When Blake Schwan, Carter Baxter, Kalei Smith and Zach Heny traveled to Spokane, Washington, over the weekend, they got to experience what was a rarity in their prep high school careers: playing against brand new players.

At the 2015 Hoopfest 3-on-3 tournament on Saturday and Sunday, not only did the four Powell High School alumni face those players, they beat them.

With 42 blocks shutdown to accommodate an estimated 6,800 teams, 3,000 volunteers and nearly 21,000 players, the anual Hoopfest becomes the premier street ball site in the nation.

Schwan, Baxter, Smith and Heny made the 10-hour trip from Powell to Spokane not knowing what to expect.

“Everything was just covered in people. It was non-stop basketball,” Baxter said. “It’s pretty cool to see ... everyone was doing one thing and that was playing basketball.”

“It was awesome. It was almost moving because I love basketball so much,” Smith added.

Teams were divided into divisions by age, height, and a personal-evaluation based on skill level. Because they were unsure of what to expect as far as opponent skill level, the four former Panthers, under the team name WYO for the tournament, rated themselves a five out of 10 and went to work in their 18-24-year-olds bracket.

“One was basically you’re just there for the free T-shirt, and 10 is basically you’re the next Michael Jordan,” Baxter joked.

“We didn’t know going in how good the kids were going to be,” Heny added. “We knew they were going to be from everywhere.”

The bracket was filled with 15 teams playing through a double-elimination style tournament. Games were scored with one and two pointers, and were played to 20 points or until a 25-minute limit.

Temperatures snuck into the 100s during over the weekend, with blacktop temps nearing 150 degrees Smith said. But the harsh temperatures did little to hinder the quartet, as WYO went undefeated in six games to claim their division crown.

“It’s a lot of fun. You’re not as critical, you don’t foul out of games. It’s fun to play a little street ball. You get a little bumped and bruised up, but you love it,” Smith said. “Playing in the 100-degree weather with the blacktop reaching 150 degrees in some places, it takes a lot out of you but it was just a great time.”

For their efforts, the Powell natives were awarded their winning bracket along with championship T-shirts.

“We’re more than happy with it. It was a really cool experience to come out and win our bracket,” Baxter said. “We plan to up our rankings next year and come back and do the same thing.”