Fiji defeats Sigma Chi for intramural basketball title
April 13, 2012
It took a few extra minutes Thursday to decide the men’s intramural basketball championship at the Preston Center.
Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) and Sigma Chi both took the court to claim the title, with Fiji beating Sigma Chi 41-37 in overtime.
After winning the tip-off, Fiji wasted no time to get the lead and scored a three-pointer on the first play.
Sigma Chi responded on the glass, grabbing six offensive rebounds in one three-minute stretch, but had trouble finishing. Fiji’s offense took over and it won the first 16-minute half, 18-11.
The break didn’t do much to stop Fiji, and they maintained the lead until the final minutes of the second half. By then Sigma Chi’s offense had awakened and it went on a 16-3 run with less than five minutes left in the game.
With 10 seconds left Sigma Chi hit a three-pointer to tie the game 34-34, sending the game to overtime. During those three minutes Fiji’s offense fired up again to win the game and the title, with a final score of 41-37.
Sigma Chi captain and Wilmore senior Daniel Williams saw the positive things in the game despite the loss.
“No one believed in us all season and we made it to the championship in overtime, so I’m proud of them,” Williams said about his team. “It’s been a great season.”
Fiji’s offense wouldn’t have been as effective without Louisville freshman Trent Martin, who praised Fiji’s teamwork.
“I think we did pretty good,” Martin said. “We played as a team, passed good, and rebounded good.”
Team captain and Louisville freshman Eric Blair congratulated his team on the win and the effort they put in to do it.
“I’m very proud of my team,” Blair said. “We put a lot of hard work in and pulled it off in the end.”