3rd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment's Levandrew Hawthorne takes a jump shot while 11th Engineer Battalion defenders Derrick Holt, front, and Justin Madiena, right, attempt to block the shot during a Commander's Cup basketball playoff game Feb. 19 at ...

FORT BENNING, Ga., (Feb. 25, 2015) -- 3rd Squadron, 16th Cavalry Regiment, and the 11th Engineer Battalion battled in the Commander's Cup Basketball Tournament loser's bracket Feb. 19 with 3/16 Cav coming out on top 69-50 at Smith Fitness Center.

In a close first half, 3/16 Cav's Orentheous Reed went three-for-three from the free-throw line with six minutes left in the half putting 3/16 Cav in the lead 20-15.

Reed, who had a game-high 17 points, closed out the half with a 3-pointer and extended 3/16 Cav's lead to 38-20.

3/16 Cav capitalized on all of their first half free throws, and averaged 73 percent for the game while 11th ENG only shot 46 percent from the free-throw line.

3/16 Cav's head coach Ian Trowers, said his team took a minute to generate a rhythm.

"We came out rather flat in the first few minutes," Trowers said. "For every game we play, on initial plays ... the teams always come out in a man-to-man on us and that disrupts us. After we figure out what they're doing, we settle down, we regroup and (go into) attack mode."

The second half opened with 3/16 Cav's constant passing, but came away without points while the Engineer's scored two baskets to cut into 3/16 Cav's 38-24 lead.

"Part of that was strategy - feeling out the team, so we can get a foothold and exploit that foothold," Trowers said. "We passed the ball around (to see) where the weak side was."

Although both teams showed signs of life with sporadic short runs, 3/16 Cav never relinquished the lead and ended the game on top, 69-50.

11th ENGs JaQuavis Rozier, who had a team-high 15 points, contributed 10 of his points in the second half.

When it came to game strategy, Trowers said both the offense and defense were equally important in the win.

"Defense brings offense (and) we are a defensive team," he said. "Most of our offense is proceeded by our defensive set, so once we make a defensive stop, (it) leads into our offensive game plan."

Trowers said they also used their guards as "pests" to harass the 11th ENG's point guards to minimize their time to set up the offensive side.

11th ENG 50, 3/16 Cav 69

11th ENG (50)

Rozier (15), Norwood (12), Holt (8), Uzzell (6), VonPatterson (5), Madiena (4)

3/16 Cav (69)

Reed (17), Terry (13), Brooks (10), Farmer (8), Chargulaf (7), Mitchell (6), Hawthorne (4), Pearman (4)