Friday, July 4th, 2008

Phi Delt 1 sizes up to Pi Kapp

The victory for Delt advances them to the third round of the playoffs.

Phi Delt 1 proved that size doesn’t matter Tuesday and beat Pi Kapp 55-46.

By Whitney Hamilton (Contact)

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

At first, Tuesday night’s game against Phi Delt 1 and Pi Kapp at the Student Recreation Fitness Center could have been mistaken for Kansas’ Monday night blowout game against Texas Tech. Phi Delt 1 had a eight-point lead at the beginning of the first half. That quickly changed once Pi Kapp got into the groove of Phi Delt 1’s defense.

Both teams charged up and down the court making quick cuts and effortless shots. But, Phi Delt 1 made better use of the ball and won in a 56-46 victory. One thing that made it hard for Pi Kapp was its size.

“One of our big men couldn’t make it work,” Mark Miller, Topeka sophomore, said.

Still, the game proved to be challenging and entertaining to watch. With the playoffs in full swing and most teams entering the second round of elimination, it’s getting more competitive. Both teams knew how to shoot three-pointers with ease and had strong defenses. Foul trouble early on became a problem for Pi Kapp and by the end of the game, two of its players nearly fouled out with four fouls each.

Before the first half ended, Pi Kapp called a timeout to rest and gain some inspiration from teammates. As the seconds ticked off alerting the first half was ending, the scoreboard read 31-19 with Phi Delt 1 in a 12-point lead.

After seeing an entire half of Phi Delt 1’s strengths and weaknesses, Pi Kapp decided to target those areas and use it to its advantage. Pi Kapp toughened up on its defense and marked solid outside shooting. Hitting a three pointer from just behind the arc, Tyler Fromm, Newton freshman, gave Phi Kapp a five-point lead. Even though it didn’t have big men on the team, Pi Kapp stuck it out and rebounded the ball.

“We got down early and kept fighting,” Drew Albers, Northfield, Minn., junior, said.

Phi Delt 1 had a range of shooting abilities from dribbling down the paint and using the backboard to shooting around the arc. Phi Delt 1 player, J.D. Christie, Shawnee Mission sophomore, found a sweet spot at the top of the arc and hit a three-point shot that barely touched the net.

Phi Delt 1 assisted the ball and really took care of its teammates. In the second half, Brian Thies, Overland Park junior, dribbled the ball down the court for a layup that bounced back out. Christie quickly took care of it and guided the ball back into the hoop. Max Ward, Leawood sophomore, helped the team by scoring numerous two-pointers on the baseline. Ward was the go-to guy when the defense surrounded shorter players or players were trapped in a corner. The matchup was an intense 40 minutes from beginning to end, but Pi Kapp couldn’t keep up with Phi Delt 1 and fell short of a victory.

“It was a close game,” Gilbert Keller, Shawnee Mission senior, said. “They shot the ball really well and gave us a good fight. They were a good team.”

Phi Delt 1 will advance to the third round of the playoffs and will play the winner of the Delta Chi 1 and Beta A3 game tonight at 6.

— Edited by Matt Hirschfeld

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