By Colt Langley/reporter

Last year’s NE three-point champion won again in this year’s shootout.

Basketball intramurals was kicked off in the three-point free-throw shootout competition Feb. 5 in the NE Campus gym.

Set up in five rounds, the 21 in attendance could compete for prizes consisting of water bottles, T-shirts and lanyards.

Five groups of four and five players aimed for different baskets around the gym.

The first round was the three-point competition. Each player had 15 chances to shoot from the three-point line.

The second round was the free-throw competition, where players were given 20 shots.

In the third round, players competed for the half-court shot, but no player could make a basket.

Bart Desender, NE intramural director, said a half-court shot could be daunting.

“It’s kind of like what gambling is like, considering the odds of making the shot,” he said.

The final two rounds determined winners for both competitions.

For the three-point game, the final players were Joey Frye, T.J. Hernandez and NE Campus counselor Amos McCluney.

As he did last year, McCluney took home the three-point shot title.

The free-throw competition came down to Chris Cooper, Hernandez and McCluney.

Cooper ended with 12 baskets out of 15, and McCluney had 11 baskets out of 15. But Hernandez took the win with a perfect score of 15.

Hernandez said that he will definitely play in the intramural season starting next week.

He said he was confident going in to the competition but knew McCluney would be tough to stop.

“I was mad that I didn’t win both games,” he said. “If anyone was going to beat me, it would be Amos.”

Cooper, who won two water bottles and a lanyard, noticed the larger turnout this year.

“There is a lot more people than I thought there was going to be,” he said.

McCluney said he wanted to see more TCC athletes coming out to play. He said he wanted TCC to compete with others like Dallas County community colleges.

“I know for a fact that we have athletes if not just as good, then better athletes than DCCD [Dallas County community colleges],” McCluney said. “This is what I enjoy doing. This is what inspires me.”

NE assistant intramural director Ken Foster said, “I’m impressed with the turnout of 21 people and how T.J. won the free-throw competition with a perfect 15 out of 15. I hope this spurs more participation in the league.”