Dark Knights outlast Marines in Fort Gordon basketball Published March 11, 2009 By Senior Airman Terrance Dixon 338th Training Squadron Detachment 1 KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, BILOXI, MISS. -- Fort Gordon Air Force and Marine detachments bumped heads on the hardwood for their monthly competition, continuing a tradition started in December. During the last month of the year, the two detachments started a tradition competing in sports once a month for an Air Force/Marines plaque. In December, the Marines challenged the 338th Training Squadron Air Force Detachment to a flag football game. The Marines came to play and destroyed the Air Force Detachment. In January, the Marines feeling confident about their win, challenged the Air Force to a basketball game. Members of the Air Force Detachment came to the court determined to redeem themselves from a devastating lost. Jay Alston and Terrance Dixon served as player coaches for the Air Force Detachment and Scott Gurley was the coach for the Marine Detachment. From the opening tip it looked like the Marines were ready to trounce the Air Force again. As the game progressed with 10 minutes left in the first half, the score was 13-9 with the Marines in the lead. The Air Force Detachment was struggling offensively and the Marines capitalized with a couple fast break points by Ryan Pippen. Kedric Beachem repeatedly plowed his way into the lane providing a seemingly unstoppable scoring threat. All that the 338th defenders could do was foul him to keep him from easy buckets. He spent much of the first half at the charity stripe. Scott and Gurley combined for nine gimme's at the free throw line in the first half. With the clock winding down toward the half, Air Force found the defensive set that worked. Stefon Cunnikan and Jordan Mees came off the bench with a tenacious defense that frustrated the Marines into turnovers and a couple of quick fast break scoring opportunities for Air Force. Jeffrey Pelkey caught fire in the turnaround tempo and hit a couple of key three-pointers to keep the 338th in the game. At the end of the first half, Air Force had whittled the score to 21-20 with the Marines hanging on to the lead by a thread. With the start of the second half, the Air Force pushed the defensive envelope with an all-out full court press. The Marines stuck to their original game plan tied to a steady 2-3 zone. The contest surged on with the Marines holding on to its fragile lead but unable to corral an Air Force unit that would not let up. As a result of the full court press the Air Force caused a few turnovers leading into quick scores by Jay Alston, Terrance Dixon, Jimmy McCloskey, Thomas Woodard and Thomas Nelson. While the aggressive Air Force press yielded some quick easy points, the flip side of the press -- fouls -- gave the Marines trips to the free throw line where they capitalized. Kedric Beachem, William Cruz, Scott Gurley, and David King all took advantage of the charity opportunities. Late in the game with the clock winding down and the press beginning to wear the Marines down, Benjamin McNaughton sparked a turnover. The ball passed to John Answorth who posted up and swished a three-pointer. Air Force took the lead 32-30. Bolstered by the smell of victory, the Air Force Detachment threw everything except the bench into the game. They never looked back. Despite a last minute push by the Marines to regain the lead, Air Force held out and came away the victors with a 46-39 win. Jeffrey Pelkey was the leading scorer for the 338th Detachment with 14 points. He was 4- 5 from beyond the arch. Kedric Beachem from the Marine Detachment led his team with 13 points; he was 7-9 from the free throw line. The units will continue their rivalry this month with a softball contest. Editor's note: This report is reprinted from the Feb. 13 issue of The Signal, Fort Gordon, Ga.