MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII -- MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - During the second week of the intramural basketball season, players with Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 24 and 1st Battalion, 12th Marine Regiment faced off at the Semper Fit Center gym, Jan. 28, 2014.
Each team had the momentum on their side at least once throughout the game, but MALS-24 was able to dominate the second half to clinch the second win of their season 48-26.
“We had a very slow start to the beginning of the game,” said Joshua Perry, shooting guard for MALS-24. “We needed more intensity while cutting down our mistakes on defense in the first half.”
At the opening tipoff, 1st Bn., 12th Marines took the first possession to make a three-point shot and an easy layup for the first five points of the game. Shortly after, MALS-24’s offense began to sink their threes and finish their drives to the basket.
Both teams passed the ball very well to help find an open man for the high percentage shot. The battalion made more of their shots and took an early lead. With nine minutes left in the first half, 1st Bn., 12th Marines, had a 13-7 lead.
The 1st Bn., 12th Marines players boxed out on offense to rebound the ball and add to their lead, but MALS-24 began to shorten that lead. While driving to the basket, MALS-24 was fouled and found themselves shooting free throws.
As the clock started to wind down to the last minutes of the first half, MALS-24 began to force missed shots and took advantage of several unanswered baskets to bring the score to a tie. The score stood at 19-19 at the end of the first half.
The second half started with 1st Bn., 12th Marines getting fouled while shooting behind the three-point line. They sunk two out of three free throws, and it began looking like 1st Bn., 12th Marines was going to have a good second half. Unfortunately for 1st Bn., 12th Marines, they wouldn’t score any more points until six minutes left in the game.
“In the first half, we took a lot of good shots and played with a lot of intensity,” said Robert Harrison, a 1st Bn., 12th Marines center. “Once we went down by six points we lost a lot of our energy. We need to play hard all game.”
The second half was very successful for MALS-24. Their defense nearly put a lid on top of the basket to keep 1st Bn., 12th Marines from striking back. The offensive game of MALS-24 opened up in many ways. They began to score on fast breaks, drives to the basket and open shots all over the court.
By the time there were six minutes left in the game, the score was 36-21 with MALS-24 on top. Nearly every time MALS-24 drove to the basket, they would either make their shot or get sent to the free-throw line for an easy two points.
The second half momentum was entirely owned by MALS-24 with an ending score of 48-26 to show for it.
“Although our adjustments for the second half worked, it might be too late next time,” said Perry. “We can’t expect that waiting until the second half to make those adjustments will be enough to win every game.”