15th AMU dismantles AFSOC/AFSOF, 73 – 57

  • Published
  • By Dylan Laurie
  • 1st SOW Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  The 15th Aircraft Maintenance Unit intramural basketball team had all the right tools to disassemble the game plan of the Air Force Special Operations Command/Air Force Special Operations Forces team Monday night at the Aderholt Fitness Center.

Robert Wadley, 15th AMU, was the first on the board with a jumper in the paint.

The AFSOC/AFSOF team immediately answered back and sparked the beginning of what would become a see-sawing fight for the lead with both teams unwilling to yield during most of the first half.

However, at 27 - 23, and with just under five minutes left, AMU's Warnia Daigle and Wadley scored six unanswered points and began to pull away from AFSOC/AFSOF, eating up the clock until the three-minute mark when Jason Gibson hit a 3-pointer to end AMU's shooting spree, 33 - 26.

As the clock ticked down, both teams continued to put points on the board, until, with 10 seconds, Wadley lay-up gave AMU a 13-point lead going into halftime.
The second half was highlighted by constant fouls as AMU expanded its lead. With 8:30 left in the game, Wayne Smith zipped the ball to Joseph McCullough who put it up to Wadley for the slam, making it 62 - 39, the biggest spread of the game.

This fired AFSOC/AFSOF up, leading to 12 consecutive points over the next six minutes.

Players on both sides sustained scoring up until the end when a double technical foul call saw the ejection of AFSOC/AFSOF's Christopher Riggen for throwing the ball at Daigle. Jason Strickland sunk two from the free throw line as a result of the infraction, finalizing the score, 73 - 57.

Wadley contributed team play and intelligent basketball to AMU's victory over AFSOC/AFSOF.

"Even though a few players are new to the team this year, they know the game," Wadley said. "If you can play smartly, it can appear that you have played together for years."

According to Wadley, Riggen getting ejected from the game was a mental mistake.

"It was a competitive game, they were down and frustration got the best of him," Wadley said. "No matter what the situation, you have to keep your head."

Riggin believes the AFSOC/AFSOF team needs to work on team defense the most.

"Each of us has to learn to trust each other enough to go for a steal or deflection with the confidence of knowing that one of our team mates is there to back us up," he said.

AMU's standings have improved to 5 - 0, while AFSOC/AFSOF have fallen to 3 - 2.