F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. -- Two undefeated intramural teams took to the Freedom Hall Fitness Center basketball court Jan. 26 but of course, only one remained undefeated at the end of the night.
The 90th Force Support Squadron faced off against the 90th Maintenance Group and the 90th FSS was able to hold onto their undefeated streak with a win of 62-54.
"It's always a good match-up between these two units," said Oranzie Simmons, the FSS center. "Both teams played aggressively and gave it their all."
FSS wasted no time, gaining a 10-point lead within the first couple of minutes of the game, and they fought to hold onto it throughout the game.
MXG gave FSS a run for their money, and were able to close the gap but fell short over and over, never quite able to even the score. They ended the first half trailing 29-24.
"[MXG has] a lot of three-point shooters, so they can throw points onto the board really fast," Simmons said.
Even though the MXG team kept catching up, Simmons said he and his teammates were not worried because they knew they would keep driving up the score.
He said the reason the FSS team stays on the leaderboard is because they practice hard and learn from every game they play.
"It always feels great to be in the 'win column' with no losses," he said. "That's why we work so hard."
Derrick Williams, FSS coach, could be heard yelling to the team throughout the game.
Winning took a lot of running up and down the courts and putting in the time to get better, Williams said.
Williams said the FSS team’s winning strategy is to focus on defense and keeping up a high playing tempo.
"As long as we push the tempo, they're going to have to keep up with us," he said. "If they don't, then we win."
MXG's Everette Gaines said his team will take this loss as a learning experience and get better from it.
"It was a much-anticipated game, and unfortunately, we didn't get the win," he said. "We look forward to seeing these guys again in the championships and many times in the playoffs."
The league is in the middle of its regular season, with plenty of time for teams to change positions in the standings by the beginning of the playoffs Feb. 8. Only time will tell if FSS will continue their dominance on the court.