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A week after the Margaret Showdown, students on the New England campus lined up into Meany Gymnasium for the “Roommate Rumble” as freshmen roommates Martin O’Heir and Tam Nguyen captained teams that battled in the men’s basketball championship.

With both Martin and Tam’s teams sluggish in the early minutes, Head Chaplain Rev. Greg Markey shifted the momentum as he found the back of the net for a long-range 3-pointer. Martin’s offense came out firing on all cylinders in the first half, but the defense also gave up enough points to keep the score close, 12-10 after eight minutes. However, Patrick Ford of the College’s Development Office whizzed by Martin’s defense to grab a 20-16 edge going into halftime.

It was the second half that proved pivotal for Team Tam, scoring 13 while holding the opposing squad to 2, thereby taking a 29-18 lead. Their bombing came to an end as John Jost from the Admissions Office found his sweet spot beyond the arc and rained in three straight 3-pointers, but they still trailed 30-29 with 4.3 seconds to go. 

In the final seconds, Martin drove to the rim and missed his layup, but was fouled, and thus headed to the line for a potentially game-winning pair of three throws. With the pressure on him, Martin knocked down both shots with just 1.7 seconds left. One last effort by Mr. Ford fell just short, leaving Team Martin victorious by a score of 31-30.

“I channeled my inner Allen Iverson to knock down those free throws, and I was so hyped when John Jost came out hot to help us win,” said Martin.