BYU–Hawaii students lined around the Cannon Activities Center on the night of May 14 to compete in the Seasider Sports’ Three-point Contest. Competitors had one minute to make as many three-point shots as they could from different areas of the court.
Bilguun Enkhbaatar, a freshman from Mongolia majoring in information technology, finished the night as the champion of the men's division with 21 three-pointers in the last round. Jessica Gentry, a senior from California majoring in exercise science, finished first place in the women’s division.
“I’m so happy because I’ve prepared for many days. This is my dream. I love basketball,” Enkhbaatar said. Enkhbaatar’s friends and those he plays basketball with call him the Mongolian Steph Curry, he explained. ESPN says Curry is second on the all-time career made three-pointers list and is expected to pass Ray Allen next season.
Enkhbaatar said he plays basketball on campus every night with other students who competed against him in the three-point contest. Otgonbileg Bataa, a junior from Mongolia majoring in business management, said playing two or three times a week has helped him make good friends and learn about their cultures. He said, “[Basketball] is a good thing for guys to make good relationships with each other. … The school needs to have more activities like this so we can be more united.”
Bataa made it into the semi-final round as one of the top eight players to shoot but ultimately fell short to Enkhbaatar. He said he appreciated the encouragement from his friends on the sidelines. “The guys were shouting out to me and that encouraged me to keep going. … Those words help us,” he exclaimed.
Gentry was one of the three girls to compete in the three-point contest and took home the first-place prize in the women’s’ division. “I’m kind of used to being the only girl. I grew up with three brothers, so I’m always playing with the guys. But it'd be nice if there were more girls that came out,” she said.
Gentry said she played basketball all through high school and six months in community college. “I grew up playing basketball. I’ve done a three-point contest before, but it’s been a few years. So I just wanted to see how rusty I was. ... It was pretty good. It was fun.”
Seasider Sports & Activities’ Coordinator Irwin Ah-Hoya helped host the event. While preparing for the contest, he said the group’s top priorities were safety and fun. Ah-Hoy said the activities are meant to help “make a better experience for the students here on campus.”
Seasider Sports & Activities is hosting three other activities this spring: A volleyball tournament, ultimate Frisbee and a spikeball tournament.