Syracuse vs. Umass. The Championship game of the 2014-2015 Recreational Basketball season. What more could you possibly want?

With great energy from both teams, the first quarter, while a little sloppy, was far from sluggish or slow. The teams were neck and neck at the end of the first quarter, with only two points between them. In the second quarter, the intensity increased, with senior Ben Miller-Schmidt coming alive for Syracuse with his fair share of points in the paint, and junior Max Bochman getting to the rim on numerous occasions.

Miller-Schmidt, Bochman, junior Deven Yee and junior Kay Takinami all elevated their game to compensate for senior Seth Coven’s off night. Despite channeling his inner Michael Jordan and playing with a 101 degree temperature, Coven, the unanimous league MVP, could not find the back of the net.

The first half came to a dramatic end as senior Toma Beit-Arie of Umass made a buzzer beater layup, which was disallowed as it was shot a fraction of a second too late. In the season opener, Beit-Arie hit a buzzer beater layup against the same Syracuse squad, handing them their one and only loss of the season.

However, Umass did not give up, and sophomore Fozan Sadiq made back to back 3 pointers to open the half. Junior Elijah Elmore of Umass used his speed to get by defenders, but was unable to get clean looks at the basket, resulting in pretty plays without the desired results.

Syracuse pulled away in the fourth as Umass began to succumb to fatigue. Shots were coming up short and Syracuse capitalized. With a clutch “And 1” conversion by junior Max Bochman with exactly two minutes to go, Team Syracuse sealed the deal.

Their reward for winning? Three boxes of pizza from the Brookline Spa, two bottles of soda, and an overbearing sense of pride for the history that was made that night.