By Chase Metivier/ reporter
Photos by Kaylee Jensen/The Collegian
NW intramural basketball games March 2 had scores but few other statistics. The players just wanted to have fun.
At the end, the All-Stars won both a three-on-three tournament and a five-on-five series.
The event started with three-on-three in a bracket, and games were to 15 points. Teams played for the ultimate prize of receiving medals and a picture with the trophy that will be posted on campus.
“I’m here to have fun and play basketball,” Mali White of the All-Stars said before the games commenced.
He believed his team could repeat as champions and felt good about their chances.
To tip off the event in round one, the All-Stars were having a fun game against the Sequence while Team Infinity and the Booster Seats were having an intense close game.
Once the All-Stars took the lead early in the game, Sequence just had no answer. The All-Stars showed good team chemistry and an impressive jump-shooting performance, winning 16-0.
Meanwhile, the Team Infinity-Booster Seats game was the opposite — intense and close early in the game. Both teams traded baskets, but ultimately fatigue set in on the Booster Seats. Team Infinity made more plays and won, 15-11.
Joseph Frausto of the All-Stars said he liked the way his team played.
“I feel we have a good chance of winning it all,” he said.
After the tough loss, Seth Gilbert of the Booster Seats reflected on the game and the meaning behind the team name.
“It was fun to compete. I’m out of energy, but it was fun,” he said, then added with a smile, “the team name was just random.”
The championship round of the three-on-three tournament saw Team Infinity jumping to a 12-4 lead early in the game with good ball movement and an established offensive presence in the paint. After Team Infinity took a 14-7 lead, it looked bleak for the All-Stars.
The All-Stars did not count themselves out, though. They not only cut into the lead but tied the game. Then the All-Stars got the possession, and Frausto knocked down the game-winning shot.
But the players weren’t through. After the three-on-three tournament concluded, they decided to make two teams of five-on-five full court. It became the All-Stars against Team Infinity for it all.
The games would last 20 minutes, and they played as if it were an official tournament.
Game one was taken by the All-Stars, but after that, things got interesting.
In game two, Team Infinity jumped to an early 15-0 lead against the frustrated All-Stars. But the All-Stars didn’t go down without a fight. Team Infinity got too comfortable with its lead, and the All-Stars capitalized on Team Infinity’s mistakes. The All-Stars cut their lead to three with a minute left. But Team Infinity did enough to win the game, 33-32.
After game two, the All-Stars looked to channel their focus on the next game, and it showed. The game was even early with both teams exchanging fast break points and tied at eight.
Then Thomas Ross of Team Infinity had the hot hand shooting four of five behind the three-point line combining that with Cooper Tisdale’s playmaking ability and making the score 24-12. That didn’t stop the All-Stars, though. With their defense and playmaking ability from White, they forced the game into overtime.
To kick off overtime, Frausto knocked down a three-pointer, but Blake Fagan of Team Infinity was more than happy to respond with a three-pointer of his own, tying the game at 33. Then in the final minute of the game, Team Infinity committed two turnovers, and the All-Stars capitalized, extending their lead to five.
White sealed the game with a three-pointer taking the lead up to eight, and the All-Stars repeated as champions of the NW basketball event.
