FORT BENNING, Ga., (March 4, 2015) -- Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 1st Battalion, 10th Field Artillery Regiment, blasted through the winner's bracket to win the Commander's Cup Basketball Tournament championship game in overtime Feb. 24 at Smith Fitness Center.
1/10 defeated Forward Support Company, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 45-44 to win the intramural basketball title.
With 39 seconds left in the regulation play, 1/10's Brandon Wheeless, who had a game-high 22 points, sent the game into overtime with a free-throw to tie the score 43-43.
After the game-tying free-throw, Toris Knight, 1/10's head coach, said the plan to avoid the game going into overtime was denied by FSC's defense.
"We wanted to play for the last shot and we turned the ball over on the last second," he said.
In overtime, FSC's Bernard Carter sank a free-throw at 1:25 to put them in the lead 44-43, but Wheeless took advantage of his opportunities from the free-throw line by going 2-for-2 to preserve a 45-44 win for 1/10.
To take control of the game, Knight said his defense upheld their end of the bargain to give his offense one more opportunity and that was what sealed the win.
"It was a good game," he said.
1/10 shot 52 percent from the free-throw line for the game while FSC shot 68 percent.
Pre-game rim touching during warm-ups earned 1/10 two technical fouls, which FSC's Carter exploited, sinking all four attempts to put FSC in the lead 4-0 before tipoff.
"My guys were a little exuberant (during warm-up)," Knight said. "They were ready to play the game."
With FSC playing a game immediately before the championship, James Mills, FSC's head coach, said fatigue was already a factor and the four points were beneficial in getting off to a good start.
"That was a good jump right there," he said. "We needed it."
Consistent intensity filled the first half with FSC shining on both offensive and defensive rebounds and by the first timeout at 11:34, FSC led 13-6.
Mills said although they were up seven points, he called the timeout to conserve energy.
"I could tell they were tired," he said. "They were starting to get complacent (by) throwing the ball away ... easy turnovers."
The teams played a close game the rest of the half with FSC's Justin Cartmill sinking a 3-pointer at the buzzer to set them ahead 21-16.
Eleven minutes into the second half, 1/10 trailed by 11 points with FSC leading 37-26.
Knight said positive reinforcement, persistent battling and ramping up pressure is what pulled them out of the slump.
"Once you keep battling and you see your progression, it makes that climb a little bit easier," he said.
1/10 fired back with a 10-point run putting them back in the game, but still trailing 37-36.
Knight said 1/10 always starts out in a man-to-man, but with FSC having good ball handlers, it made it difficult to execute the game plan.
"That's why we had to play catch up for the whole game," he said.
FSC's Thomas Bowie had a team-high 10 points.
Mills said due to being in the field and not being able to participate in the previous night's two consecutive games, Bowie was able to provide more energy to the team this go around.
The bottom line, Mills said, was it was a good season and the team stuck together the entire time.
Knight said the win feels great and his players were a devoted team.
He said HHB 1/10 FA has now taken two Commander's Cup's in a row - first flag football and now basketball.
FSC 2/69 44, HHB 1/10 FA 45
FSC 2/69 (44)
Bowie (10), Carter (9), Thomas (9), Hanson (7), Merrill (6), Cartmill (3)
HHB 1/10 FA (45)
Wheeless (22), Bell (7), Taylor (3), Alfredson (4), Brown (2), Lamb (2), Carmon (2)
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