The Franchise won the Intramural Basketball League championship for the second year in a row.
“It’s the first time a team has won back-to-back championships since I’ve been here,” said Ishmael Freelon, the former Intramural commissioner.
Franchise members were: Harry “ATL” Smith, Anthony Ammons, Marvin Cosby, Donte Smith, Kenneth Dozier, Montrell Vines, Joshua Burton, Demon Lewis and Dave Lee. Franchise was coached by Brad Shells, who also plays for the S.Q. Warriors.
They were on their way to sweep every team in the playoffs, as they did last year, when Squad Up won game three, 81-80.
Squad Up members were: Allan McIntosh, Oris “Pep” Williams, J. “Mailman” Ratchford, Carlyle “Otter” Blake, Rafael Cuevas, Fateem Jackson and Edward Moss. They were coached by Orlando Harris, who also coaches the S.Q. Kings.
The first three games of the finals were decided in the final minutes. That’s when the Franchise employs its trap defense.
“We lost every game in the last three minutes,” said Williams. “They are a good team. Defense was their calling card. All four games could have gone either way. I’m proud of our team for not giving up.”
Game four was no exception. With five minutes left in the game, Squad Up was winning 86-80. Then Lewis nailed a three-pointer. Ammons followed with a floater, making the score 86-85.
Squad Up found itself down 92-96 after Cosby dropped three treys in a row.
Down four points with one minute on the game clock and 10 seconds on the shot clock, Squad decided to foul Ammons to stop the clock. Ammons made one of two from the line.
“We got impatient at the end of the game,” said Williams. “The clock was against us no matter what. Fouling Ammons is a good strategy because he’s not a strong free-throw shooter.”
Cuevas answered with a shot range set shot making the score 97-94, but with time winding down, Squad Up continued to foul to keep seconds on the clock.
Franchise players Vines and Ammons increased the lead from the free-throw line, and Squad Up wasn’t able to score again. Franchise took the final championship game, 100-94.
“Defense was the key to our win. The goal was to stop Pep (Williams) and Allan (McIntosh), but they got a few shots in. It was Franchise all the way,” said Cosby.
Cosby led the Franchise with 25 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. “ATL” Smith slam dunked his way to 23 points with 14 boards, seven assists, two steals and a block, followed by Lewis with 20 points and Ammons with 14.
Williams led Squad Up with 32 points. McIntosh had 26 with 15 rebounds. Ratchford added 16 with 11 rebounds.
Jackson played through a foot injury.
“Our coach went on a visit and that hurt. We could have used somebody to call timeouts,” said Williams.