Gonzaga defeats Little Dicas in intramural finals

By Zack Dyer
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

Members of the winning Gonzaga intramural basketball team are (l-r) Steve Hare, Norm Bouchard, Paul Gosselin, Zack Dyer, Rob Hammer, Todd Martineau, Chris Dewey, Brendan O'Brien (missing from photo, Paul curry and Carmine DeNisio)

Gonzaga defeated Little Dicas in the finals of the annual intramural basketball tournament.

"I'm glad we beat them, because they're good, and a couple of them like to talk a lot on the court," said Paul Gosselin, 21, a business major from Nashua, NH.

Gonzaga and Little Dicas are made up of all football and rugby players, with the exception of one person, Paul Curry.

"Curry had practically carried us the whole season; there is no one on the court that can touch him; when we lost him, we thought our chances were blown," said teammate Chris Dewey, 20, a physical education major from Victory Mills, NY.

Gonzaga battled to get to the finals without their leading scorer, Paul Curry. Curry is a former basketball player at Norwich who had broken the all-time scoring record last year.

Gonzaga was informed five minutes before the first playoff game that Curry had been suspended for game misconduct in the regular season. In a heated game, Curry had knocked the hat of one of the officials, who Curry thought made a bad call. After being charged for a technical, Curry was ejected.

"It was obvious that this certain ref had no experience being on a basketball court; he was calling my long strides travels; I have been around this game long enough to know what a travel is," said Curry, 22, a history major from North Philadelphia, PA.

"We were stunned at first without Paul, but we just had to settle down and play better basketball. At that point we were thinking about playing better, and that's what we did," Martineau said.

It was a constant comeback throughout the entire second half. Any loose ball would prove to be Gonzagas' as their unlimited energy scattered the floor.

"I've never seen a better comeback during intramurals. Gonzaga held nothing back; they were diving all over the place for the ball like they had nothing to lose," Curry said.

The game was sent into overtime for two minutes. The score remained at 54 when Gonzaga waited for the last shot. With ten seconds left, Todd Matineau drove to the lane and took a ten-foot jump shot that bounced in and out. With one second left, Dewey was there for the tip in, and the game.

Without their leading scorer, Gonzaga seemed unfazed as they went on to win 58-48. "We were just better than them; we played decent basketball, but we knew if we were going to beat Little Dicas, that had given us our only defeat earlier in the season, we would all have to play up to par," said Steve Hare, 21, a communications major from Saratoga, NY.

With the final game the very next day, Curry was unable to recover in such little time. "The biggest problem we faced was the size difference; their big men inside were strong and versatile. If we gave them a chance to rebound, they would win," Gosselin said.

The lead changed several times throughout the first quarter. Halfway through the second quarter, Gonzaga's dead-on shooting and rebounding helped them to pull away. At half-time, they led 34-26.

Little Dicas stayed with their big men in the second half. There was little activity from the Point Guard and leading scorer, Chris Cook. "I have a hurt elbow. I'm not sure if it affected my play," said Cook, 21, a business major from Boston, Mass., and captain.

Little Dicas refused to give up as they rallied in the fourth quarter and tied the game with 2 minutes left. Little Dicas made a gallant effort, but Gonzaga inched away as Little Dicas was forced to foul. Gonzaga prevailed at the free throw line as they did all game.

"Our big men, Steve Hare, Norm, and Hammer, played tough. Martineau was on point and Obie hit some key three pointers," Gosselin said.

"We were definitely out-muscled," Cook said.

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