Edwards triumphs over back-to-back foes

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class William O'Brien
  • 95th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  The Rosburg Fitness Center hosted Pacific West Military Athletic Conference basketball for the West Division Nov. 14 and 15.

Teams made up of men and women teams from Edwards, Travis and Los Angeles Air Force Bases as well as 29 Palms Marine Air Ground Combat Center, Calif., face off once each month, hosted by one of the teams at their base.

"We are part of the Pacific West Military Basketball League," said Christopher Stokes, Edwards coach. "We play one weekend a month. Each base team will host a weekend. Every team will play three games on each weekend."

This weekend's schedule pitted Edwards against LA and Travis in consecutive games, a tall task for a team with an eight-man roster.

"It took team work, we had to reach down inside, use all our heart and most importantly remember everything we've learned in practice," said Sedric Whitaker, Edwards power foward. "Practice paid off for us today."

Edwards took an early eight point lead, which they were able to maintain for the first ten minutes of the game. But, a scoring streak by LA pulled the game to within 2 with seven minutes left in the half. A strong finish put Edwards ahead by 22 heading into halftime.

To start the second half, LA scored five unanswered points. Behind the team's high 3-point shooting percentage, Edwards was able to rebound from their early difficulties and dominate the rest of the half. With three minutes left Edwards found themselves ahead by 30 points and another game right around the corner.

Without enough players coming off the bench to replace all their starters, a majority of the players who would be called upon to lead the team to victory in the next game had to play the entire game. With many of their starters still in, Edwards was able to improve on its lead, winning the game 99-73.

"It took heart and the will to win," said Sidney Melvin, Edwards shooting guard. "No excuses, just because it's two games in a row. We love basketball that's why we play."

In their second game, Edwards and Travis stayed even throughout the first 10 minutes of the first half, with no team leading by more than six at any given time, until a scoring streak by Edwards put them ahead by 12 with only two minutes left in the half. Travis was able to chip into the lead, taking only an seven point deficit into halftime, down 41-48.

Building on what they started at the end of the half, Travis came out fast in the second half, drawing the game to within two points. Once again, Edwards was able to pull ahead and take a comfortable lead. With three minutes left and the game seemingly in the bag, an unfortunate turn of events struck Edwards and allowed Travis an opportunity for seven points.

Four technical fouls were assessed to Edwards, allowing for Travis to not only shot four free throws, but also to retain possession following the shots.

"We played hard," said Whitaker. "We persevered through the controversy at the end and played the best so far this season tonight."

Travis was only able to make two of the four free throws and get a layup on the subsequent possession. However, four points in a six-point game with three minutes left opened a once closed window and gave Travis a chance to take the game from Edwards. With about a minute left Travis began to foul Edwards, in an effort to stop the clock. Fouling also created the possibility that if Edwards players were unable to make their free throws it would allow for Travis to get back into the game. However, clutch shooting from Edwards allowed them to maintain the lead and pull off a 105-102 victory.

"They were good games. Nice to get to see where we're at, said Melvin. "We've played both teams before good to see we could beat them."

Pleased with his team's performance, Melvin said when they play this well there's no limit to how well his team can play.

"We got the potential to be as good as we want to be," he said. "As good as our focus is, that's how far we can go."

Each team will play 12 games total. The top three teams from each Division will compete in an end-of-season League Championship tournament at Camp Pendleton March 5 through 7. The first and second place teams from that tournament will travel to San Antonio, Texas to compete in the National Military Athletic Association's Men's Basketball National Championship tournament. The top two teams from the Southwest Military Athletic Conference, Washington Area Military Athletic Conference and Southeast Military Athletic Conference will play in that tournament also.

Whitaker added that, though the leagues competition is tough, he believes his team has the talent to go all the way in this league as well as the National Military Athletic Association's Men's Basketball National Championship.
 
"We're definitely going to win the championship," Whitaker said. "We're going to finish first, win this league's championship and then we're going to go to San Antonio and win that championship too. This team's going to go all the way."

The next games for the Edwards Basketball Team are Jan. 16 and 17, when they travel to Travis.

Other men's scores were:

Travis vs. 29 Palms: 80-69

LA vs. 29 Palms: 73-51

LA vs. Travis: 70-57

Edwards vs. 29 Palms: 91-78