Shox 49, Air Force 1 59

No Paul Rivera, no Justin Leonard, no problem. In the marquee game of the night, you could tell that both teams came out amped, as the score was 5-5 after the first five minutes. The next play down, Patrick Cassidy took it to the basket for the first time in this decade, and Jason Burke made him think twice.

This game was all heart. On one play, Josh Gotthelf had a block, a steal and a three to give Shox an 8-5 lead. A few plays later, Bobbito Garcia came down and knocked in a triple of his own. The next time down, Cassidy connected. It’d go on like this for the next few minutes.

With seven minutes left in the half, Air Force 1 was making moves. With Burke attacking Christian Grant-Fields on the block, they were able to cut the lead to 19-18. Add in a Brandon Smith layup, and Air Force 1 was able to take the lead. Even without Rivera, one thing that Air Force 1 had this week was numbers – something that allowed their guys a chance to get a rest on the bench.

And while the big guys rested, Shox’s soldiers did work. Rather than pulling up from beyond the arc – a shot that will always be there – Grant-Fields took it strong to the hole and finished. #nopause But still, before halftime, it was Air Force 1 making the noise. Going into the break, they led 30-26.

In the second half, Air Force 1 continued their ways. With a deep rotation and Burke penetrating at will, there was nothing they could do. After seven minutes, the score was 39-30 in their favor. But Shox didn’t gave up. And when you have Cassidy dropping bomb after bomb, why should they. At the 10-minute mark, they had cut the lead to 41-37.

Then it happened. After throwing the ball against the wall after a play (and getting T’ed), Chris Dowling went up to the red and argued the call. Not a good move. He got thrown out the game. So with two minutes left, it was Shox’s game to win. Down 54-47 though, Burke came down and iced it on a turnaround jumper, 56-47, with a little over a minute to play.

Final score: Air Force 1 wins, 59-49.

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