Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas –
Second round of the 2017 Armed Forces Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship continues as Navy and Army locked on a spot in the women’s championship game, and Army men guaranteed their return to big show at the Chaparral Fitness Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas on November 5th.
In the women’s competition, Navy bounced back from a disappointing loss and sailed past the Marines winning 74-45.
Navy Hospitalman Kamille Horne of Walter Reed, M.d. topped the charts with 25-points, draining five three-pointers.
Marine Cpl. Shelbi Abreu-Rodriguez registered a double-double with 20-points and 11-rebounds.
Navy went undefeated in the first round of the tournament, with Air Force handing them their first loss on day-four. Navy currently holds the tie-breaker advantage over USAF, with a +23-point-differential lead.
Army women grounded Air Force with a 70-49 victory. Air Force lead in the first quarter and kept the game close up until the beginning of the 4th-quarter before Army ran away with the game.
Ironwoman, Army Sgt. Donita Adams of the Maryland National Guard, sunk 24-points playing nearly the whole game with 38-mins. Adams leads the women’s tournament with 63-points.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Charmaine Clark scored 17, with eight-rebounds.
Last year, Army and Navy faced each other in the championship. Army dominated the tournament, going undefeated in round-robin play. Navy nearly won the game, until Army scored on a last second bucket to secure the gold medal.
Army and Navy will face each on day-six to wrap up the round-robin play, before facing each other in the finals this Tuesday at 5:00pm (Central Standard Time).
On the men’s side, Navy found their groove after going winless in the first round. Navy surprised Air Force the night before, and followed up with a 80-70 defeat over the Marine Corps.
Navy’s Petty Officer 3rd Class Derrick Sumpter of the U.S. Coast Guard-Maryland Sector, scored 21-points in 36-minutes of play. Lieut. Mark Veazey of Pearl Harbor posted a double-double with 11-points and 10-rebounds. Three other Navy players scored double-digits in their victory.
Navy’s resurgence throws a wrench in the overall standings, making this one of the most competitive Armed Forces Championship in years.
In the final exciting game of the evening, Army defeated Air Force in overtime 98-87.
Army 1st Lt Kyle Wilson of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. led Army with 24-points, and Spec. Marcus Heath of Fort Bragg, N.C. scored 19, with 10-assists.
Air Force Senior Airman Darian Donald of Misawa Air Base, Japan tallied 25-points.
Army secured their spot in the finals, as the final day will determine their opponent. Currently, Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy are locked in a three-way tie, with the Marines holding on to the advantage in the points differential.
The Armed Forces Basketball Championship is played in a double round-robin format for seeding, with the top-two teams advancing to the championship game.
Follow the complete coverage at www.armedforcessports.defense.gov.