FORT RUCKER, Ala. (January 10, 2013) -- Along with the new year came the start of the Fort Rucker intramural basketball season, and the D Company, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment Seven Guys and a Squirt started off with a victory in the season opener.
Seven Guys took on A Company, 1st Bn., 145th Avn. Regt.'s The Anvils at the Fort Rucker Physical Fitness Facility and showed that they came to play as they won the game 60-39.
"We feel very accomplished with this win," said Sgt. Maurice Watford, team captain for Seven Guys. "During our first practice game, we only had a few people show up, but tonight we had our full team and my guys came out to play."
Watford said his unit plays basketball as part of their physical training, so they are able to play to each other's strengths on the court.
"Every Thursday we play basketball together for PT, so we really know our positions well and it helps us come together as a team," he said.
The season-opening game started as A Co. took initial possession of the ball showing promise as they drove the ball down court and scored the first basket of the game with a layup.
Both teams were high in energy as they fought to take the lead, staying within a few points of each other for much of the first half and maintaining a strong defense. Possession changed hands again and again without either team scoring, but The Anvils broke the stagnation as a player sank a 3-pointer to pull out a small lead against their opponents.
Things were looking grim for Seven Guys early on as their defense seemed to fall behind and was unable to keep A Co. from scoring again, and their offense seemed to falter as players fumbled the ball repeatedly.
As D Co. fell, the Anvils seemed to find their footing as they managed to pull their team together and extend their lead by 5 points to 13-7.
As the game progressed, however, Seven Guys seemed to learn their opponents' weaknesses and strengthen their own offense, and sank three goals in a row to take the lead 14-13.
It was still anybody's game in the first half, but A Co.'s defense seemed to fall behind D Co.'s aggressive play style.
Slowly, Seven Guys began to pull away from their opponents as their defense strengthened to prevent the Anvils from scoring and the first half ended with D Co. in the lead, 23-17.
A Co. attempted to regroup and get their strategy together during the half-time break, but their opponents came back more aggressive than they were in the first half.
Seven Guys continued to show their dominance and their offense began to shine in the second half as they sank basket after basket to extend their lead by more than 10 points.
The Anvils managed to score a few layups and 3-pointers throughout the second half, but they couldn't match the pace of their opponents and they fell further and further behind.
With four minutes left in the game, D Co. commanded a lead of more than 20 points, which sealed the fate of their opponents. They maintained their momentum throughout the remainder of the game to secure the victory.
Watford said that although it's early in the season, he feels confident of their chances of winning the championship.
"I believe that we have a fair chance this year," he said. "If we keep playing like we played today, then we'll definitely be able to make it to the championship, but we've got to see what the other teams are looking like and we'll go from there."
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