SPORTS

Aaron Raley: student and cyclist

Suns take 5–on–5 championship with talent

The Suns fought off all attempts at a comeback by the Rock Eagle Bulljackets and won the 5–on–5 basketball championship game March 28.

The game started off with a surprise for the Suns, who consisted of champions from last semester's 3-on-3 intramural basketball season.

The Rock Eagle Bulljackets, definitive underdogs, were able to gain an early lead. They were able to slow down the pace of the game, forcing the run-and-gun Suns to set up at half–court, which attributed to their slow start.

Like all games with these two teams, there were a lot of three pointers.

Jonathan Little, perhaps the best pure shooter in the league, drained threes all game. His great shooting enabled the Bulljackets to keep their lead throughout the first half.

Near the end of the first half, the Bulljackets were able to establish a 12-point lead. However, the Suns closed the lead to single digits, and the two teams went into halftime 39-30.

In the second half, the Bulljackets kept up their stringent defense.

They were able to hold off the rising Suns until the six minute mark, where fatigue combined with a cold streak allowed the Suns to gain their first lead of the game 60-58.

After gaining the lead, the Suns battled with the Bulljackets back and forth for several minutes.

They were exchanging shots and the lead with each possession. Fatigue began to really ravage the Bulljackets, however, and the Suns were able to put seven points between the two teams at 72-65.

The Suns' win was made all the sweeter by the challenge of their opponents.

“We won with the referee on their side, like he was from their church or something,” said Charles Hill, speaking about what he thought was a biased performance by the referee. Hill also contributed 16 points to the victory.

Blake Hill, the other half of the dynamic duo, proudly declared himself MVP, and he has undoubtedly the strongest case. He averaged nearly 30 points the entire season, scoring 33 in the championship game to lead his team to victory.

The Bulljackets took the loss in stride. Hank Peppers, the big man inside for the Bulljackets, congratulated his team on their effort against a superiorly talented team. Little, whose three-point shooting ended up giving him 32 points, was understandably somber about the loss.