With the rain pouring down, No. 3 Hoops We Did It Again used the hot shooting of Notre Dame Sports Properties employee Beau Bauer to defeat No. 4 SWAG 22-20 in the championship game Sunday at the Bookstore courts.
Bauer led the way with 12 points, including the game winner from three-point range, to propel his squad past SWAG - comprised of juniors Tebo Barnett, Ryan Dunbar, Nate Carr, Mike Broghammer and senior Tim Van Harmelen.
"It was a physical game," Dunbar said. "We definitely had our chances to win but stuff just didn't go our way tonight."
Hoops We Did It Again, a team made up of Bauer and Holy Cross freshmen Darrell McIntyre, George Stainko, Alajowon Edwards and Zoe Bauer, trailed 11-8 at halftime and didn't claim a second-half lead until the 18-17 mark.
Beau Bauer said a change in defensive philosophy, especially against former Irish men's basketball forward Broghammer, was the key to the second half surge.
"We knew that with it being wet out, we'd rather take our chances getting beat by the jump shot rather than letting Mike kill us inside with fouls or layups," Bauer said. "So for us, we figured if they were going to beat us with jump shots, that was how they were going to beat us."
SWAG had success in the early going with the perimeter shot, as guards Van Harmelen and Dunbar combined for four first-half points. Broghammer chipped in four first-half points of his own, but was limited to just two points in the second half as Hoops We Did It Again switched exclusively to a 2-3 zone.
"I have to say defense was the key [for us]," Bauer said. "It's slick out here and the ball's not going in. Mike killed us in the first half, but our defense picked it up for us in the second half which allowed us to come back and make the late run."
With the game tied at 19, Van Harmelen made a baseline jumper to give SWAG a 20-19 lead. Beau Bauer then countered with a mid-range jumper to tie the game at 20. Zoe Bauer then hit a floater in the lane to take a one-point lead. After a SWAG turnover, Beau Bauer hit the game-winning shot.
"There were a lot of people out here that didn't want Holy Cross to win but we came through and the little man wins," Beau Bauer said. "We beat the giant."
Semifinals
No. 3 Hoops We Did It Again 23, No. 2 Mendozer Bulldozers 21
The first game of the semifinals Saturday was a battle right up until the last free throw, as No. 3 Hoops We Did It Again defeated No. 2 Mendozer Bulldozers 23-21. Mendozer Bulldozers senior captain Chris Jung only had one word to best describe the game.
"Physical," Jung said.
Stainko said that the key to the game was the team's hustle and defense.
"Our defense was great at the end, and we had the clutch free throw at the end which sealed it," Stainko said.
The Mendozer Bulldozers and Hoops We Did It Again traded buckets in the beginning of the game, but Hoops We Did It Again took an 11-9 lead at halftime, getting its opponent into foul trouble. Hoops We Did It Again managed to keep a one-point cushion until the Mendozer Bulldozers knotted the score at 16 on sophomore Tyler Sonsalla's drive and layup.
Mendozer Bulldozers consists of Sonsalla, Jung, sophomore Tommy Hickey and seniors Patrick Kelly and Griffin Naylor.
Hickey dominated the post with his shot-blocking ability and managed to help the Mendozer Bulldozers stay close until the final foul of the game. Hoops We Did It Again went up 21-20, but the Mendozer Bulldozers rallied back as Kelly hit a big shot to tie the score at 21. Hoops We Did It Again took a 22-21 lead on a McIntyre put-back, and then after a strong defensive stop earned a foul call on the offensive end. With a chance to put the game away, Zoe Bauer knocked down the free throw and Hoops We Did It Again moved on to the finals.
"They ran a lot of solo-focused stuff and we didn't execute early on," Jung said. "It was just a tough game all around."
No. 4 SWAG 21, No. 1 The Legacy of Alex Klupchak 7
No. 4 SWAG came out of the gates fast and never looked back, defeating No. 1 The Legacy of Alex Klupchak, 21-7.
Van Harmelen was on fire from distance early, making five jumpers in a row.
"Originally we were all from Keenan [Hall] and won the Interhall championship together," Van Harmelen said. "In the round of 64, one of our teammates broke [his] thumb and we were able to pick up Mike because we heard he didn't have a team."
Between Van Harmelen's sharpshooting and Broghammer's dominance in the post, SWAG was able to gain an early advantage over its opponent. SWAG created open shots against The Legacy of Alex Klupchak's 2-3 zone, and Broghammer was a force in the middle, Van Harmelen said.
"With Mike in the middle, it causes double or triple teams and we are able to find open shots on the perimeter," Van Harmelen said.
With the score at 18-6, Van Harmelen relayed the ball up the court to Broghammer, who flushed down a two-handed dunk to put the game definitively out of reach. Broghammer racked up double-digit points and rebounds.
The Legacy of Alex Klupchak, composed of graduate students Bryan Pasciak, John Rompf, Zander Shadley, Fritz Shadley and Mauri Miller, had the upper hand in experience. Rompf's old team, Saturdays in America, won the Bookstore championship last year. With a new group of players on his team this season, Rompf managed to return to the Final Four before losing.
"Don't let the score fool you," Van Harmelen said. "That was a very good team and if a few shots had dropped for them, that could have been a very different game."
After winning the semifinal game, all attention turned to Sunday night's championship matchup, as SWAG prepared to take on Hoops We Did It Again.
"The other team nobody knew about coming in, so we don't know that much about what to expect," Van Harmelen said. "They are definitely a very good team, and we will just continue to do what we have been doing and get ready for tomorrow."
Contact Brendan Bell at bbell2@nd.edu and Mike Monaco at jmonaco@nd.edu
