Holloman takes Hawks to brink

TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Although Holloman AFB brought only seven players for a basketball tournament here last weekend, they made Tinker earn both of the Hawks's victories. Holloman pushed Tinker to the limit, and one of their players was so aggressive that he fouled out of both games against the Hawks.

Playing with an abbreviated roster Saturday less than an hour after a previous game, the Holloman men's varsity team kept pace with the Tinker Hawks for three-quarters of the 40-minute game until they began to fade from fatigue.

Holloman led for a brief time late in the first half; trailed by 7 at halftime, 41-34; and narrowed the gap to a single point 2:45 into the second half. However, Holloman began to fall behind late in the game when one of their principal defenders was benched by fouls. The Hawks capitalized, quickly pulled ahead and won, 88-74.

Jarail Smith accounted for almost half of Tinker's production: 43 points, his highest output during the five years he has worn a Hawks uniform. He tossed in eight treys, nine layups and field goals plus one free throw, and also grabbed five rebounds.

Brian Johnston contributed 17 points and 11 rebounds; Ryan Florie, 9 points, three boards and a steal; Corey Clark, 8 points and a rebound; Earl Moseby, 7 points, three rebounds and a theft; Joshua Richardson, 2 points and nine rebounds; Hakeem Carr, 2 points and two rebounds; Jumar "Mook" Reynolds, two rebounds; and Kelton Eddins, one rebound.

Cue Hall led Holloman, with 26 points; Carl Steed, 13; Unrea Brown, 11; Manny Castro, 10; Ralph Steele, 7; Julian Calip, 5; and Dallas Custard, who fouled out with 6:27 remaining in the game, 2. Holloman's head coach, Christopher Downing, said his full roster numbers 15 but several of his players were on holiday leave.

Referees Ron Tyler and Thomas Cheek whistled Tinker for 16 fouls, and Holloman for 15 infractions, during the Jan. 4 contest in the Gerrity Fitness and Sports Center.

In the rematch Sunday, Holloman fell behind in the first half and trailed by as many as 22 points eight and a half minutes into the second half. Halfway into the second period, though, Holloman rallied and came within 4 with less than a minute and a half remaining in the duel.

However, Holloman, in desperation, began to foul and the Hawks held on, largely on the strength of free throws sunk by Corey Clark in the final seconds of the contest. Tinker prevailed again, 85-77.

Clark finished with 19 points, two thefts and one rebound. Jarail Smith tallied 20 points, five rebounds and a steal. Brian Johnston had 18 points and 13 boards. Joshua Richardson got 12 points, four rebounds and a steal. Earl Moseby logged 8 points, seven rebounds and two thefts; Ryan Florie, 8 points, two rebounds and a steal; and Jumar "Mook" Reynolds, one rebound.

Ralph Steele was Holloman's workhorse, pouring in 32 points. Cue Hall and Carl Steed got 15 points each; Dallas Custard scored 10 points before he fouled out with just 1:14 left on the clock; Manny Castro, 3; and Unrea Brown, 2.
Holloman vs Offutt

Holloman AFB was 4-0 in the Central U.S. Military Basketball Conference before the double round-robin tournament at Tinker last weekend. Now they're 4-4.

Besides losing both games against the Tinker Hawks, Holloman was beaten twice by Team Offutt, too.

Holloman led Offutt by 8 late in the game on Saturday, but Offutt surged to tie the game with less than 2 minutes left on the clock, pulled ahead with just a minute to go, and won by three, 77-74. In the Sunday rematch, Offutt won by eleven, 78-67, after Holloman's Cue Hall and Carl Steed fouled out and Dallas Custard was whistled for four infractions.