Varsity basketball tips off at JB MDL

Published Nov. 30, 2010
By Airman 1st Class Bryan Swink
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs

JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- The Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Men's Varsity Basketball team opened up the 2010-2011 season hosting Fort Meade Saturday at the McGuire Fitness Center.

The JB MDL team started off a bit out of sync to open the game, but quickly found their rhythm and took a 9-6 lead with just over five minutes played in the first half. They pulled further away when guard Jamel Hunt hit a three-point shot to help his team go up 12-6.

That lead would be the largest of the game for the joint base team as Fort Meade starting drawing fouls. JB MDL caused four fouls within a 20-second period to give Fort Meade an edge and free shots at the foul line. They quickly gained ground and took the lead after two successful fast-break opportunities.

Fort Meade guard Danny Baker hit a three-point basket to jump to a 22-16 lead and they never looked back. They dominated JB MDL on the offensive boards, which created many second chance opportunities.

By halftime, JB MDL trailed 27-34. They were within easy striking distance of regaining the lead but it would not be easy.

Fort Meade started the second half right where they left off. They pushed the ball down court with intensity, hustled to find lose rebounds and moved the ball around to the open player with ease. The JB MDL team looked to be getting frustrated as the score inched further and further out of their grasp. They turned the ball over and made careless penalties to give Fort Meade easy opportunities to stretch their lead.

Midway through the second half, Fort Meade had increased their lead to 19 points with another three-point basket by Baker.

JB MDL forward Julius Philpot answered with two back-to-back three-pointers to cut the lead to 13, but that would be as close as they got throughout the rest of the game.

At one point, the joint base team did score a single basket from the field in five minutes of play. Their only points came off free throw attempts when fouled. Fort Meade played solid defense and controlled the clock until the end of the game.

Fort Meade won the game by a score of 75-55 and gave JB MDL their first loss of the season. The joint base team will travel to Quantico for their next game Dec. 11 and then their back at home for a 1 p.m. tipoff against Walter Reed Dec. 12.