As the sun set on Rams Head Plaza on Wednesday, students wandering into its recreation center were met on the other side of the gym’s glass doors by the sights and sounds of March madness.
The squeaks of shoes, the shouts of men and the rhythmic thuds of the basketballs echoed against every corner of the gym’s beige brick walls.
Ten teams fought for five intramural basketball league championships, all but the women’s competitive league. That game was postponed because several graduate students participating were on break.
At the end of the day, one team stood above the rest. On the same court that its players met and came together as a team, Kill Krew topped its opponent SWISH, 47-41, to capture the men’s competitive title — again.
The victory marked the second time Kill Krew’s players won T-shirts together in the men’s competitive league, captain Jamaal Pitt said. Additionally, The team has emerged victorious twice from Prime Time basketball, a league offered by Campus Recreation that requires an entry fee.
As players have graduated, the team has changed, but Pitt said his priority is to have a team that is fun to play on, rather than just putting together a team that can win.
This winter, Kill Krew played only three games to get into the championship because of a cancellation and a forfeiture. But the team put more than 70 points on the scoreboard in each of those games, winning by an average of 32 points.
But Wednesday’s game was different. SWISH had won all five of its games going into the final.
“Both teams knew that they could beat each other,” Pitt said.
SWISH jumped to an early lead, clamping Kill Krew on defense. The game went back and forth until halftime, at which point Kill Krew led, 23-21.
“Across the board, they were good at every single position,” junior Dan Bolick said, comparing SWISH to his previous opponents. “And they were more physical.”
But at the start of the second half, Bolick hit three buckets in the first three minutes to push the lead to six, and Kill Krew never looked back.
“I felt like I was in the groove early in the second half,” Bolick said.
Visit bit.ly/campusrecreport for more coverage of intramural sports.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
