News

436th APS defeats 436th MXS 49-34

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Zachary Cacicia
  • 436th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. --  The 436th Aerial Port Squadron moved one step closer to a championship run with their 49-34 victory against the 436th Maintenance Squadron in intramural basketball Feb. 27, 2014, at the fitness center here.

The 436th APS struggled on defense and trailed by three points at halftime. In the second half, the 436th APS defense came to life, holding the 436th MXS to only ten points.

Lucas Evans, 436th APS guard said switching to a box-and-one defense in the second half made the big difference. Evans scored a game-high 13 points for the 436th APS.

"The first half was kind of rough; we could've gotten a few more rebounds," said Evans. "We were down, but we were able to pick it up defensively. We switched to a box-and-one defense during the second half, cutting off their number one player. So I think that's what made the difference in us being able to come back and win."

The man-to-man defense being played by the 436th APS was being poorly executed during the first half and Rico Jones, 436th MXS guard, took advantage of it by putting up six points and dishing out 10 assists.

Thomas Hill, 436th APS head coach, made an adjustment at halftime to cover Jones more aggressively with a box-and-one style defense, which proved to be effective by holding Jones to only one bucket during the second half.

"We were able to put a man on their guard to minimize the damage he was doing to our team," said Hill. "But overall it was a good hard fought game by both teams."

Raul Rodriguez, 436th MXS player-coach, said his team's lack of depth attributed to the loss and said his team was gassed going into the second half.

"They really picked up their defense and played more aggressive," said Rodriguez. "We tried to match it, but we just didn't have it today."

Hill said he was pleased with the way his team played and the way they fought back in the second half.

"We played good team ball," said Hill. "If we work on boxing-out and getting rebounds, we will be a contender for the championship."