Bulldogs take out Warhawks during quarterfinals

By Nathan Pfau, Army Flier Staff WriterMarch 15, 2012

Bulldogs take out Warhawks during quarterfinals
Titus Sanders, of the Warhawks, goes in for a shot in an attempt to tie the game as Brandon Martin, of the Bulldogs, tries to block his shot during the Fort Rucker intramural basketball loser's bracket quarterfinal game at the Fort Rucker Fitness Fac... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT RUCKER, Ala. (Mar. 15, 2012) -- The Bulldogs took on the 164th Theater Airfield Operations Group Warhawks during the Fort Rucker Intramural Post Championship loser's bracket quarterfinals with the Bulldogs coming out on top 56-54 Mar. 12.

The Bulldogs, consisting of military police and firefighters, started the game off right scoring a three-pointer within the first few minutes of the game. They were able to maintain a strong lead of over 10 points throughout most of the first half.

"We had to get inside the painted areas down low so that we could work outside and shoot the open shots," said Charles Brown, player for the Bulldogs. "The main set was getting [the ball] to the hole."

The Bulldogs strong defense over the Warhawks helped them keep their opponent from scoring early on in the game, which helped them pull out ahead.

"We wanted to come out and play with intensity so that we could keep them running," said Brandon Smith, player for the Bulldogs.

The first half finished with the Bulldogs leading the Warhawks 33-21. As the second half got under way, the Warhawks started to close the gap between them and the Bulldogs, coming within six points of them.

They were unable to hold onto that momentum; however, as the Bulldogs commanded another 10-point-plus lead.

As the final minutes of the game wound down, the Warhawks started to play more aggressively and again closed the gap between the teams with the Warhawks barely trailing 54-52 with only 30 seconds left.

With only seconds left in the game, the Warhawks started to play a bit too aggressively, which led to fouls on their part giving the Bulldogs a chance to pull ahead with free-throw shots.

"Can we make those free throws?" was what was going through the minds of Lakitha Lumpkin, coach for the Bulldogs, and Henry Lockett, Bulldog's assistant coach. "The free throws were the main thing [at the end.] We just needed to make one of the free throws," said Lockett.

The Bulldogs sank one of the free throws and beat the Warhawks, ending the game 56-54.

"Everybody put forth a good effort on our team," said Lumpkin, adding that there was no isolated individual that contributed more than another to the Bulldogs win over the Warhawks.

"The Bulldogs consist of military police and firefighters, so we're just building team spirit and camaraderie between the two departments," she said.

The 2012 Intramural Post Championship tournament started off with 10 teams March 5, and ends tonight with the championship game played at 6:30 p.m. at the Fort Rucker Fitness Facility.