This year’s 3v3 Intramural Tournament at Jesuit High School Sacramento ended in spectacular fashion. The championship game was played on Thursday, Feb. 8, during the Winter Sports Rally in front of the entire school. Everyone in attendance was fully entertained as Otis Hill Academy came storming back in the final minute to overcome a 6-point deficit and triumph over Jack’s Team.

Originally formed by Beckett Zucker ’24 and named after his clothing brand, Otis Hill Academy started out as a group of four friends looking to have some fun. 

“[When] I saw last year’s three on three tournament, it motivated me,” Beckett said. “I was like, ‘I want to do that with my friends.’ I thought it would be fun, and a good experience.”

Not all of Otis Hill Academy’s players were only looking for fun, however. For Kevin Duggan ’24, this year’s tournament was a shot at redemption.

“I originally joined the 3v3 [Intramural] Tournament because I played in it last year but I got knocked out in the first round,” Kevin said. “I remember being extremely disappointed because it’s a fun way to take advantage of playing on the big court here at Jesuit, especially because it’s extremely hard to make the basketball team. But also it was a grain in my head that I wanted to get a good team together and give it a run the next year.”

In order to make it to the championship game, Otis Hill Academy first had to win their games in the preliminary rounds of the single-elimination tournament. The team did just that thanks to the stellar play of Jan Victor “JV” Lecaroz ’24.

“The main reason we had made the tournament finals in the first place was because of JV; he pretty much carried our team through the [preliminary] rounds scoring nearly half our points,” said Team Member Justin “JJ” Johnson ’24.

At last, Otis Hill Academy had made it to the championship game where they faced Jack’s team, whose roster consisted of Jack Payant ’24, Caleb Hall ’24, and Cooper Babb ’24. 

The game rules were as follows: the game would be decided by who reached 11 points first or who led when 10 minutes had passed. If a team scored, they would get the ball back at the top of the key. Additionally, shots that would normally count as two points would be counted as one point, and shots that would count as three points counted as two points.

Matchup-wise, Jack’s Team had a notable advantage. They were clearly the bigger team, but Otis Hill Academy was intent on turning that advantage into a weakness.

“I knew the other team had height on us. I think every single one of their players was taller than our tallest player, [but] I knew how to use that towards our advantage,” Beckett said. “We knew that we had speed on them, so we tried to isolate our players and blow by them with speed to get to the bucket.”

Unfortunately, this plan didn’t seem to work. Jack’s Team jumped out to an early lead thanks to Caleb’s dominance in the post. As time went on, the lead grew, until the game was rooted at 8-2 in favor of Jack’s Team with one minute and 17 seconds left to go. The mood in the building had shifted, as it was clear that many people thought the game was over. However, the mood would shift again, and this time it would be much quicker.

It started with a two pointer from the right wing by JJ. Some people were happy to see Otis Hill Academy score, but the likelihood of winning was low as time was running out. But then, on the very next play, JJ hit another two pointer. Suddenly, it was only a two point game at 8-6. The crowd started to come alive again. Then, Beckett hit yet another two pointer on the very next play at the top of the key. The crowd erupted. People jumped out of their seats and began to flood the sidelines. But through all of this commotion, Beckett remained focused.

“It was exciting, [but] I didn’t want to get over-excited though,” Beckett said. “I just wanted to stay in the moment and really just finish strong and make sure we won.”

And his focus paid off. On the next play, Beckett drove down the left lane and scored on a layup over his defender to give Otis Hill Academy a 9-8 lead with less than 20 seconds remaining. The gym somehow reached an even higher level of pandemonium. Otis Hill Academy had made a miraculous comeback.

But the game wasn’t over yet. Otis Hill Academy turned the ball over on their next possession. Jack’s Team had a chance to win it, and Cooper took a stepback 2 pointer as time expired – and he banked it in. 

While the crowd erupted for what seemed like the 10th time that afternoon, there was also confusion. Many people were making the “count it” gesture, thinking that Jack’s Team won it 10-9. Others were calling for the shot not to count, claiming that it was clearly after the buzzer. The referees met in the middle of the court to discuss. After some time, they announced their verdict. Cooper’s two pointer was too late, and Otis Hill Academy had won the game 9-8.

Looking back, it would have been hard to imagine an intramural basketball game at a sports rally being this entertaining. Many people probably came to the rally with tempered expectations, but luckily, the crowd was pleasantly surprised. Expect the unexpected; you never know what might happen at the Jesuit Winter Sports Rally.