2016 base hoops champs: Losers win it all!

Published April 29, 2016
By John Parker
Staff Writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Maybe next year they'll change their name to Bunch of Winners.

The intramural basketball team with the tongue-in-cheek moniker took its No. 4 seeding and a comeback from the losers bracket all the way to the 2016 Tinker Air Force Base intramural basketball championship.

Bunch of Losers prevailed against Showtime 33-30 April 25 at the Gerrity Fitness Center.

The low point total -- the second-lowest of the playoffs -- was due in part to Showtime's no-rush, ball-control offense in the first half. The tactic led to big leads for Showtime, with Bunch of Losers forced to call two timeouts with Showtime leading 7-0 and 14-4, respectively.

Losers player J.V. Gray said both breathers were attempts to the get the defense lined up against Showtime's consistent baskets. "They were slinging the ball and hitting big shots," he said.

Showtime's slow tempo and accuracy earned them a 17-10 lead at the half.

The second half threatened to be a repeat of the first as Showtime led 25-19 with 5:31 minutes left. But at that point Bunch of Losers signed another timeout and brought back a whole different ballgame: a full-court press and double-teaming key players.

"They only had two dribblers on their team, so we had to give 'em pressure every time," player/coach Sam Bryant said.

It would be a few more minutes before the pressure -- and a surge of accurate shooting -- turned around a five-point Losers deficit, 27-22, at 2:20.

After a steal, Losers' Steven Dudley popped a trey from the right wing to whittle the Showtime lead to one. Then an out-of-bounds Showtime pass allowed Cedric Franklin to put the Losers on top for the first time, 28-27, at 42 seconds.

Showtime's most reliable shooter, Jarail Smith, answered back with a 3-pointer to go ahead again 30-28. On the next play, the Losers' Brandon Savage passed to Gray at the top of the arc. Gray's floater trey ripped the game back to the Losers 31-30 at 19 seconds.

After a Showtime turnover, Showtime fouled Cedric Franklin. His back-to-back baskets gave Losers the lead by three. Those were the winning points after Showtime missed a last-second 3-point attempt.

Showtime player/coach Smith credited Bunch of Losers for a good game.

"They played together and we just had some costly turnovers at the end of the stretch," he said. "And we didn't rebound well at the end. That's what lost us the game."

The final was the third duel between Showtime and Bunch of Losers in the tournament that started April 18. Showtime won the first meeting 44-41; Bunch of Losers got revenge with a 45-42 must-win from the losers bracket that set up the tiebreaker championship game.

Showtime, 9-2 in the regular season, upset the undefeated No. 1 seed Flight Controllers in the first round. Bunch of Losers was 7-3 in the regular season.
Bunch of Losers' Bryant smiled when he said the team's name was chosen because teammates "thought it would be funny because last year we didn't lose many games."