Southern’s highly competitive men’s A-league intramural season came to an end Saturday night as the #1 Seed Catfish Wranglers took down the #2 seed Baggage Claim Boys (BCB) by a score of 44-38. The high scorers of the night were freshman Casey Tull, leading the Catfish Wranglers with 14 points, and senior Jonathan Im who led BCB scoring 13 points. Prior to this matchup, the series record for each of these squads was 1-1 with each team defeating the other once. The past battles between BCB and the Catfish Wranglers added to the thrill of an entertaining championship game between two great intramural basketball teams.
The Catfish Wranglers won the tip. All eyes were focused on the game waiting to see who would score first. The crowd roared when BCB started the game shooting the ball very well from beyond the three-point line, hitting three three-pointers early. As the first half progressed, the teams battled back and forth with neither giving in. As the first half reached its final two minutes, the Catfish Wranglers managed to mount a comeback to go from being down 7 to within one by a score of 20-21 at the end of the half.
BCB came out strong once again to start the second half although slowly their lead dwindled as the Catfish Wranglers learned their lesson from the first half. Eventually the Catfish Wranglers were able to take the lead. In the final moments, up one point with 30 seconds left, the Catfish Wrangler senior Gabe Hernandez held onto the ball at the top of the key for about eight seconds. He then drove toward the basket, double-teamed where he made his layup and was flagrantly fouled by the opposing team. After missing two free throws, he made his third, and his team was up four with little time to spare. Multiple three-point attempts by BCB in the closing seconds did not fall, leading to the Catfish Wrangler victory.
Along with the intense Men’s A league final, other events kept the audience entertained Saturday night, including B and A league championship games for both male and female divisions, the honoring of Michael Boyd and Dean Majors for their contributions to Southern’s intramural program, and three-point shootouts. The plethora of excitement and activities on Saturday night made for a great culmination to this intramural season.