512th AW captures third intramural basketball championship

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William Johnson
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The intramural basketball playoffs came to a thrilling conclusion with a showdown between the 512th Airlift Wing and 436th Aerial Port Squadron for the championship March 18, 2015, here.

The 436th APS entered the championship game from the loser's bracket and needed to win two games against the 512th AW in order to be crowned the champs. After being down by nine points in the first half, the 436th APS rallied together and staged an upset to win the first game, 48-43, setting themselves up for one last chance at a championship run.

"We came out a little flat in the first half," said Daniel Lauritzen, 436th APS player-coach. "We picked it up in the second half and played with some heart. We simply outplayed them in the first game."

The 512th did not take the loss lightly and arguments began to break out amongst their team. That is when Blake Hardy, 512th point guard, stepped in and reminded his team how they got to the championship game.

"We have gotten to this point playing as a team, arguing is not going to help us right now," said Hardy to his team. "Let's continue to play together and support each other."

With a clean scoreboard, the 512th AW and 436th APS were set to face-off in one last battle.

The start of the game was a battle of the point guards. Star offensive players Lateef Shinaba, 512th AW, and Kenny Roberts, 436th APS, put up a combined total of 21 points in the first half. However, momentum shifted towards the 436th APS as they implemented a pick-and-roll game between Roberts and Lauritzen that proved rather frustrating for the 512th AW defense.

"We needed to show more on that pick-and-roll and stop Kenny," said Hakim Tutt, 512th player-coach. "We talked about it at halftime and that's what we did in the second half."

The second half was dominated by the 512th and their adjustments on defense to stop the pick-and-roll worked. Roberts, arguably one of the best players in the league, was only able to put up five points in the second half. The 512th AW played aggressive and swarmed the ball at every opportunity. In the end, the 512th AW defeated the 436th APS, 57-45, capturing their third championship title.

"We are more than just teammates, we are like brothers out here," said Shinaba. "We played hard and supported each other all year long. It's a good feeling knowing that we are the champions."

This is the second year in-a-row that the 436th APS has fallen short in the championship game as they were decimated last year by the 436th Medical Group in a mercy rule loss, 54-27. Lauritzen offered his thanks to his team following the tough loss.

"We faced a lot of challenges this year by people coming and going and some late season injuries," said Lauritzen. "We played hard all season and my guys played with a lot of heart and a lot of integrity, I really appreciate that."

It wasn't exactly a smooth road to the championship for the 512th AW either. As Reservists, many of their players are not from the local area and finding the manning to staff the five-person bench proved troublesome all season. The team was forced to forfeit a regular season game because they could not field a team. Tutt said his team made great sacrifices all season long to ensure they had enough bodies to play.

"Through our whole season we persevered," said Tutt. "It holds true to how we complete the mission as Reservists and we stay true to what we need to do. Anytime we need one another, we will be there for each other."