Engineers beat out maintenance in championship

  • Published
  • By John Pennell
  • JBER Public Affairs
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  Engineer Airmen from the 773rd Civil Engineer Squadron forged an early lead, and then held on to outlast the 3rd Maintenance Squadron, 66-59, in the championship game of JBER-Elmendorf's intramural basketball championship Monday night at the Fitness center.

Corey Ballew controlled the opening tipoff for CES, and the team quickly built a 7-point
lead at 10-3 before the maintainers caught their breath and started their first run to get back in the game.

Hampton Miller's 3-pointer tied the game at 10 with 14:27 left in the half and the teams began exchanging baskets, with neither able to build a sizeable lead.

CES went into halftime with a five-point edge at 30-25, but MXS stormed back with Miller connecting for eight points in rapid fashion to take the lead at 33-30. Once again the teams began a process of pushing ahead, then falling back, with CES earning their points in the paint and MXS hitting jump shots from outside.

CES's Brian Hughes driving basket with 5:06 to play turned into a 3-point play when he hit an accompanying free throw to push his team ahead, 56-51. Darren Nichols responded with a basket for MXS, but Hughes came right back with a 3-point shot from outside the arc to expand the CES lead to 59-53.

Nichols rallied his team again, hitting a basket and a 3-point shot to pull MXS within 2 points with 1:29 to play, but the maintainers would get no closer.

Arnold Cochran's dunk with 45 seconds to play expanded the CES edge to 63-59 and when Miller and Nichols both were hit with technical fouls and ejected from the game with 6.3 seconds to play, Hughes hit on three of four free throws to give CES the final 66-59 win and the championship.

Hughes' 22-point effort for CES led all scorers. Cochran, with 14, Ballew with 10 and Tyler Ford with 10 all also cracked double-figures for CES.

Miller's 20 points led MXS scoring, with Nichols contributing 13 points - all in the second half.