By Tyler Poda/reporter
Three games took place in the SE Campus basketball league March 3 setting the stage for the campus championship March 10 among the BTA Bulls, Scorpions and Thunder.
In the first game of the afternoon, B.I.G. played the entire first half with only four players. The Thunder used this to its advantage by moving the ball around and getting high percentage shots. Its five-on-four advantage led to a 38-12 halftime lead.
B.I.G.’s fifth player made it out of class in time to play in the second half. However, it didn’t make a difference. Led by Chris Riley’s 30 points, the Thunder ran away with this one, 66-25.
“I was just feeling it today,” Riley said. “The rim was looking real big.”
Game two started off with a bang. The Leftovers thought they had an easy layup from the tipoff until Jarig Landry came soaring through the air to pin the shot off the glass, which led to a Brandon Dixon step-back three on the other end. This play sparked a 20-2 run by the Scorpions to open the game.
The Leftovers managed to pull within 12 points closing out the first half with a run of their own. But in the second half, the Scorpions took advantage of some sloppy play by the Leftovers and ran away by a final score, 54-34.
“The game could have been better. They were a little unorganized,” the Scorpions’ Edwin Smith said about their opponent’s performance. “My team played good. We kept our turnovers down.”
Because it was missing so many players, B.I.G. had to forfeit the third game of the day against the Bulls. But players from the other teams helped make a team, so they could get in a game.
The game proved to be high scoring and highly competitive. Midway through the first half, the game was tied at 16. From there, the Bulls caught fire from behind the three-point line pulling out to a 46-31 halftime lead.
The other team managed to pull within nine points in the second half but proved to be no match for the Bulls’ fast-paced style of play. They ran up and down the court and put points on the board in bunches. Led by Adrian Morales’ 17 points, the Bulls were victorious by a final score of 85-61.
With the results of these matchups, the stage is set for the March 10 championship when teams will face off in a round-robin tournament at 1 p.m. Although the Bulls are the defending champions, whoever has the best record at the end of the day will be crowned campus champions.
“I think we have a good shot next week,” the Thunder’s Chris Riley said.
Smith acknowledged that his Scorpions are at a disadvantage with their lack of three-point shooting compared to the other two teams.
“Next week is going to be a challenge,” he said. “We are going to have to play good defense and dominate on the boards.”
