FORT RUCKER, Ala. -- D Company, 1st Battalion, 145th Aviation Regiment's basketball team displayed masterful shooting and rebounding skills in an explosive first half, leading to a 67-48 win over War Eagles March 10.
The domination on the boards began early despite the fact D Co. missed few shots. What shots they missed were often cleaned up and turned into second-chance points.
The victors outscored the Eagles 16-1 over the final 8 minutes, 52 seconds to seize a 20-4 lead after one quarter. Chris Murry pumped in nine of the points to lead the D Co.'s charge over their opponent, who represented 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group/1-58th Airfield Operations Battalion.
In the second quarter, the D Co. squad displayed another essential element to good play. Driving the lane and picking up fouls, the victors nailed all 10 free throws they attempted, expanding their lead to 36-13 at halftime.
"We put in our speed first. We came out with motivation," said Jared Williams of D Co.'s good start. "We wanted to press."
Deaushay Watts, Eagles head coach, attributed the slow start to playing games on back-to-back nights.
"We didn't play like ourselves. We stumbled out of the gates. We weren't the same active team on the boards," he said.
Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter, making the score 49-26 heading into the fourth quarter.
The D Co. team kept the lead at 23 until the 5:11 mark, when the Eagles erupted with a 12-4 spurt. Michael Weber fueled the run with 8 points.
The rally was too short and too late, though, and the D Co. squad improved to 3-1 on the season.
"We put together a good game. We're normally an inspiration-driven team. We were driven by pride in our unit," said D Co. head coach Lemija Allen.
Murry led D Co.'s scoring with 17 points. Williams added 14, while Michael Barker chipped in 11.
Weber led the Eagles with 17 points. James Hughett added 8 in the loss.
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