The University Recreational Student Complex wrapped up 3-on-3 basketball intramural competition Tuesday night with two league champions crowned at the outdoor courts.
In the Men’s A bracket, Savages took the title with a two games-to-one victory against Sharp Shooters, while Relentless won two games to none against UREC in the Men’s B bracket.
Savages defeated Team 985 and Pi Kappa Epsilon in the playoffs en route to the finals matchup with Sharp Shooters. Relentless knocked off MBA Ballers 1 and The Bahs before facing UREC in the finals.
Savages fell, 11-6, in game one of the finals as the Sharp Shooters controlled the paint with rebounds off the glass. Sharp Shooters took the game with seven unanswered points.
Games two and three were a different story. Savages jumped out to an early 5-0 lead with some sharp shooting of their own. They used several mid-to-long range jump shots to take game two, 11-7, and even the series at one apiece.
In game three, Sharp Shooters began to tire after playing two games consecutively. Savages jumped out to another early lead, 4-0, on layups. After Sharp Shooters battled back, each team traded baskets back and forth.
Sharp Shooters dominated the boards underneath the goal most of the night, but Savages got a key rebound of their own to go ahead, 10-8. A Sharp Shooters player then turned the ball over by stepping on the base line. On the ensuing possession, Savages forward Darian Riley banked a shot of the backboard for the championship point, 11-10.
Riley said Savages bounced back after the game one loss with better defense. They played more physical and made a few substitutions to combat the post play of Sharp Shooters, he said.
“It got physical,” Savages team captain Bryan Kelley said. “People were just trying to win — that’s all.”
In the Men’s B bracket, Relentless jumped out to a big 6-0 lead over UREC in game one. Team UREC battled back to even things up at 7 apiece, but Relentless was just that — relentless. It scored four unanswered points to take game one, 11-7.
In game two, Relentless picked up where it left off. They got ahead early and never looked back. Relentless took game two, 11-4, to clinch its championship.
“We were getting offensive rebounds and ended up pulling it out,” Relentless team captain Todd Jones said. “Our thing is to get ahead really early…The second game we just dominated.”—-Contact Jonathan Schexnayder at [email protected]