A season to remember

  • Published
  • By Somer Breeze-Hanson
  • Northwest Guardian
JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD, Wash. --  When the 62nd Maintenance Group hosted its annual awards banquet, Log Fest, April 4 on McChord Field, a few Airmen were running late.

The 62nd Maintenance Squadron intramural basketball team was busy defending its perfect season in the JBLM championship game at Wilson Sports and Fitness Center on Lewis North.

Air Force had to win once against 24th Quartermaster Company for the title outright, but a doubleheader was possible if Army won. The squadron didn't want to be too late to the party.

Justus Parker scored 31 points to fuel 62nd MXS to a 60-44 victory over 24th QM for the JBLM championship title, capping off a perfect season.

The Air Force established a 10-point lead by halftime and while Army was able to come within six in the second half, Parker responded with an 11-0 run of his own to give 62nd MXS breathing room and a coast to the finish.

"I was in the zone," Parker said. "I kept shooting it and it kept going in. The team kept telling me to shoot."

The runner-up trophy went to 24th QM and the championship hardware to 62nd MXS, which accompanied the squadron members at Log Fest later that night.

The base championship goes to Air Force after Army's 494th Brigade Support Battalion won the title last year.

"It's nice to get it back to the Air Force side," Parker said.

With time winding down and the win secure, coach Travis Barlocker subbed out all of the 62nd MXS starters to give everyone a chance to play. William Behl came off the bench cold, was dished a pass and hit a 3-pointer in his first play.

"They're an awesome group with great teamwork," Barlocker said. "They're very selfless."

The championship game was a finale to a long week for 24th QM, a team which lost in the championship playoff bracket and played its way all to the final game through the consolation bracket. The team had a game every day of the week leading up to its matchup with 62nd MXS.

"The odds were against us," said 24th QM coach McKerry Chery. "It's not easy to make it through the loser bracket all the way to the championship. That's a great group of guys and they did a great job."