By Adam Dodson/reporter
Splash fought through two days of play to win the NW Campus 3-on-3 basketball tournament Nov. 5-6.
The final game came down to a rematch between We Dem Boys and Splash. The triumphant trio’s victory over We Dem Boys didn’t come easy. We Dem Boys won the first game of the final round with sharp shooting and persistent effective penetration to the basket.
With that win in their pocket and only one more to go for the title, We Dem Boys appeared poised to seal the deal. Neither team could pull away, however, as the teams traded buckets back and forth for the first 16 minutes.
After that, though, the Spurs-like precision of Splash began to wear down the frustrated opponent. Concise decision-making, crisp passing and sure-handed dribbling gave way to enough open shots falling for Splash to amass a 6-point lead. It would hold on until the end to win, 17-11.
The tenacious trio fought off a pesky field of opponents to get to the championship round.
From childhood friends to high school buddies to basketball tournament champs, Cameron Day, Nick Johanningmeier and Juan Najera have been playing the game together for quite sometime. Their on-court chemistry is a testament to that fact.
The tournament showcased many athletes over the two days. Sophomore Zac Roberson, member of No Name, turned in a stellar performance in the first round, nailing a long-range jumper, falling to his left at the buzzer for the 12-11 win over the D1 Athletes.
“I was supposed to hoop in college, but I didn’t get to play, so it’s good to be out here and get a feel for the game again,” he said.
During his pre-game warmup as the tournament got underway, 6 foot-8 sophomore Todd Christensen explained his participation.
“Actually, I played college basketball last year at Tulsa, and I told that to my class,” he said. “One of my classmates asked me to play, and I got talked into it.”
The towering small forward was an integral part of The Recruits’ 2-0 record on the first day of the tournament. By turning in two convincing wins over Brick Squad and We Dem Boys, The Recruits found themselves in the driver’s seat to take the championship. However, with Christensen’s absence on day two, the scrappy squad fell short by small margins losing two games in a row, thus eliminating them from the competition.
“They’re just happy. You can see the excitement out there, and they’re having fun,” said Patrick Tart, former high school basketball coach and current NW kinesiology instructor. “It’s the start of basketball season, so we’re trying to spark interest.
We have a basketball class that the students can sign up for in the spring.”
