The auxiliary gym and field house of the John W. Hart Building were packed Dec. 2 for the 3x3 Superhoops Basketball Tournament.

The tournament had 28 men’s teams turn out and six women’s teams. The tournament began at 9 a.m.

“We had a really good turnout; we even had to turn some people away. We were just limited by the facility,” said Liz Case a senior from Rexburg and tournament coordinator.

The women’s games ended before noon with team Back-to-Back declared champions.

The team consisted of Crystal Carpenter, a senior from Sugar City, Idaho; Ashley Ellis, a sophomore from Brigham City, Utah; Beth Beus, a freshman from Kuna, Idaho; and Charlsee Pence, a sophomore from Rigby, Idaho.

Carpenter, Ellis and Pence have played on the Athletics’ basketball teams in the past. Though they’ve played with and against each other, this was the first time they all played together as a team.

The team prefers to play three-on-three versus a regular basketball game.

“There’s a lot better spacing in three-on-three basketball when you only have to play with six girls on the court instead of 10,” Beus said.

The girls dominated the tournament by never once losing, but admitted they had some challenges.

“We thrive under pressure,” Carpenter said.

The men’s competition lasted until about 2 p.m.

B.J. Hess, a senior from Malad, Idaho, is off to a good start. After helping his team to victory, he won his second T-shirt of the year. His first shirt was won through RecSports.

“This is the second shirt of many to come,” Hess said.

The team the Knights won the championship in four games.

In the championship game, Team Mark made their way out of the bracket to compete against the Knights. After playing nine games in a row, they lost to the Knights in the championship game. The tournament was double elimination, so Team Mark would have had to play ten games to win the tournament.

The Knights had Pete Knight (whom the team is named after) a junior from Louisville, Ky., Rod Ceasar, a graduate from Clarksville, Texas; Craig Berg, a sophomore from Grants Pass, Ore.; and Hess.

“This is the best feeling I’ve had since I’ve been up here, including devotionals,” Knight said.

The team has played pick-up games together on and off over the past three years.

Though some may say that it’s all for the free T-shirt when a team wins the championship, Knight tends to disagree.

“We played for the love of the game,” Knight said.

Games were played to 30 points or 15 minutes, whichever came first, with a cap of 35 points.