FORT EUSTIS, Va. (April 16, 2009) -- The 510th Human Resources Company, 7th Special Troops Battalion, 7th Sustainment Brigade team rallied to beat the 611th Transportation Company, 6th Trans. Bn., 7th Sust. Bde. team 44-41 in the second of two games to win the Fort Eustis intramural basketball tournament at McClellan Fitness Center April 8.
The 510th squad came into the tournament final needing to win just once, while 611th, the winner of the loser's bracket, had to win twice. The 611th edged the 510th 34-32 to force a second game, which it seemingly had in control with a 33-22 lead late in the third quarter.
Unfortunately for 611th, the wheels came off as 510th went of a back-breaking 15-2 run spanning the third and fourth quarters to take a 37-35 lead with five minutes left in the second and deciding game.
611th kept it close until the end and had a chance to tie, but a potential-tying 3-point attempt from Austin Johnson fell short, giving 510th the 44-41 duke. Despite a narrow defeat in the first game and a 25-16 defecit in the second game, one 510th fan had faith that a comeback was both possible and imminent.
"They just need to stay on their man and focus, and I believe they'll come back," said Tina Hunter, a specialist with the 510th, at half time of the second game.
Perhaps a lapse in concentration put 510th in a bind during stretches of the first game and a half.
"We kind of underestimated them a little bit in the first game," said Wesley Hall of 510th. "Number 22 (Johnson Webb) on the other team was strong inside and we failed to get some rebounds. We didn't have good ball movement. They pretty much beat us up inside."
Hall said it was all based on how his team played. "We gave up toward the end," Hall said of the end of the first game. "The second game, in the second half, it was all or nothing, we were down 11 points and had to dig down. My legs personally were spent." Teammate Mickey Pearson said he thought the team as a whole was a little tired in the second game.
"You've got to give them credit because they were doing things to confuse us," Pearson said. "Their big guy (Webb) was awesome."
However, 510th was able to regain its composure in time to cap a furious rally and win the championship, which was barely within grasp.
"The team as a whole refused to lose," Hall said. "We couldn't take another butt-whooping. We picked it up and played our game instead of playing their game."
Hall said good ball movement was one of the keys to the comeback, despite missing a few of its 3-point shooters. Pearson added that the team just started making shots in the last four minutes of the game.
"It's been our consistency and our heart - how much we wanted to win," Hall said. "That's been our biggest strong point." The effort paid off for the champs.
"It feels wonderful," Hall said of becoming a champion on his birthday. "We decided we weren't leaving without it. Our team had (players) coming back from deployment. It was a team effort. We dug down as a team. It feels good." Pearson said the team's performance speaks to its character. "This team refuses to lose," he said. "It's a testament to the young men on our team. There are no individual stars. It's the epitome of a team."
510th came in third place in a preseason tournament so becoming champions didn't feel like a stretch. "We kind of knew we had a special team," Pearson said.
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