The No. 3 seeds in both the men's and women's intramural basketball finals on Tuesday had an opportunity to secure the championship.

And while neither team had an easy going in the championship, both No. 3 ranked teams came out on top.

In the first game of the evening, the third-ranked Body-Team took down the fifth-ranked Patchworkers 55-51 in the men's championship.

In the women's championship, the third-ranked Hoops! I Did It Again-fielding a lineup primarily of underclassmen-pulled off a 40-33 upset of the top seeded Dunkaroos.

The Patchworkers used a seven-point run midway through the first half to jump out to a 16-7 lead.

Body-Team, however, grabbed a 20-19 lead with 45 seconds remaining in the first half.

Then, with just seconds left, Karl Baptiste '17 picked up a foul for Body-Work and the Patchworkers converted one of two free throws to keep the game tied 20-20 at the half. Baptiste, the biggest player for Body-Team, finished the game with 11 points and a handful of rebounds, providing a presence in the post for the team.

Without the size of Baptiste, who fouled out with 10 minutes remaining, Body-Team relied on the quick speed of its captain, Ernest Williams '15 to pull away. Williams scored a game-high 23 points on the contest, including 19 in the second half to lead his team to victory.

"After receiving a tough foul call to foul me out of the game with about 10 minutes left to play it was up to my team to play together and win us the game," Baptiste said.

"[The team] knew they were undersized but they used their desire to win to overcome this disadvantage."

Brandeis Athletics staff member Wouter van der Eng '13 added a thunderous block-as well as 14 points of his own-to guide the Patchworkers team to a 36-35 lead with 7 minutes, 33 seconds remaining in the game. The two teams traded baskets before Body-Team reeled off a prolonged run to increase its lead to 43-38.

The Patchworkers, trailing by a 53-48 margin, converted a long three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the game to pull within two points.

After an off-the-ball foul committed by the Patchworkers, Body-Team iced the championship with a pair of free throws.

"To win a game that stayed close the whole game long was a great way to show how poised and calm my teammates stayed throughout the whole game," said Baptiste.

In the women's final, the top-seeded Dunkaroos, despite leading for the majority of the game, could not put away the third-ranked Hoops! I Did It Again.

Casey Pearlman '16 led the way for the Dunkaroos with 10 points on the contest, and yet, was matched bucket for bucket by the tandem of Kyla Gabriel '17 and Leah Friend '17. They each added a dozen points for Hoops! I Did It Again.

The two teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth affair before Hoops! I Did it Again pulled away down the stretch to take the game 40-33, scoring their final four points from the free-throw line.

Molly Pearlman '17 contributed eight points for the champions, which, along with Gabriel's seven points from the free-throw line, were key to her squad's upset win.

Brandeis students can next look forward to registration on March 16 for the intramural softball season.


Editor's note: Casey Pearlman '16 is a staff writer for the Justice Features section.