The intramural basketball season concluded with a marathon
of thrilling championship games on Sunday, Feb. 28.
Game Over -36
Mercy Rule -25
The night tipped-off with the women’s title match between
Game Over and Mercy Rule.
Although the game started a bit sloppy, both teams found
their grooves at the nine minute mark of the first half. The
strong guard play and hustle of Mercy Rule’s Brittaney Stafford
was the catalyst that helped propel her team to a 13-5 run the
final seven minutes of the first half, giving her squad a 22-12
advantage at halftime.
In the second half, Mercy Rule’s Remi Adebuld scored
seven straight points in the low post to give the team a 27-14
advantage with 13 minutes to go in the game.
“We were just having fun out there. We wanted to of course,
but there was no pressure. We played really good. We hustled
and made our shots. It was just fun for us,” Adebuld said of
her team’s play.
Game Over’s Bridjette Parker tried to rally her team out of
its anemic second half offensive performance, however, it was
too late. Game Over never got the deficit back within 10, and
Mercy Rule won (not by mercy rule) but by a comfortable 36-
25 margin to take home the women’s crown.
EVMS Potbelly-56
Flight Brothers-47
The second championship of the night was in the Men’s B
League. It was a classic David vs. Goliath bout between the
medical students of EVMS Potbelly and the football players of
Flight Brothers.
“I usually get banged down low, but that game was a little
more than I’m used to,” EVMS’s Chad Muntzinger said of the
rough play.
EVMS built a 25-19 halftime advantage largely because
of a 10-0 run that began with 7:00 minutes to go in the half.
Muntzinger scored nine points in the first half using a combination
of Tyler Hansbrough-like moves and Tim Duncan
finesse in the low post.
In the second half tensions were high, which made
for a great championship battle. The up-tempo play of Mario
Crawford and Rudy Daniels helped get the Flight Brothers
back into the game.
Yet, the steady guard play of Omar Syed and clutch shooting
of Derek Darnell and Muntzinger kept EVMS in the lead.
Darnell finished with 15 points, and Muntzinger turned in a
double-double grabbing 10 boards to accompany his gamehigh
of 19 points.
“We played good D, let them take bad shots, and scored
when we could, and that was pretty much our strategy coming
into the game,” said Darnell.
Team Money-69
Junction Boys-35
The Men’s C League contest was a square-off of the Junction
Boys and Team Money. Although there was solid play, it was
a one-sided affair from the start.
‘We wanted to come out early and set the tone. Their
guards were not that well-rounded, so we were able to get a lot
of steals and easy buckets,” said Team Money’s Jimmy Jones,
who finished the game with 14 points and 7 steals.
Jones and Jordan Stark created havoc with tenacious
defense and ran the offense with Rajon Rondo-type flash.
After the first half, Team Money amounted a 34-17 lead,
yet continued to pour it on in the second. Julian Hooks came
out on fire, scoring all of his 12 points in the second half, which
was the engine driving Team Money’s 16-0 run that helped
them put the game away.
“I had a couple of open threes, so I just started knocking
them down. I was feeling good, so I just kept shooting,” Hooks
said of his scoring outburst.
A lone bright spot for the Junction Boys was the play of
Brian Vance, who scored 16 points in the loss.
B.O.B.-48
Football Team-41
The big ticket game of the night came between B.O.B. and
the Football Team. There was a huge crowd on hand to watch
the two top squads of the Men’s A League duke it out for the
title.
In the second half, B.O.B. controlled the tempo with heady
guard play by Donald Manzano and Ray Berry.
“It was a real hard, physical game. We had to leave it on
the court,” Manzano said after the game.
The crucial moment came with 8:00 minutes to play.
B.O.B.’s Zach Teubert completed a four-point play after
being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. This swung the
momentum and gave his squad a lead that they would not surrender.
A jubilant Ray Berry summed up his teams emotions after
the big win, “There’s nothing better than being champions of
the A League. We’re top dogs around here now!”
PIKE-41
Theta Chi-35
The finale was a Greek League matchup between PIKE and
Theta Chi. The crowd was filled with frat boys and sorority
girls rooting for their squads.
But the story of this overtime affair can be summed up with
one name: Andrew Hardenburg.
PIKE’s Hardenburg scored 32 of his teams 41 total points—
doing anything necessary to get the win for his fraternity.
“It was a team effort the entire time. I got some good
screens, everyone played hard. I was on today and got lucky,”
Hardenburg said after the game.
The game was sent into overtime when Theta Chi got a
put-back layup to tie the game at 30 with 4.8 seconds to play.
Theta Chi’s Derek Braxton tried his best to keep his team in
the game, dropping 21 points.
Any time PIKE needed a clutch basket, Hardenburg
answered the call and delivered with the stone-faced stare of
an assassin.
Despite constant harassment from Theta Chi fans, Mr.
Everything for PIKE did his best Tim Tebow impression and
willed his team to a 39-33 victory—capturing a third straight
Greek League title for PIKE.
