3-1 Cav wins preseason basketball title

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Jan. 22, 2014) -- Fighting their way through the losers' bracket, the 3rd Squadron, 1st Cavalry Regiment, completed their preseason quest Wednesday by lifting the Commander's Cup Preseason Basketball Tournament trophy in victory at the Smith Fitness Center gym.

Following a win against perennial championship finalist MEDDAC in the losers' bracket finals, 3-1 Cav. completed a two-game winning finale over 3rd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 58-36 in Game 1 and 48-34 in Game 2 to win the championship.

In the Game 1 finals, 3-1 Cav. knotted the score at 13-13 and then went on a 22-point run to jump out on top 35-13 at the half.

The 22-point first half lead by 3-1 Cav. was key in the win, with both teams scoring 23 points in the second half to cap the scoring, which sent 3-1 Cav. and 3rd BSTB into a winner-take-all Game 2 championship.

Fuquan Wilson led 3-1 Cav. with a team-high 11 points while 3rd BSTB had Anthony McMillian (11) and Christopher Flippin (10) both finish with double digits.

In Game 2, 3-1 Cav. and 3rd BSTB were neck and neck and with six minutes gone in the half were tied 11-11, but by the half 3-1 Cav. held a 32-21 lead.

By the 16 minute mark, 3rd BSTB battled back to within three points at 37-34, but 3-1 Cav. went on an 11-point run to close out the game 48-34 to win the preseason tournament.

3-1 Cav. coach Ronald Lassiter said the team showed a lot of heart in the final game of the championship.

"Our legs were getting a little tired because we had already played two games previously," he said. "So, I have to say we were fatigued, but the guys really stuck it out."

Lassiter credited the team's success to the type of defense they played, and the easy looks they got on offense.

"We played a man-to-man defense and needed to pressure the ball," he said. "They were a lot bigger than we were so we needed that pressure to keep it up tempo."

He said the team got a few steals with the man-to-man defense and used the fast break to stay on top.

As the second game neared its end and it appeared 3rd BSTB was drawing closer, Lassiter focused on the BSTB player doing the most scoring.

"I told our players we needed to box out better, especially against their No. 10 (Benyle Jordan)," he said. "He was killing us on the offensive glass, and I told them to get a body on him and keep him off the glass."

Leading 3-1 Cav. in scoring in Game 2 was Fred McDonald with 16 points, while Jordan led 3rd BSTB with nine points.