What started as a seemingly even co-rec matchup in the Field House ended with the Dunkaroos hopping to a 45-35 victory over Six Ball Beaters on Tuesday evening.

Dunkaroos, which trailed at halftime, 21-20, overcame poor offensive lapses and lack of hustle thanks, in part, to two Dunkaroo difference-makers.

“After the first half, I was not pleased — especially with my performance,” Dunkaroos senior Travis Dyer said. “We turned up the energy, and the second half was a completely different story.”

Dyer and fellow senior Jon Lewis teamed up in the final 14 minutes. After two consecutive 3s by Six Ball Beaters with 8:03 left in the game, Dyer drove down the court but tripped near the lane and tossed a behind-the-back flip to Lewis under the basket.

Lewis put up the shot but missed. However, he snagged the rebound and eventually put the ball in.

“We boxed out a lot more in the second half, and I positioned myself to get rebounds, so that helped a lot,” Lewis said. “We just slowed our pace and played our game.”

The Dunkaroos not only seemed to have skilled players but also great team chemistry.

Named after the graham-cracker snack dipped in frosting, the group of primarily education majors has played together before. Four of the eight players competed on Dunkaroos last year, when it played in the intramural co-recreational semifinals.

That experience proved to be vital on Tuesday as players coached and supported one another along the sideline.

On the other side, the three female Six Ball Beaters players — sophomores Erin Walsh, Megan McLaughlin, and Molly Kluesner — quickly ran out of gas.

“We just lost our composure,” Six Ball Beaters sophomore Mike Sullivan said. “The ladies played 28 minutes with no substitutions, and that hurt us in the end.”

Looking winded, the women on Six Ball Beaters said it was difficult having no subs.

Their male teammates joked they should start running to prepare for the squad’s next game.

“They were running everywhere, scoring 3s in the first half,” Sullivan said.

Though Six Ball Beaters had some early success, an early second-half jump by the Dunkaroos left Six Ball Beaters calling time-outs, attempting to keep themselves in the game.

“Eventually it came down to having fresh legs on the court and being able to hustle that helped us win,” Dunkaroos senior Lydia Eviz said.