U.S. MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Guard Alex Orozco sank a tie-breaking free throw after being fouled to help the U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Pacific “Unknowns” to a 46-45 win, sinking Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light-37 in an intramural basketball game held at the Semper Fit Center here, July 17.
Both teams fought tooth and nail the entire first half. They were relentless and refused to slow down.
Down by two points with an 11-13 score and showing 4:10 left in the first half, Unknown’s coach and forward, Ethan Hoaldridge, called for a quick time out to give his team a motivating pep talk in hopes of turning the scores.
Nevertheless, HSL-37 point guard and top scorer for his team Christopher Johnson answered back with matching points, ending the first half with HSL-37 on top 19-17.
“Our inside game was strong, so we tried to utilize that as often as possible,” said Johnson.
Coming into the second half, Unknowns center Ryan D. Ashley broke down HSL-37’s defenses, putting tremendous pressure on their hopes to win and scoring the most points for his team,.
“We were dragging in the first half and we needed to be more aggressive if we wanted to win,” said Ashley.
Despite the hard charging efforts of the Unknowns, Johnson was still bound and determined to bring the Unknowns down, mirroring any points they brought to the board. Brian Washington also scored some critical shots during the second half.
Feeling the heat toward the end of the game, both teams raced against the clock in a display of aggressive talent, trying to overthrow one another, but neither team could pull their score away until the final shots.
With 17 seconds remaining, the score was tied 45-45. In an attempt to make the game winning shot, Orozco charged the lane where he missed the shot and was fouled.
With cool and calm nerves, Orozco stepped to the free throw line and sank one of two free throw attempts, boosting the Unknowns to a 46-45 lead, with six seconds left.
In a last effort to win the game, HSL-37 rushed down court to try and regain the lead, and missed their final shot. The clock expired with the Unknowns on top, 46-45.
After the game, a surprised Hoaldridge said, “I knew we were going to win, but I didn’t know the score would be that close.”
The next intramural basketball game for the Unknowns is scheduled for July 19 at 1900 at the Semper Fit Center here.