LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Air Combat Command A1 took on the Ryan Center in a game of Over 30 basketball Feb. 17 at the Shellbank Fitness Center, winning 47-46.
Ryan Center Ricky Godette won the tip-off to start an exciting game between two fiercely competitive teams with vastly different strategies.
ACC/A1 took the lead early, sinking four 3-point shots before the Ryan Center managed to get on the board. Ryan Center quickly caught up, thanks to the smooth moves of Point Guard Gregory Smoots. The excitement built as the two teams battled for the lead seemingly one shot answered with another.
As the game entered half-time, Ryan Center closed the gap and took the lead, 26-22.
After the half-time break, once again, it was all about the three-pointers as ACC/A1 Forward Frederick Cooper sank three consecutively to take back the lead, but it was short lived. The game was a back-and-forth battle to the final few seconds of the game when ACC/A1 Guard Demarcus Tate wrapped it up by sinking his free throw.
"The team played great defense," said ACC/A1 Coach Sherley Jones Jr. "We were resilient, played smart and lived by the motto: 'One Team, One Fight.'"
Playing with only 40-percent of the player roster, ACC/A1 proved skill outweighs player strength.
"It was a hard fought game," said Smoots. "It came down to execution and ball control, and the team with the better execution won the game."