Tyndall places fourth at SEMAC post-season tournament

  • Published
  • By Coach William Sharpe
  • Tyndall Tigers Varsity Basketball
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The Tyndall Tigers Men's varsity basketball team placed fourth in the annual Southeastern Military Athletic Conference Post Season tournament held Feb. 17-19 at Moody AFB, Ga. 

In their first game, Tyndall defeated Fort Benning, Ga., 93-88. 

In the game against Fort Benning, the Tigers jumped out for an early double-digit lead behind the scoring of Ryan Cunningham and Marqus Armour, who each scored 14 first-half points. Tyndall led by 15 points before Fort Benning went on a late run to trim Tyndall's lead to five points, 46-41, at the half. 

In the second half, the game was nip-and-tuck, but the Tigers maintained the lead throughout to take the hard fought victory. 

Cunningham paced the Tigers in scoring with a game-high 23 points, followed by Armour with 19 points, Anthony Showers with 18, and Melvin Smith and Jared Austin with 10 points each. Showers led the Tigers in assists with nine and Armour in rebounding with 10. William Timothy led Fort Benning in scoring with 22 points. 


In the Tiger's second game, Hurlburt Field, Fla., overcame Tyndall, 85-75.
The third seeded Tigers faced the second seeded Commandos of Hurllburt Field. As had been the case during the regular season, the two squads played tough on the defensive end and capitalized on turnovers. The Commandos went on a late run to take a 40-37 lead into the intermission. 

In the second half, Hurlburt scored the first 10 points of the half to increase their lead to 50-37. Tyndall battled back within three points with five minutes and 26 seconds remaining, but Hurlburt went on yet another run to take the win in a game that was closer than the final score indicated. 

Showers led the Tigers in scoring with a game-high 35 points, which was the second highest scoring game of the tourney. He was followed by Austin and Cunningham with 10 points each. Showers led the Tigers in both rebounding and assists with eight and seven respectively. Jason Brown paced the Commandos in scoring with 24 points. 

When Tyndall faced MacDill AFB, Fla., the Tigers claimed victory, 85-64. 

Behind Cunningham's 12 first-half points, Tyndall took a 36-32 lead at the half. 

In the second half, the Tigers picked up their effort on the defensive end and turned what had been a competitive contest into a sure win for the Tigers. 

Cunningham led five Tigers in double figures with a game-high 21 points, followed by Armour with 17 points, Showers with 14, Bautista with 11 points and Austin with 10 points. Showers led in assists with six. Armour and Miller tied for team rebounding honors with 12 each. Doug Henderson led MacDill in scoring with 19 points. 

The game against Moody AFB, Ga., ended Tyndall's tournament play, 84-73. 

The Tigers played the tourney's first-place team, Moody Flying Tigers, in their next game in the double elimination tournament. Tyndall struggled from the beginning of the opening stanza and limped to the intermission on the short end of a 46-28 score. 

In the second half, the Tigers battled back to pull within seven points, but three consecutive fruitless possessions sealed their fate as they fought valiantly to the final buzzer, finishing fourth overall in the tournament. 

Showers led the Tigers in scoring with 21, followed by Marcelle Mosley with 13 points, and Austin and Armour with 12 points each. Showers led the Tiger in both rebounding and assists, with 10 and five respectively. Blake Smith led Moody in scoring with a game high 23 points. 

In the championship game of the tournament, Hurlburt Field defeated Moody, 91-79, to take the 2007 SEMAC title. 

Showers was selected to the All-Tournament team, as well as the All-Conference team. Also selected for the All-Confernce team were fellow Tigers Smith and Armour.