John Tran

Lucas Merrifield, Newton junior, is fouled while putting up a shot yesterday evening at the Student Recreation Fitness Center. Merrifield’s team, Inferno, came into last night’s game undefeated.

Two intramural games almost made for Cinderella stories last night at the Student Recreation Fitness Center, but the stroke of midnight came in the form of technical fouls and the higher-ranked teams prevailed.

The 114th-ranked Fists of Fury made what they thought would be the game-winning three-point shot, but the 15th-ranked Ligerhawks drove the length of the court to make the winning shot with just three seconds left.

Neither team led by more than eight in a game characterized by physical play on both ends of the court. A player from each side fouled out.

Fists of Fury did most of their scoring in the first half, charging out to a six-point lead midway through the half. At that point, the Ligerhawks called timeout to regroup.

Coming out of the break, they were able to cut the lead to one before halftime.

“We started playing solid defense, and we started passing the ball more,” Eric Williams, Keller, Texas, sophomore said.

After halftime the Ligerhawks wasted no time claiming their first lead of the game and built on it with a 9-2 run.

With fewer than five minutes to play, Fists of Fury knocked down a three-point shot, making it a five-point game.

Seconds later, the Ligerhawks tried to call a timeout, unaware that they had already used it earlier in the half. They were charged with a technical foul, and Fists of Fury pulled within four points.

“We didn’t give up when we were down by eight points,” Brandon Walker, Hutchinson freshman, said.

Walker fouled out with just under a minute to play, giving the Ligerhawks an edge inside the paint. He said it was frustrating having to watch the final seconds from the team bench.

The Ligerhawks entered the bonus, but were unable to put the game away, going just 4-of-11 from the line in the second half.

Fists of Fury connected on a three-point shot with 33 seconds to play and only trailed by two. On the ensuing inbounds pass, the Ligerhawks threw the ball out of bounds, giving Fists of Fury the ball underneath their basket.

Following a turnover, they kicked the ball to the outside and were able to get off an open three-point shot with less than 13 seconds remaining.

The Ligerhawks grabbed the ball, and Williams took the inbounds pass.

“I had no idea how much time was left,” Williams said, “I was just hoping we’d get a good shot.”

He took his shot, a jumper from the top of the paint, and it swished with just three seconds left..

For Fists of Fury, the season ends with a final record of 1-3. The Ligerhawks will advance to the second round of the intramural tournament with an overall record of 3-0-1.

Inferno 67, Pocket Rockets 44

Inferno scored 13 uncontested points in a second-half run that finished the Pocket Rockets’ season.

The 111th-ranked Pocket Rockets ended their season with a record of 1-2-1, while 18th-ranked Inferno remains undefeated with four wins this season.

The Pocket Rockets were whistled for a technical foul because of an unregistered player.

Inferno tied the game, then took the lead for good at the 10-minute mark.

“Over time we slowly started to make some shots and get back in the game,” Trent Peter, Tribune junior, said.

They compensated for 41 percent shooting at the free throw line with a huge day from 3-point range. The team went 8-of-17 from behind the arc.

Inferno never fell far behind because of their solid defense.

The Pocket Rockets were denied second chances on shots throughout the second half, thanks to Inferno’s rebounding efforts.

Even when the Pocket Rockets went on a run, they were matched by Inferno. During the first three minutes of the second half the teams scored a combined 19 points. That may have contributed to the fatigue of the Pocket Rockets, who scored just six points in the final 15 minutes of the game.