Players Inc. outhustles Football Playaz

Defense plagued the football team last fall, keeping it from achieving a winning record. Sunday in Assembly Hall, it hurt them again as Players Inc. claimed the Recreational Sports Division I men's basketball championship with a 59-48 victory against the Football Playaz.\nPlayers Inc. blitzed to an 11-0 lead in the opening minutes of the game behind by two three-pointers from junior Andy Horne. Players Inc. continued its offensive onslaught, stretching the lead to 20-7 midway through the first half before cooling off to finish the half with a 33-24 lead. \nEight minutes into the second half, the Football Playaz began their run with a 14-6 spurt fueled by two three-pointers from junior Levron Williams and two more from junior Herman Fowler. \nAfter a 10-point second-half lead dwindled to just two points, Players Inc. got back on track, connecting on their next two trips down the floor to take a 53-46 lead with two minutes remaining in the game. Free throws down the stretch enabled Players Inc. to nail down the championship. \nSophomore Chad Stone scored a game high 20 points for Players Inc. while Horne added 19. Junior Chad Graves chipped in with 10. \n"These guys played well," Players Inc. coach Rahman Smiley, a junior, said. "There are a lot of good players on this team with a lot of experience. I think (the Football Playaz) thought it would be an easy game for them to win, but our guys came out and shot really well, which was not unexpected."\nFootball Playaz, a team made up of nine current and former IU football players, was in its second year of competition with nearly the same team. The Football Playaz lost in their first game of the final four last season.\n"We basically had the same team as last year with a few new faces," senior Brandon Rodgers said. \nNearly all of the members of the Football Playaz participated on their high school teams, but the experience wasn't enough.\n"(The Players Inc.) get the credit," junior A.C. Myler said. "We just got out-hustled"