By Josh Milton

Sports Editor

It Don't Matter clung to a slim lead long enough to defeat Neilson Blue 41-38 in Men's Dorm League intramural basketball competition last Wednesday night.

After each team traded several buckets early, the score stood tied at 17-17 around the eight-minute mark of the first half before Leamon Williams checked out of the line-up. Williams had scored 10 of Neilson Blue's 17 points, and Neilson Blue had temporarily lost its interior defensive stronghold. It Don't Matter gained momentum on a 10-4 run and earned a 29-23 lead at halftime.

It Don't Matter then carried that momentum into the second half and held a seemingly comfortable 41-32 lead with 1:30 left to play in the game, before Bryan Robinson connected on two consecutive three-pointers to pull Neilson Blue within three points at 41-38.

However, the furious come-from-behind effort was stopped short, as It Don't Matter escaped Neilson Blue defenders and ran out the clock to end the game, but Leamon Williams is confident toward next week's performance.

"My team played good overall," Leamon Williams said. "We made some weak passes, but next game will be better. Some of those mistakes won't happen again."

Each team brought different offensive attacks to the table, as It Don't Matter was carried through the first half on the shoulders of Arien Williams, who had 15 of his 19 points in the opening stanza.

"I try not to force shots," Arien Williams said. "If I have a clean look, then I'll take it. I just happened to have a lot of clean looks in the first half. My philosophy is to take the easiest shot possible."

Williams and It Don't Matter ran the floor to get easy transition buckets and split defenders to get in the paint to gain easy shots on the basket.

However, Neilson Blue dominated the interior with post players Leamon Williams and Robinson, as each battled for rebounds and brought a strong defensive presence to the lane for Neilson Blue's 2-3 defense.

"We played a zone defense to keep our big men fresh and to help not wear everyone out," Leamon Williams said. "My job is to secure the middle, and I felt like we did a good job defensively tonight."

Arien Williams' 19-point showcase led all scorers, as Seth Clifton added 12 points for It Don't Matter. Leamon Williams dropped 13 points for Neilson Blue, and Robinson chipped in 10 points.