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Men’s Varsity end season with heart

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- The men’s varsity basketball team brought home fourth place from the Southeastern Men’s Athletic Conference double elimination tournament Saturday and Sunday at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

There were eight teams total in the conference. Tyndall defeated Hurlburt 74-61 in the semi finals.

Hurlburt’s first game was against local rivals, Eglin. Hurlburt asserted a
10-point lead early in the first half. Eglin went on a three-point shooting spree, Hurlburt’s defense held for the victory. The final score was 78-70.

In their second game Saturday, the Commandos faced off against the team from Moody Air Force Base, Ga. Hurlburt jumped to an early lead.

In a dramatic turn of events three minutes into the game Jermaine Rollins, 823rd RED HORSE Squadron, took a nasty fall after dunking over three Moody defenders. His arm was broken in two places.

“When he went down I was so excited about the play I didn’t realize he was hurt,” said Mario Webb, 23rd Special Tactics Squadron.

Despite the loss of their teammate, Hurlburt struggled to keep the lead. It was a virtual tug-of-war on the court until midway through the second half when Moody pulled away. The loss put Hurlburt in the loser’s bracket.

The Commandos sank Mayport Naval Station, Fla., Sunday, 87-68.

One hour later, Hurlburt battled Tyndall Air Force Base neck-and-neck on the hardwood.

Unexpectedly, Hurlburt’s power forward Alonzo Porter injured his back in the second quarter and was unable to play the rest of the game. The Commando’s were down to six players.

“I just remember being very tired and looking at our bench and there was no one there,” Webb said.

The game was tied at halftime. In the second half there were several lead changes before Tyndall edged out a late lead.

“I feel we played really good. Even though we only had eight players, we intimidated the other teams with our performance,” said Davon Martin, Air Force Special Operations Command Regional Supply Squadron. “We came down with eight players and left with six. We played with a lot of heart.”

Rollins and Martin were selected for the all SEMAC team. This is Martin’s second year on the all SEMAC team.

“I feel really honored; I just try to be consistent”, Martin said.

Robins AFB placed first in the tournament, Tyndall AFB second, Moody AFB third, Keesler Air Force Base fifth, Mayport N.S. sixth, Eglin AFB seventh and MacDill Air Force Base place eighth.