contest between second-seeded Team Four and third-seeded Team Three. The winner would play in the championship game. After a scoreless three minutes, Daniel Castellanos started the scoring for Team Three with a short jump shot. The offensive surge continued while Team Four struggled to make a basket. After eight minutes, Rafael Escobedo scored the first basket for Team Four, now trailing 11-2. Team Four slowly started a comeback with patient shot selection and hot shooting. At halftime, Team Four trailed by six points.
George Ranyel made some crucial 3-pointers getting his team back in the game. Anthony Willis took a charge right after halftime stopping Team Three’s offensive run and providing his team an opportunity to mount a comeback. Playing a gritty and scrappy second half, Team Four started another comeback. With 14 minutes left in the game, Ranyel scored a clutch 3-pointer giving Team Four its first lead. The scoring spurt continued along with a steel curtain defense that made many stops and big plays down the stretch.
With eight minutes left in the game, Team Four had a 27-22 lead, but Team Three’s leading scorer, Greg Roberts, was about to change that. Roberts had some big baskets and narrowed the point deficit. With seconds left in the game, Team Three took the lead. Team Four was forced to foul, sending Team Three to the free-throw line with a bonus situation. Terry Humphrey went to the free-throw line with 18 seconds and made two clutch free throws securing a win for Team Three.
The final score was 32-29, sending Team Three to the championship game. Leading scorers for Team Three were Roberts with nine points, Calvin Brewer with seven points and Daniel Castellanos and Terry Humphrey with six points each. Leading scorer for Team Four was Anthony Willis with nine points, seven of those coming in the second half.
Team One vs. Team Three
The championship game showcased Team One and Team Three in a battle between two evenly matched teams. Team One’s defense was the toughest in the tournament. Led by Williams, Team One was intense and quick. It forced many turnovers and had many steals during tournament play.
Team Three was an aggressive team, but having only one substitute player and getting only a 10-minute break before starting the championship game after its previous exhausting win over Team Four would not be enough to recuperate. It lacked the energy to compete evenly with Team One.
Team Three put forth a great effort and competed strong, but playing back-to-back games was too tough a task. It never took the lead or stayed close.
Team One continued playing tough defense and had many steals and numerous fast-break baskets by Williams. Team One won 56-36 to capture the NE Campus intramural basketball championship.
Leading Team One to victory was Zaelit with 15 points, Williams with 14 points and Myers with eight points. Winning coach/player Dolyn Mayo was proud of his team.
“It feels good to win both the flag football title and the basketball title,” he said.
“I love all these guys. I’m speechless. What can I say, these guys are like family to me.”
Team One multi-position player Tommy Colston was jubilant after the win.
“It was a fun season. We played well together,” he said. “Even when we weren’t getting along, we still managed to come out on top. It feels great to win the championship. It goes to show hard work pays off.”
Leading scorer for losing Team Three was Roberts with 11 points.
Team One will now advance to the intra-campus final four tournament April 11 in the South Campus gym.
The NE team will join the top teams from the NW, SE and South campus basketball tournaments in a bracket-type final four to crown the 2009 TCC intramural basketball champions.
