Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010

Bulldogs capture second straight title

After losing in the winners bracket semifinals to the Road Dawgs in the Postseason Commander’s Cup Basketball Championship, the Bulldogs battled through the losers bracket to win two straight games and claim the top position over the Road Dawgs March 4 at the Smith Fitness Center.

It’s the second consecutive year the Bulldogs of MEDDAC have claimed the postseason title.

In the first game, the Bulldogs took a 15-8 lead midway through the first half and led 22-19 at the end of the half.

The Bulldogs outscored the Road Dawgs 40-23 in the first 11 minutes of the second half and cruised to a 44-32 win in the first game of the double-elimination tournament. Because the Bulldogs came from the losers bracket, they needed to win one more game to win the championship.

In the final championship game, the Bulldogs jumped out to a 20-14 half-time lead.

Trailing the majority of the second half, the Road Dawgs came back in the final minute to lead 35-34. The lead was short-lived as Johnathan McKinney scored a basket to put the Bulldogs back on top. With two successful free throws from Raymond Wilhelm in the final second, the Bulldogs clinched a 38-35 victory and bragging rights as the best post intramural basketball team.

“We took care of business in the first game, but we let them hang around too close in the second game,” said Bulldogs coach James Johnson. “In the second half of the second game, we cut down the turnovers. They got some good shots, but we were able to pull out the win.”

Prior to playing in the championship, the Bulldogs played in the losers bracket semifinals against the Orangemen of 2nd Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment.

Through all three games, Bulldogs team captain Christopher Thomas said the team kept up the intensity.

“We knew we had a hard fight to win three games in a row against two great teams,” he said.

“The last game was rough because we were tired, but we made it through.”

During the regular season, 2/29 beat MEDDAC. The Road Dawgs beat MEDDAC in the winners bracket, so it felt good to win against those teams, Thomas said.

Scoring: Game one: Bulldogs: McKinney (14), Thomas (12), Hale (4), Lewis (4), Wilhelm (4), Sparks (3), Stevenson (3). Road Dawgs: McDonald (15), Gomm (5), Pittman (5), Brown (3), Harris (2), Jones (2). Game two: Bulldogs: Thomas (10), Hale (8), Wilhelm (8), McKinney (6), Sparks (4), Stevenson (2). Road Dawgs: Brown (9), Gomm (7), Jones (6), McDonald(6), Pittman (5), Harris (2).