Tinker Hawks repeat as conference champs Published March 20, 2014 By Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The Tinker Hawks closed out their season with a clean sweep at the Central U.S. Military Basketball Conference Championship at Fort Sill in Lawton March 15-16. The tournament had all the elements of being very competitive, as a number of teams finished the regular season strong. On the strength of a 17-7 record, the Hawks entered the tournament as the overall No. 1 seed. Tinker's first opponent was Cannon AFB. A run by the Hawks led to a 35-29 halftime score. Tinker pumped up defense and took control in the second half, leading to a 71-58 victory. The high scorers for the game were Jarail Smith, 27 points, and Earl Moseby with 15. The second game of the day pitted the Hawks against Holloman AFB. The Hawks traveled to Holloman the last weekend of the regular season and an undermanned Hawks team had dropped two games. The Hawks took the tournament floor to set things straight. A balanced attack by both teams led to a halftime score of 27-29, with Holloman leading. The Hawks had the stronger team, but defensive miscues by Tinker kept Holloman in the game. Overcoming the problem, Tinker held on to the lead to win 58-55 to end the day undefeated. Leading scorers were Smith with 20, Moseby, 15, and Corey Clark, 10. The game of the day pitted Tinker and Fort Bliss, the No. 2 seed. A surge by Fort Bliss allowed them to go into halftime with a 29-36 lead. Tinker closed the gap early in the second half and with the Hawks' Brian Johnston, Josh Cradoct and Joshua Richardson controlling the paint, Fort Bliss had to resort to a perimeter game. Tinker matched their efforts and Anthony Smith came in the game to bury big shots, including what turned out to be the game-winning 3-pointer, giving Tinker a hard-fought 64-63 victory. Jarail Smith again led the Hawks with 25 points, with 11 from Anthony Smith. After fighting their way through the losers bracket, Fort Bliss arrived to face Tinker in the championship game. The Hawks plan was to make this a one-game championship. The Hawks were operating on all cylinders with an inside and outside game. The first half ended with Tinker leading 41-37. The second half was more of the same with Tinker maintaining a balance attack. The Hawks' lead stretched to 10 points before Fort Bliss fought hard to close with a final score of 80-74 - a sweet victory for the Hawks. Leading scorers were Jarail Smith, 19, Ryan Florie, 18 and Earl Moseby 15. "Coming off last year's conference championship, the victory put the Hawks in a class by themselves," said Clarence "Griff" Griffin, Hawks head coach. "Tinker teams of the past have always been competitive, but never a champion. This team not only won one championship, but solidified their position as Tinker's best by repeating as conference champs." The win qualified the Hawks for the national tournament April 11-13 at Lackland AFB. The Hawks finished second last year.