Nighthawks roost atop basketball league

  • Published
  • By Jake Shaw
  • 482nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
HOMESTEAD ARB, Fla. --  Homestead ARB’s Nighthawks got off to a sluggish start, but eventually wiggled their way back into the lead against U.S. Southern Command’s “A” team in a showdown at the base fitness center on Mar. 8. 

For the top-ranked Nighthawks, sloppy passes and a lack of energy crashing the boards had them down 20-19 at the end of the first half. 

“We started out cold and didn’t get our rhythm going for a while,” said Dexter Porrata, a forward for the Nighthawks. 

Starting out cold is one thing, but being out-rebounded, out-passed and out-hustled is another story. 

Southern Command’s A team had great ball movement, and aggressive offensive rebounding led to second, third and fourth shot opportunities for them throughout the first half. 

Meanwhile the Nighthawks struggled to get open shots and missed 60 percent of their foul shots in the first half. 

“I’m surprised we weren’t down by more than one [point] at the end of the first half,” said Virgil Scott, a center for the Nighthawks. 

We played their game instead of ours in the first half, but in the second half we crashed the boards harder and got the passing game going, said Scott. 

But the key to the second half was the number of fouls committed by the team from Southern Command. 

With less than ten minutes left in the game, Southern Command had stretched the lead to 33-23, but the Nighthawks went on a 13-3 run, tying the game at 36 with only 1:24 left in the game. 

As precious seconds disappeared from the game clock, Southern Command missed their last three shots, and committed costly fouls against the Nighthawks each trip down the court. 

The Nighthawks capitalized, making five out of five free throws when they needed them most, and finished the game up 44-37. 

Free throws were the difference in the game, with the Nighthawks making 15 of 23 while Southern Command’s team made only eight of their 13 foul shots. 

“We’re definitely a second-half team,” said Scott, “and we’re also the oldest team in the league, with several players over 30 years old.” 

The Nighthawks need to find a way to warm up before the playoffs start in mid-April, because other teams in the league are gunning for the top seed. 

“We’ve already beat the Nighthawks once this season” said Anthony Abate who plays for the Homestead ARB Services basketball team.