Eagles fly past Falcons 86-74 in WAMAC basketball

The Fort Belvoir Eagles took an 86-74 win over the Joint Base Andrews Falcons Sunday at Graves Fitness Center.

The week-10 Washington Area Military Athletics Conference match-up showcased two offensive squads with the speed, agility and raw talent to keep the scoreboard active throughout the afternoon. When it came to defensive prowess, the Eagles and the Falcons both came to the court to apply inexhaustible full-steam pressure from the opening horn.

The Falcons began the first-half action firing from three-point range as their first attempt to drive inside was met by an impenetrable Eagles' zone. That tight zone nearly cost them a turnover in the first ten seconds of the contest. Andrews' shooters nailed a three-pointer and a mid-range jumper from the baseline that earned them a 5-0 lead after three minutes of play. But the advantage was to be short-lived as the Eagles quickly recognized the Falcons game plan and carefully adjusted the defense. Leaving two men inside to squeeze the lane, forward Lavoris Tate and guards Chris Dilworth and Mike Dowdry unleashed unrelenting man-to-man harassment that caught the Falcons off-guard and forced them to fire blind from outside. Missed shots and unwise bounce passes inside resulted in a pair of turnovers that Tate and Dilworth capitalized on to tie the score at five in a half-minute.

The Eagles kept the momentum alive with a quick score inside from David Sampson. Tate, Dilworth and Bowdry then executed a flawless passing game that foiled Andrews' steal attempts and opened the lane enough for a succession of inside drives that earned Belvoir a healthy 21-14 lead by the 10-minute mark.

Following an adjustment timeout by Andrews, Belvoir ball-handlers found themselves increasingly harangued by an intensified man-to-man defense that inspired Dowdry to slow his approach and find the openings left by the scrambling Falcons inside. The Andrews strategy slowed Belvoir's momentum to a degree, but the increased voracity inside began to cost them dearly in fouls. Every Eagle on the court took a trip to the foul line, and by the two-minute mark Belvoir was out in front 35-23.

High-intensity defense continued through the remainder of the first half. Andrews managed to restrict the Eagles to two mid-range jumpers before the clock ran out and succeeded in getting a short rally ignited that added eight to their scoreboard account. But Belvoir quickly readjusted their defense and shut down the Falcons' roll, taking to the bench at the half-time buzzer holding onto a 39-31 lead.

If the Eagles defense was hot in the first half, it ignited into a blast furnace in the second. Tate, Dilworth and Dowdry pounced on Andrews ball-handlers the moment they crossed the mid-court line. The pressure disrupted the Falcons' offense to the point where they were forced to throw long, dangerous passes across the court that Tate was more than prepared to snag in mid-flight and charge down the court for the easy layup. Sampson and Clark White shared inside duties and grabbed a series of critical rebounds and full-court passes that allowed Dawson and Dilworth to sink high-arching three-pointers from the baseline. Dowdry maintained his cautious approach into the zone and capitalized on every open-lane opportunity for a string of layups. By the 7:15 mark, Belvoir had pulled out in front 73-54 and was showing no signs of reining-in the onslaught.

Andrews took a much needed timeout to reorganize. Returning to the court with a more focused and patient defensive plan, they slowed Belvoir's rally and managed a handful of three-pointers, short-range jumpers and layups that reduced the deficit to 13. The game clock, however, began to apply its own brand of pressure on Andrews, showing Belvoir in the lead 81-68 with 1:48 left to go.

The Falcons gave it their all in an attempt to get a fire going, but the Belvoir defense refused to collapse, allowing Andrews shooters only a trio of buckets for the remainder of the contest.

Belvoir went to the free-throw line repeatedly as a result of Andrews' desperate attempts to stop the clock and added another four to the account. A final mid-range jumper sealed the deal and the Eagles took the win 86-74.

Head coach Herb Marshall said after the game that he is pleased with the direction his team is taking and that the Eagles will continue to work hard in preparing for the contests to come.

"I like what I see here," he said. "This is a team. I told the guys we've only got two more weeks. We're (off) this week so I'm trying to get a scrimmage together because I don't want to lose this."