Garbage trashes Tropic Thunder

Published Dec. 11, 2015
By John Parker
Staff writer

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Intramural team Garbage stole Tropic Thunder's thunder Dec. 3 with a heavy rain of early treys and a steady stream of baskets for a 48-24 win.

Garbage's Renalda Hopkins Jr. set the pace right from the tipoff with back-to-back 3s and a basket for the team's first three scores. He dropped a total of 16 points as the game's high scorer.

Garbage's 3-point barrage only strengthened from there as captain Sean Clark sank four consecutive 3-pointers. That took the team's lead to 20-11 at 10 minutes into the 16-minute first half.

Hopkins and Clark combined for a total of six 3-pointers in the first half and those remained Garbage's only trips for the rest of the game. The sharpshooting duo generated 30 of the team's 48 points (Clark with 14).

Garbage's players come mostly from the 564th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron. Asked before tipoff why the team chose their name, Clark joked, "You're gonna see."

Although the "garbage" never materialized, they were taking on a Tropic Thunder team that was hoping to play in an over-35 league that didn't have enough teams to form this fall. The players hail from Bldg. 3001 organizations and have been together about six months. Earlier this year they fielded intramural softball and flag football teams.

"We're the pops of the intramural league, but we're going to bring it," Kelvin "Coach K" Ervin said. "We bring a little character to the league. We'll improve and start winning -- and smiling."