Lackland knocks off Cannon twice for MLK trophy

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Warhawks from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, beat the Cannon AFB, N.M., Warriors twice in resounding fashion here Jan. 21 to claim the men's division title in the 2008 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. basketball tournament.

Lackland ran away in the first contest 76-50, forcing a second game to decide the championship. The Warhawks pulled away in the second half of the second game, taking the championship with a 99-79 win, their second championship in as many tournaments at Sheppard.

Jerome Riley, head coach of the Warhawks, said teams have to mentally tough in tournament play and not let questionable calls and missed shots affect how the team executes.

"Teams start to fall apart mentally," the coach said after winning the championship. "Teams must have discipline when things go bad."

His Lackland team is a testament to that. In the first half of the second game, Cannon jumped ahead of the Warhawks with intensity and aggressive offensive play, led by Lydell Hudson and Larry Boyd.

The Warhawks fought back after being down 38-29 in the first half to get within four points, 38-34.

Riley said the team played lazy defense in the first half and they weren't able to match the Warriors' big men. But, it was the smallest guy on the Lackland team that spurred a comeback and separation from Cannon - Eli Lozano.

"Eli got hot and put us on his back," Riley said.

Lozano scored 32 of his game-high 44 points in the second half, including six 3-pointers and 12 free throws.

"It was just one of those days when you feel good," the Warhawks guard said. "As a shooter, you can't just put your head down and not shoot. It's like the basket opens up for you as big as a trash can."

Lozano said it was just his day to get hot and that anyone on the Lackland team can explode at any given time. Other scoring leaders for the Warhawks included Detrick Mayers, 12, Paul Parker, 12, and Michael Jones, 11.

Boyd tried to keep his team in the fight by scoring 16 of his 24 points in the second half.

Despite Cannon's efforts to come back, the loss of a key player - Emanuel Daniels - was hard to overcome.

"We had to adjust to what we lost in him and couldn't matchup," Coach Sutton said.

Daniels, a key player in Cannon's high-powered offense, was missing from the teams' two final contests. Daniels scored 36, 34 and 23 points in Cannon's first three games.

Lackland came out firing on all cylinders in the first match up with Cannon, offensively and defensively. The Warhawks' defense kept Cannon from scoring in the first five minutes of the game. Lackland's defense also caused Warriors scoring droughts of two and four minutes.

The Warhawks outscored the Warriors 13-6 in the final six minutes of the first half.

"I knew we could play well," Riley said, adding Daniels' earlier departure from the tournament did help. "We put them on their heals."

Cannon couldn't overcome the 16-point halftime deficit or Lackland's stymieing defense to get back into the contest.

The Warriors were led in the first game offensively by Nate Stephens with 16 points, followed by Boyd with 11. Lackland was led by Rodrick Greene's 22, followed by Lozano, 12, and Jones, 14.