Warriors squeeze past Canadians to end season Published June 8, 2006 By Staff Reports 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs GRAND FORKS AFB, N.D. -- The Warrior men’s varsity basketball team put an exclamation mark to the season as they claimed the May Long Tournament championship by upsetting the University of Winnipeg, 68-66. The Warriors came into the tournament with an overall 27-24 record, reeling from tough defeats at the Aloha Classic, held at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. “We wanted to close out our season on a strong note. We were personally invited to play in the Canadian tournament. Normally, our season is over after the classic but the team wanted to play in one more tournament,” said Coach Dalton Lemelle. After dropping the first game of the tournament to the University of Winnipeg, 90-70, the Warriors regrouped to crush the Winnipeg Heat, 78-45. The semi-final game saw the Warriors again pound the Heat, 73-53, to force a rematch “Our team prides itself on making the proper adjustments to give us a chance to win. This game was no different. We noticed that in the first game, they didn’t shoot the ball particularly well. In fact, the majority of points came from the paint and the free-throw line, so we opened up in a 3-2 zone defense,” said Coach Lemelle. The Warriors strategy worked as they opened up an eight-point lead with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The Warriors then sped up the pace and saw their lead evaporate to two points as the Wessmen found new life running the lanes and hitting their lay-ups. “I wanted to speed up the game for a few minutes,” said Coach Lemelle. “Judging from our first game, I knew they could run. I also felt that if we got them running that they would be tired later. I took a big gamble, but my team has big-time trust in me.” With two minutes remaining in the half, the Warriors changed defenses again to a 2-1-2 zone defense, clinging to their three-point halftime lead. The second half saw the warriors open with the 2-1-2 zone defense. Clutch three point shooting by Joey Barefield and Ossie Oden helped open up a 12 point lead, but the Wessmen weren’t done and battled back, forcing seven Warrior turnovers - to take a two point lead with five minutes remaining. The lead went back and forth until reserve post Dereck Hutchinson took offense charges on back-to-back Wessmen possessions. Post Allen Warfield and guard Ernest Wheeler also scored on consecutive baskets to push the Warriors ahead. Clutch free-throw shooting by Joey Barefield and Dwayne Metcalf sealed the deal. “The team played a very disciplined ball game,” said Lemelle. “We forced them to play our style and shoot the ball,” said team captain Antwaun Williams. “This was a huge win for our program. It marked our 30th win of the season with it being against a university - plus it sent our coach into retirement on top with a championship.” The Warriors finished the season with a 30-25 record.