Lizo Basketball A wins with confidence
A Lizo Basketball A player looks for an outlet during a game Tuesday.
It did not take long for Lizo Basketball A to declare where it would be at the end of the intramural basketball season.
“I’m guaranteeing a championship; you can mark that down,” sophomore Corey Cruse said in true Joe Namath fashion.
Lizo A defeated Franklin A 55-45 Tuesday in Racer Arena for its first win of the 2014 season.
Sophomore Tray Carr got his Lizo A squad out to a fast start, scoring nine of his 13 points in the first half.
Franklin A kept it close through most of the first 20 minutes, but could not stop Lizo A from making a 14-6 run to close out the half at 27-18, with Lizo A in the lead.
Both squads went to halftime on good notes, as each team hit a shot with less than five seconds left. Franklin A earned the final points on a 3-pointer as time expired.
In the second half, Carr had multiple assists to Cruse, who finished with a team high 14 points. The duo helped extend the lead to as much as 17 points.
However, Franklin A did not go down quietly.
The Franklin A squad started to trim the lead as it drained 3 after 3, but it was not enough to completely close the gap before time ran out on the comeback attempt.
Sophomore Kane Bentley gave all the credit to the point guard play of Carr.
“I mean we did pretty good out here today,” Bentley said. “Tray, our captain, he carried us, he facilitated, he got some steals and we got some easy buckets.”
Carr was as confident as Cruse about the team’s ability to reach the title game but held back about a guarantee.
“It was a good win for us,” Carr said. “We still have some things to work on, we have some things we need to tweak a little bit. (This win) looks pretty good. It’s only up from here. Once we get in shape we’ll be alright.”
Story by Nick Dolan, Assistant Sports Editor
White Sharks make bait of Regents Rhinos team
The White Sharks came out with a strong win over the Regents Rhinos after two physical halves of intramural basketball in the first game of the season.
With a final score of 30-21, the Sharks led for the entirety of the game, though the Rhinos made a slight comeback late in the second half.
The second half was also riddled with fouls from both of the teams.
Sophomore Kellie Pigg drew the majority of fouls for the Sharks, at one point drawing a foul on each of three consecutive possessions.
Pigg enjoyed the physical nature of the matchup, however, whether or not the Rhinos’ fouls were directed toward her.
“I’m pretty lighthearted during games,” Pigg said. “I try to joke as much as possible. I don’t want to take anything personally because it is a game and people do get really intense. I’ve been fouled a lot my entire life playing basketball, because I’m tall.”
She said she heard the opponents mention her name during the game, but does not know if they targeted her.
Sharks’ Head Coach Tommy Mills, a junior, also took the fouls in stride, chalking it up as another component of basketball.
“It’s just part of the game,” he said. “You’re going to have some people that are more aggressive than others. Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, it’s going to happen. You’re going to get hit hard. It happened tonight and it’s going to happen again.”
This is Mills’ second season coaching the Sharks, who had a strong basketball season in 2013.
In addition, Mills is the female athletic director for White Residential College. More notably, he is the first male to hold a female AD position. He said he looks forward to a great season with most of his core players returning.
“I honestly feel like we have the potential to be better than we were last year,” he said. “I feel like we have a few kinks to work out, like our conditioning and working better as a team.
“I’m looking forward to them to keep playing the way they are, because they’re a great group of women.”
Story by Mallory Tucker, Staff writer