CS basketball team eliminates Army in close match

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Devante Williams
  • 56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  The 56th Communications Squadron battled the Army team during an elimination intramural basketball playoff game Sept. 11 at the Luke Air Force Base Bryant Fitness Center gym. CS won the game 44-42, moving the team to the next round.

CS finished the regular season with a record of 3-8 and Army with a record of 1-10.

The game began quickly for the CS, which began the game with a 4-0 run. But that did not stop Army from giving it all they had. Each team pushed the ball up the court, but both teams struggled making open shots, which resulted in an 18-18 tie at the end of the first half.

The CS team made strategic changes during halftime.

"Our overall focus was on defense," said Staff Sgt. Coleman Shackelford III, 56th CS knowledge operations manager. "Getting steals and working on our man-to-man defense was the key to winning this game."

As the second half began, CS worked on their defense and was able to take the lead, bringing the score to 27-23 with 13 minutes to go. Army was able to narrow the deficit, but their lack of defense kept them from taking the lead. With two minutes to go, CS was up by five points, but Army was not going down without a fight. They fought with everything they had to tie up the score 42-42 with 0.7 seconds left.

With the help of Airman 1st Class Dontae Smith, 56th CS network operations technician, who scored 10 points, CS was able to make the buzzer beater and win the game 44-42.
"We came together as a team," Smith said. "If we continue work as a team, we will be victorious."