LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, TEXAS –
The 93rd Intelligence Squadron's game against the 59th Dental Squadron ended early.
With a 22-point lead and only two minutes left in the game, 93rd IS earned the mercy rule victory, winning 48-26 on Dec. 3.
93rd IS was paced by point guard Robert Dixon who was the game's leading scorer with 16 points.
"Tonight was my night. We are having a coming out party this year. I'm welcoming everybody to the 93rd IS coming out party," said Dixon with a smile. "We all caught fire toward the end. It was a good night for me."
Typical of early season play, the game started out sloppy for both teams. 93rd IS squandered numerous fast-break opportunities in the first half. As a result, they only took a 19-15 lead into halftime.
"We tried to jump on them early in the first half, but we started sloppy," Dixon said.
In the second half, 93rd IS looked fresh and poised to take the game over.
With 12 minutes left in the second half, 93rd IS forced a turnover. Dixon sprinted down the court drawing the closest defender and calmly delivered a no-look pass over his shoulder to the trailing D'Anthony Liggins for the easy bucket.
"We had some people show up late, but we were able to sub a lot more in the second half, so we had more energy in the second half. That's what we used to break the game open. That's the type of game we want to be able to play."
Liggins finished the game with 15 points and 93rd IS small forward Matt Heckman chipped in 10 points.
The 59th Dental Squadron's leading scorer was center Ivan Lynch, who finished the game with nine points. Lynch ran into foul trouble early, picking up three fouls during the first 10 minutes of the first half.
The 93rd IS will play the 343rd Training Squadron on Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.
"We are going to do well," Dixon said. "Last year we were disappointed with our play, but this year we have everyone focused and we are going to do what we can to get to the championship."