The player dribbled the ball up court on the fast break and pulled up to attempt a three. Smelling blood, the defender rushed up and swatted the ball away, sending it ricocheting way out of bounds, interrupting the game being played on the neighboring court.

Todd Townsend turned and laughed.

"Taking the game seriously," he said, referring to the ferocity with which the defender had rejected the shot, before informing me that the play would have been illegal had it taken place below the free throw line, where guys are no longer allowed to block girls' shots.

Welcome to the world of co-ed intramural basketball, specifically the championship game of Marquette's co-ed intramural basketball league, where the lines blur between fun and fury and losing is not an option.

Two of the league's titans slugged it out for the Ultimate Top Prize in All of Sports and Maybe All of the World: the intramural championship T-shirt.

Adding to the surreal nature of the scene, one of the clubs was "coached" by former Marquette Division I basketball player Todd Townsend.

Townsend, who has friends on the team, paced the sideline, jawed with the refs and led the huddle during timeouts.

Both teams played about as well as could be expected, with a talent level somewhere between "Riding the Bench in Seventh Grade" and "Division I Walk-on."

Townsend's team was stacked with athletes that play for Marquette's Division I team in other sports — several volleyball players and a soccer player comprised the female half of the roster — or had all played basketball in high school.

J.P. Gregory is the self-dubbed player-general manager-captain — "I'm like Pete Rose. You can put that in for a funny quote," he offers — of Townsend's team.

"It's just co-ed, but we go out there and f—ing run it," Gregory said, adding that it was the "best doggone intramural game I've ever played in."

One of the highlights of the game came when Gregory, his team up — although it was hard to tell with no scoreboard — knocked one of the players from the other team to the ground as he attempted a three, causing the opposing player to jump up and berate the ref for not watching the game while bumping shoulders with Gregory.

This recess-like snapshot of hypercompetitive behavior ratcheted up the tension on the court and the hilarity level off it. Townsend doubled over with laughter as only one who's had to post-up against people like Ellis Myles and Eric Hicks can.

After the dust settled, Townsend and Gregory's team stood the victor, having bested its opponent, 54-49. Elbows had been thrown, fights had almost broken out and blood had almost been spilled, but they had won.

And best of all, the T-shirts were theirs.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on April 12 2005.