Keesler Dragons take 2 from Tyndall Tigers

Published Feb. 3, 2011
By Sam Miller
Intramural sports director

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss -- The Keesler Dragons men's and women's varsity basketball teams were victorious in Saturday's contests against the Tigers from Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

Keesler's men's team took a 72-68 win and the Lady Dragons topped the Lady Tigers, 67-62 in Southeastern Military Athletic Conference action at Blake Fitness Center.

Lady Dragons
The Lady Dragons came into the contest against the winless Lady Tigers with a record of 5-1 in SEMAC play and 7-3 overall. A victory would secure first place and a regular season title for the Lady Dragons who spent the 2009-10 season dormant because of lack of women's SEMAC teams.

The Lady Dragons finished 1-1 in the Martin Luther King Tournament Jan. 15-16 at Eglin
AFB, Fla. The Lady Dragons were anxious to repeat their 2008-09 SEMAC finish with
another conference title.

The Lady Dragons struggled most of the first half of play before taking a 33-27 lead to end the period.
Tyndall kept the game close for most of the second half, but came up short despite 29 points from Madel Madden of Tyndall who led all scorers.

Brittany Austin led the Lady Dragons with 16 points and Wanda Farmer followed up with 12 points.

Coach Richard Vincent said he's looking to have a good showing and repeat success in
postseason play, but knows that staying on a roll will be hard with a three-week layoff before the playoffs start Feb. 18 at Eglin.

Dragons
The Keesler men's team, coming off the 2009-10 season in which they won the Southeastern Military Athletic Conference championship and National Military Athletic
Association title, were hoping to repeat the success of last year. Unfortunately, last season's success hasn't carried over. With two games remaining, the Dragons have posted a 5-4 SEMAC record.

The 8-2 Tyndall Tigers led for most of the game, and Tyndall's guard play looked like no
match for Keesler. But with less than five minutes left, the Dragons tied the game.

Keesler's All Air Force forward Dan Nwaelele led all scorers with 36 points and helped secure a 72-68 win for the Dragons. Sherrod Brown and Alvin Holmes contributed 10 points each for Keesler. Kevion Smart was Tyndall's top scorer with 23 points.

The Dragons return to action on the road against Eglin Saturday.