MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- As the regular intramural basketball season comes to an end, players from Combat Logistics Battalion 3 and Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 faced off in a grueling game at the Semper Fit Center gym, March 13, 2013.
Both teams played hard, but CLB-3 snatched the victory with a score of 49-43, and secured a third-place spot going into playoffs.
Collin Foster, coach for CLB-3, said he didn’t have that many expectations going into the game. With his team currently in third place, his focus was to win.
“We were just excited to come out and play these guys,” Foster said during a post-game interview. “There are a lot of competitors on both of these teams and we knew it was going to be a great game. We wanted to just come out, play tough, have fun, and win.”
At opening tipoff, CLB-3 quickly took command of the game with a three- pointer by guard Jordan Bournes.
After a failed possession from HMH-463, Bournes once again shot from the perimeter, making his team’s first two shots and shooting perfect from the three-point line.
HMH-463 quickly retaliated by driving the ball to the basket for easy buckets, however, the dominant shooting of CLB-3 denied HMH-463’s ability of taking over the lead before halftime.
“It was extremely close for the majority of the game,” said Cenquae Clark, HMH-463 guard. “We would go on scoring runs, get cold, and then they would get hot. It was really back and forth all game, but we really struggled in our decision-making. That’s what hurt us the most.”
As the first half came to an end, HMH-463 was already near double digits in turnovers. However, they dominated in the rebound category and were able to tie the game at 29-29 as the halftime buzzer sounded.
“Penetration and rebounding was one thing they seemed to do better than us all game,” Bournes said. “We had the offensive play, the communication, but we struggled to get possessions because we were constantly being beaten down low in rebounding.”
As the second half started, both teams once again came out aggressive. Rough play in the paint resulted in many fouls. However, CLB-3 quickly took advantage of their opponents’ bad passing and converted them into turnovers. Pegasus scored a few unanswered points, and earned the lead once again.
The game continued to go back and forth as the minutes began to dwindle. With only eight minutes left, the game was tied, 35-35, and at the two-minute warning, both teams still struggled to gain the advantage with the score, 43-43. However, through some last-minute foul shots CLB-3 secured its lead at the game’s end — keeping its third place spot and ending the regular season with a hard-fought victory.
“The game was close, very close,” Foster said. “All the guys were just out there having fun and playing hard … because of that this game was entertaining to watch. We’re really looking forward to playoffs next week and hopefully start the tournament with a win.”