CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- 27th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Airmen pushed their way to defeat the 27th Equipment Maintenance Squadron 59-54 at the Intramural Basketball Championship Feb. 22 at the Cannon Fitness Center. 

The championships were a three-day double-elimination tournament that marked the conclusion of the basketball season. 

Although this was the final game for the intramural basketball season, there were only a few people in the crowd. 

From the start, AMXS kept EMS at arms length, maintaining a constant slight lead for the first 10 minutes of play. With their strategy and teamwork, AMXS had five players contribute multiple scores to their lead, including lead scorers Dan Hallimen and Keith Rochford. EMS had only two who shined above the rest, lead scorer Mike Lacy and Alex Armstead. 

After a steal by AMXS' Reggie White, Hallimen drops in an easy layup to cinch their lead at 35-25 at half time. 

When the second half started, both teams came out swinging with back-to-back scores. 

EMS was determined to stop AMXS from adding to its lead but could only match their scores to keep a 10-point distance until five minutes remained in the game. 

Over the next two minutes, EMS pulled out all the stops to close the gap to five points.
In the end, EMS couldn't keep up with AMXS, who soared undefeated through the tournament. EMS' Ben Miner tried, but failed, to sink the game's final shot at the buzzer. 

Contributing to AMXS' 59-54 victory were their top scorers, Hallimen with 19, Rochford with 14, Bryan Meyer with 10, Calvin Washington with 7, and Greg Carter with 5. 

EMS's top scorers were Lacy with 18, Marvin Morrow with 15, and Armstead with 9.
The next intramural sport is volleyball, slated to begin this month. 

For more information, call the Fitness Center at 784-2466.