MEDIA CONTEST: The party’s over - OSS grounds AMXS to take intramural crown

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  • Sports Entry 9
ACC MEDIA CONTEST --  When the clock struck 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, the 509th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron's Cinderella-run through the intramural basketball playoffs was through. The only problem? The 509th Operations Support Squadron tripped up its dance partner, 51-42, in the championship game to take the intramural title.

"We lost a lot of players throughout the season and didn't expect to make it this far," said AMXS coach Jamaar Shivers, who normally leads the team in scoring, but sacrificed himself in the finale to coach from the sidelines. "I do what I have to do to make the team happy."

AMXS finished the regular season in sixth place, good enough for only a sixth seed in the tournament. The squad upset the third-seeded 509th Communications Squadron, 55-51, to open the tourney and followed with a convincing 57-48 win over the eighth-seeded 509th Civil Engineer Squadron.

But, the team's luck ran out when they ran into the well-oiled machine of OSS.

"We started to gel toward the end of the season and had good chemistry," said coach Myron Deberry. "Everything just came together for us during the tournament."

Balanced scoring was key to the OSS win, with three players in double figures. Ty Anderson and Curtis Williams led the way with 13 points apiece, while Mark Wood netted 10. AMXS' Damon Carter led all scorers with 15, while Dominique Nevers chipped in 10.

Turnovers were key to a slow start for AMXS, as OSS converted on the miscues to take an 11-7 lead after one quarter. The sloppy passing continued well into the second quarter and OSS had AMXS on the ropes at 20-13 with 2:23 remaining in the half.

AMXS used a timeout to settle down and then exploded for a 6-0 run in the last two minutes to trail by only one at the half. A three-pointer by Douglas Doniel sparked the rally and gave AMXS the momentum.

A determined OSS squad turned the tide with a 13-4 run to open the third quarter. Anderson scored six during the spurt, including a defensive rebound turned into a coast-to-coast bucket.

AMXS closed the gap to three at 45-42 on back-to-back three-pointers from Carter. The gap remained the same until the final minute of play. AMXS' longrange attempts to tie the score fell short, while OSS hit six straight free tosses to seal the win.

Other members of the winning squad include: Christopher Alexander, Robin Christie, Aaron Ford, Steven Hawkins, Chris Royal, Jesse Sanchez and Donita Session.

Other members of AMXS include: Brad Boyd, Don Davison, Xavier Durham, Markel Hill, Kallven Morgan, Kevin Washington and Ben Weisensel.