Tune Squad victorious in DI IM Basketall Final, Nantucket Nectars take DII championship
The Men's Division I Intramural Basketball final featured a down to the wire battle of the tournaments two favored teams, Floor vs. Tune Squad. The opening minutes of the game, saw both teams starting out strong, and an early score line of 8-8, showed the equality of the two teams. Opening drives by Floor center, Joe Manning, yielded six points, as Floor looked to take the ball inside early. Not to be outdone however, Tune Squad led by Captain Ryan Fitzgibbon made two, three point shots to answer back. As the half progressed, both teams remained neck and neck, trading baskets and it was obvious both teams would be physical in nature, jostling for loose balls and prodding for steals. The foul situation reflected this, as Floor entered into the one and one foul shooting penalty with over six minutes left, leading to seven Tune Squad points from the line. Sophomore Gabe Balzono-Brooks would bury 3 three pointers in a 4 minute span putting Floor in the lead 20-18 with just two minutes left in the first half, a lead they would hold into the break 26-25.
Still a hotly contested game in the second half, both teams came
out firing with a combined 24 points in the first eight
minutes. Floor got things going with three early three point
shots to go up four points. Tune Squad answered back by
taking the ball inside and earning shots from the charity
stripe. With just two minutes left, the score was tied 48-48,
but Balzano-Brooks would can his most important three pointer of
the night, putting Floor up 51-48 with 1:30 left. Tune
Squad continued to get the ball to the basket, earning valuable
points. Down by one, with 13.5 seconds left, Tune Squad guard
Mike White leveled the match on a free throw shot 54-54, and the
game was sent into overtime.
In overtime, Tune Squad opened the scoring with a dribble-drive to
the basket by Kevin Wendth, but were quickly down again after a
three point shot by Floor's Chris Morely. After missing, one
of two foul shots, Manning received his fourth foul, leading to
Tune Squad's Kevin Wendth converting two free throws. With
under a minute to go and the score now 58-55 Floor was forced to
foul Tune Squad players, who made four clutch free throws down the
stretch to earn their championship t-shirts 60-57.
Players of the Game-
Floor- Sophomore Gabe Balzono-Brooks- Scored 19 points, including six, three point shots, to lead all scorers, while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists.
Tune Squad- Freshman Kevin Wendth- Scored 18 points, with five
crucial points in the overtime, also securing five rebounds and
three assists.
DII Champs - Nantucket Nectar
The men's DII playoff final game between Mitch Davis' Nantucket Nectars and Mike Pecca's Chest team lived up to the hype of the top two seeds going head to head. Although the Nantucket Nectars deemed victorious in the end (44-38), the game was tightly matched all the way through.
At halftime, the game was tied at 24 points apiece, thanks to both teams' accurate shooting and relentless rebounds. The evenly played first half was marked by good offensive execution as senior Mike Pecca sank two 3 point shots for the Chest team while senior Matt Skane and freshman Michael Zeiner did the same for the Nantucket Nectars.
There were several ties throughout the course of the game, as both teams struggled to take control. In the second half alone, there were over 10 fouls made by the Chest team in an attempt to establish themselves on the defensive end of the court. However, despite this and the many defensive rebounds of both Mike Pecca and Jeremy Roberts for the Chest team, the Nantucket Nectars pulled ahead towards the end of the second half and managed to hold on to its lead for the rest of the game. When asked about the match, captain Mitch Davis of the Nantucket Nectars said, "It feels great to have won 3 championships in 4 years. The team chemistry throughout the game was unbelievable."
Players of the game:
Chest: Mike Pecca scored 16 total points and had 7 defensive
rebounds. Jay Norton had 14 total points and had 6 offensive
rebounds.
Nantucket Nectars: Matt Skane scored 12 total points. Alex Harrison scored 10 total points and had 5 defensive rebounds.
Women's Champ: Wallpaper
WBF