With the Mardi Gras holiday over, the men’s intramural basketball season is currently at its midway point.Since the beginning of February, 12 intramural basketball teams have been fighting against each other on Mondays through Thursdays in Shaver Gym. Each team is positioning themselves for one of the six spots available in the University Tournament, which will be held in the week of March 21 to 28.

The top two teams will move on to the Louisiana intramural championships, which will feature teams from universities across the state. The championships will be held in April at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Matthew Ford, mass communication senior from Houma and intramural basketball coordinator, said the men’s season started off slowly, but gradually picked up as the season went along.

“We started off with a lot of momentum, and we have been able to keep that up all year so far,” Ford said. “I think that is a good thing with the amount of participation from the 12 teams. We are looking forward to some great season. We are building momentum, but we are not up to our potential yet. A lot of teams haven’t stepped up like they should have, but we are going to start getting more aggressive play.”

“First, I would have to say the Quiet Storm is the best team,” Ford said after watching all 12 teams play. “They have the best all-around talent, and they work together as a team. The second best team is Buleedat. The reason why I put them second is because they have the most talent on their team; however, they don’t have the stamina as other teams. The third team is tough because I want to say D-Unit because they have the best shooters all around, but I have to go with the Whoosiers. They’ve got the size, dribbling and defense. The only thing is this is their first year in the league, and they have to mesh some more. Once they step up, they will be a team to reckon with.”

Although the season is far from over, Ford said the intramural world should not count out the defending Nicholls champion D-Unit and runner-up Lights Out.

“The D-Unit always turns it on at the end, so they should be very good,” Ford said. “Lights Out is doing okay, but they haven’t really meshed like they usually do. They lost some talent to other teams, and I think that is going to hurt them in the end.”

The women’s intramural teams started their schedule this week, and Ford said he is anxious for the women’s season to start.

“I think it is very important that we show support for the women,” Ford said. “We try to incorporate them into every sport, but we have a hard time finding women to play. To increase the participation, we have to spread the word that these women’s games are going on.”

Buleedat 52, Lights Out 46

In men’s intramural action on Feb. 19, Buleedat defeated Lights Out 52-46 in Shaver Gym.

Buleedat was led offensively by Ernest Nixon, accounting junior from Houma, who scored 16 points. Jarrod Voisin, business administration junior from Houma, scored 14; Dustin Johnson, nursing junior from Houma, scored nine; and Brad Deroche, management sophomore from Houma and Josh Son, general studies senior from Baton Rouge, scored four each.

Leading Lights Out offensively was John Carroll, allied health junior from Boothville, who scored 12 points. Mark Singleton, freshman from Ama, and Paul Snowden, computer information systems junior from Harvey, scored 10 each. Aaron Kinebrew, freshman from New Orleans, scored six, and Jeremiah Bush, general studies sophomore and David Tate, freshman from Ridgeland, Miss., scored four points each.

D-Unit 66, All Stars 46

The D-Unit defeated the All-Stars 66-46 Monday in men’s intramural action.

James Butler, mass communication junior from Kenner, led the D-Unit with 20 points. Albert Nicholas, freshman from Thibodaux, scored 18; Donald Fuselier, physical education sophomore from Lafayette, scored 16.

Quincy Jones, accounting senior from Lafayette, led the All-Stars with 13 points; D’Juan Hypolite, psychology junior from New Iberia, scored 11 points; and Isaiah Mitchell, allied health senior from New Iberia, scored eight.