Varsity 2016 sees UKC Men’s Basketball team victorious

Fraser Whieldon was with the largest crowd of the day as they gathered to watch the final fixture at Canterbury Christ Church University Sports Centre on Saturday.

The atmosphere, which was already tense due to the swelling crowd, quickly heated up as UKC and CCCU tipped off at around 7:20PM. CCCU committed three fouls early on, one of which caused a shouting match between their coach and a referee.

CCCU did not allow this to get in their way, however, with No. 29 scoring an impressive 3 point shot with only 4 minutes left of the first quarter.

The incredibly tense atmosphere soon spilled over into aggression, as one UKC player had to be escorted off the court with blood running from his nose.

The first quarter ended in a tie 6-6.

CCCU employed some impressive teamwork and quickly gained the upper hand in the second quarter, leaving the halftime score at 20-11 to CCCU.

During the break, a sense of levity was delivered to the court by the CCCU Jets, the Christ Church cheerleading squad, who performed a short demonstration of gymnastics, to the cheers and applause of the crowd.

The teams reassembled on the court for the third quarter, and CCCU were able to increase their lead to 26-13, double that of UKC, who were struggling to get the edge on their opponents.

UKC eventually found their feet, and with quick work and accurate shots, brought the score up to 30-26 at the end of the third quarter.

Kent win men’s basketball 43-39!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/OVYxFGHytP

— Team Kent (@TheTeamKent)

The final quarter came, and UKC were swiftly able to draw level, and then pull ahead of CCCU on 32-30, following an impressive couple of shots.

CCCU soon caught up, with tension building in the last minutes of the game, as both teams seemed unable to outdo one another.

Then suddenly, Kent managed to score a 3-point shot, putting them ahead of CCCU. Not to be outdone, CCCU kept pace with the Kent squad. In the last minute of the match, the score was 39-38.

A CCCU penalty put the two on a 39 point draw, and with both sides delaying by calling frequent time-outs, the tension was immense. The crowd were on their feet, standing on chairs, banging drums and chanting.

Kent took several penalties, enabling them to pull ahead of CCCU, and with but seconds to go, Kent scored a final penalty, ending the match victoriously with 43-39.

On only the first day of Varsity 2016, we saw one of the most exhilarating and climatic fixtures of the event, with the University of Kent coming out on top.