'Mason Soccer' wins intramural 3-on-3 tournament

With his team winning 15-11 and just one point needed to win the game, freshman Hugh Roberts squared up and swished a shot from just beyond the three-point arc. He raised his hands and was instantly mobbed by his teammates and fans that came to watch the finals of the intramural 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament.

Roberts’ game-winning shot cemented team "Mason Soccer" as the tournament champions.

A fun-filled day of basketball began Saturday at 1:30 p.m. as three games tipped off this year’s tournament on the two courts inside Linn Gym in the RAC. The double-elimination half-court tournament consisted of 18 total teams, 14 in the A-League and four in the B-League, with a 15-minute running clock for each game. If one team reached 16 points before the 15 minutes were up, they would be the winners for that game.

“There was no skill test to decide which league the teams were to be put into,” Philip Harsh, the coordinator of the tournament, said. “Registration was done online and they were able to choose whichever league they wanted to be in.”

The teams in the higher level A-League were competitive, with "Mason Soccer" dominating their side of the bracket and another team, "Repeat," in clear control of their side of the bracket. Both teams were undefeated through their first three games.

When the two teams met in the quarterfinals, it was "Mason Soccer" who came out on top, winning 11-8 after the 15-minute game was finished.
“I had a good feeling we would be playing them again in the finals,” junior Draymond Washington said, the captain of Mason Soccer. “They were the toughest team we had played all tournament.”

Washington was right, as the teams met again shortly after their first meeting in what was to be the first of their two-game finals. As the hours passed, and the number of teams remaining continually dropped, only "Mason Soccer" and "Repeat" were left standing in the end.

In the first game of the finals, "Repeat" quickly jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, cruising to an easy 16-1 victory. But because that was only the first loss of the tournament for "Mason Soccer," the teams played another game to decide – once and for all – who would be the champion of the tournament.

While the final game was a very competitive one, it was Roberts’ shot that decided the outcome.

“The whole tournament was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to hit the shot to win it for us,” Roberts said. “We had to work hard for the win.”

By winning the tournament, Roberts, Washington, sophomore Laurent Newsome and junior Sean Healy were each given t-shirts and bags for their efforts. They will look to defend their title in next year’s competition.