JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - In a span of four hours March 23, the defending Washington Military Athletic Conference basketball champions were on the outside of the Fort Myer Fitness Center looking in. Two consecutive losses - one to Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and the other to local rival Joint Base Andrews - eliminated the Generals from the 2013 WMAC tourney.
In a 71to 57 Saturday morning setback to JB-MDL, the Generals trailed 34 to 32 at the halftime intermission but managed to grab a lead in the second half. McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst raced to a 55 to 46 lead with seven minutes and 49 seconds to play before Fort Myer guard Anthony James helped to stage a mini-comeback.
James connected for a three-point field goal and followed with a successful 14-foot jump shot to narrow the FM deficit to 55 to 51. With 5:19 left in regulation, Terrell Moorer's close-range put-back sliced the JB-MDL advantage to 55 to 53.
But during the final five minutes of play, the visitors from New Jersey outscored the Generals 16 to 2 and advanced into the winner's bracket of the nine-team tournament, which included military teams from Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Fort Belvoir, Quantico Marine Corps Base, Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling and Fort Meade.
Against JB-MDL, center Will Lewis led the Generals with 18 points and Moorer netted 14 points and five rebounds.
In the 77-74 tournament-ending loss to JB-Andrews, two Generals posted double doubles - Lewis scored 24 and hauled down 12 rebounds, including 14 points in the second half, while Moorer added 17 points and cleaned the boards with 10 rebounds. James yielded 11 points in the second loss, and Cody Stafford tallied 12 points in a noon game played immediately following the loss to JB-MDL.
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