MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Wolverines squeaked by the Soldiers 23-21 in a 13- to 15-year-old youth basketball match at the IronWorks Gym sports Courts here Feb. 5.
Both teams showed great teamwork by passing and allowing all the players who were open to put up a shot.
The Soldiers pulled ahead in the beginning, but in the second quarter the Wolverines utilized the long ball making the score 8-6.
The Soldiers wouldn’t go down without a fight. In the third quarter, the Soldiers fought back to regain the lead with a series of layups putting them 15-10 with 3:30 left in the quarter.
The Soldiers continued their dominance into the fourth quarter keeping a fivepoint lead until Malik Hale, Wolverines forward, was fouled. Hale was unable to make the free throws but rebounded and made a bucket, rebooting the Wolverines comeback.
“The teams did a great job tonight,” said Hale. “I missed a lot of free throws but in the end we came through.”
With help from his teammates, Makkai Leggete, Wolverines power forward, layed up the ball into the bucket, closing the gap to the Soldiers.
“The game was very competitive,” said Jimmie King, Soldiers head coach. “My team gave it their all and that’s all I can ask for.”
The Soldiers made an all out assault from one end of the court to the other, but the shot was blocked and rebounded by Hale, who led the charge behind enemy lines to get the layup, pulling the Wolverines ahead 20-19 with 1:10 left in the game.
Zachary Taylor, Soldiers point guard, was able to make the shot, bringing the Soldiers back for what seemed like the win.
Hale, with help from his team, scored again making this an all-out war until the bitter end.
With only 3.2 seconds left, Hale was fouled again. This time he proved his free-throw prowess, sinking a bucket and winning the game for the Wolverines 23- 21.
“This week we did a lot more offensive drills in practice, but we’re always focusing on defense,” William Gordon, Wolverines assistant coach, said. “The Wolverines players have been working really hard and were just the better team out there today.”
The Wolverines won’t be the only team to practice offensive drills for their games, King said. “We missed some key layups,” said King. “We’ll be working on layup drills at the next practice.”