Osifo soars to win in slam dunk contest

Titan Madness lived up to its name on Wednesday night at Titan Field House on the Melbourne campus of Eastern Florida State College.

The night began with a bang, literally, as teams had to make a layup, a free throw, a 3-pointer and a half-court shot. The team of men's assistant coach John Putryski, women's player Alexandrine Obouh Fegue and men's player Jonathan Ned won the competition, beating women's assistant coach Stephanie Shafer, who hit her half-court shot on the first try in the first round, along with men's player Mikal Starks and women's player Skye Williams.

Then the 3-point contest showcased the top shooters from each team and they put on a show, especially in the women's bracket where Briana Fahy and Jacquelyn Levay tied and had to go to a five-shot shootout. Fahy advanced and faced Ayo Dada, who won the men's bracket by hitting four of his final five shots.

Fahy continued her hot shooting, topping Dada 10-8.

"It feels good, I have been looking forward to this all week," Fahy said. "You just have to stay focused and concentrate on the rim, nothing else matters."

The split-squad scrimmage was just as close as the 3-point shootout as the two teams battled to a 30-30 tie setting up a thrilling finish with the slam dunk contest.

And it didn't disappoint as Junior Madut and Osayi Osifo advanced to the finals behind big second dunks. Madut got perfect 10s and Osifo received two 10s and two 9s setting up the final.

Madut went first and it was impressive, scoring two 9s and two 8s on a between-the-legs dunk but Osifo was up to the challenge, taking off from just short of the free-throw line and slamming it home with authority for a perfect score.

"I let Junior go first because he is one of the best dunkers on the team, so I got to see what he does and I came up with my dunk on the fly that the judges would like better," Osifo said. "I feel like I could have come out a little farther, that actually gave me some confidence, I think I can do it from behind the free-throw line but I had to make sure I made the dunk."

The men's basketball team will open the regular season on Nov. 2 on the road and the home opener will be Nov. 6 against ASA Miami at 6 p.m.

Check out photos from Titan Madness here.