Photo illustration | Photos courtesy of Navy Region Hawaii Fleet and Family Readiness Marketing

Navy Region Hawaii Fleet and Family Readiness Marketing

On April 21 and May 5, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) and Military Family Support Center hosted “father-daughter dances” at the Hickam

Officers’ Club in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention

Month. Both the dinner dances sold out with all

500 tickets purchased.

According to Chet Adessa, family advocacy prevention education specialist for the Military and Family Support Center (MFSC), the dances started five years ago as an idea to help fathers and daughters get to know each other in a less formal setting.

Adessa said, “The purpose of the dance is to stress the importance of the father-daughter relationship, help dads and daughters get to know each other in an informal atmosphere.”

MWR provided door prizes, light snacks, decorations and music with a DJ and a balloon sculptor. “The father-daughter has since evolved to a much larger event with a dinner, DJ, individual craft activities and ‘get-to-know-you’ activities,” Adessa said.

At the dinner dance, MWR provided formal photographs, which will be available on www.greatlifehawaii.com, for fathers and daughters to help cement the memories made that night.

Adessa explained that the father-daughter dance is important to him. “The father-daughter bond is so important because this is the young girl’s first contact or impression of men and who they are, and they almost subconsciously carry that (throughout their lives) when they get in relationships with boys in school and in their adult lives,” he said.

He added that some studies have shown that girls who have a strong relationship with their fathers are not only more self-confident but also self-reliant. They also tend to have great academic achievements, which can help with job opportunities in the future, he said.

While attendees waited in line for dinner, the host went around asking the daughters what animal their dad would be. The question had interesting results. Some examples included:

“My daddy would be an eel because he is shocking.”

“My dad would be a dog because he likes to bark orders.”

“My dad would be a bear because he is big.”

“My dad would be a dog because he is my best friend.”

“I just wanted to say ‘thank you’ for hosting the father-daughter dance at JBPHH this year. It really meant the world to us,’” stated Brad Vilgos, who attended the April 21 dance, and posted his comment on Great Life Hawaii’s Facebook page.

Sean Tracy, along with his 9-year-old daughter Olivia and his 6-year-old Abagail, were at the event for the first time and said they had fun. “We love dancing with our dad!,” the girls exclaimed together.

Emily Bowling, age 9, said she loved dancing to Justin Bieber with her father, while Jonathon Bowling said, “This is a great opportunity for me to connect with my daughter on a deeper level. She is growing up so fast.”

Robert Cabino, with his daughter Kaitlyn, age 8, and Ken Holifield, with his daughter Carmen, age 7, bought their tickets together. Kaitlyn said, “I really, really, really, really, really, really, love getting to spend time with my dad.”

Both girls and dads admitted that dancing had been their favorite part so far, especially to “Fireworks” by Katy Perry and “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus.

Each of the father-daughter pairs said “we can’t wait” to attend next year’s dance.

Pearl Harbor Yacht Club

A total of 10 teams of women sailors competed in a wahine regatta, held at Rainbow Bay Marina and hosted by Pearl Harbor Yacht Club recently.

Competing in wind gusts up to 25 knots, the sailors completed a total of five races, with teams from Waikiki Yacht Club and Pearl Harbor Yacht Club placing first and second, and third place going to another team from Waikiki Yacht Club.

The regatta included both military and civilian women from yacht clubs around Oahu and also from Maui, and was held in the recreational sailing area of Pearl Harbor’s east loch. Teams of two to three wahine sailors each competed in a round-robin series of races, with teams swapping boats after each race to ensure a fair distribution of competitors and equipment. Eight Catalina 18-foot sailboats from Rainbow Bay Marina comprised the racing fleet, watched over by a Morale, Welfare and Recreation safety boat and a race committee boat.

Leslie Foster, from Waikiki Yacht Club, was the winning skipper, with crew members Cecilia Jansson and Madelen Kype.

Second place went to skipper Benton Whitesides from Pearl Harbor Yacht Club, with crew member Holly D’Agostino.

Rounding out the awardees at third place was skipper Eric Magee from Waikiki Yacht Club, and her crew of Katie Greenlee and Kerri Schweibert. Other competitors included teams from Pacific Yacht Club, Kaneohe Yacht Club, Hawaii Yacht Club, Makani Kai Yacht Club and Maui Boat and Yacht Club.

The regatta was the first in a series of regattas organized by the Hawaii Yacht Racing Association to determine an overall winner for the Wahine Skipper of the Year trophy. An additional race was held in April and others are scheduled for July at Kaneohe Yacht Club, and in August at Waikiki Yacht Club and also at Pacific Yacht Club.

This is the third year of a series of reinvigorated wahine regattas, which have significantly expanded the role of women sailors in the local yachting community. The military sailing clubs of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, both Pearl Harbor Yacht Club and Pacific Yacht Club, offer opportunities for both men and women sailors to learn and hone their sailing skills. Sailors also have a chance to compete with local yachters, participating in a year-round series of events that welcomes all newcomers.

Pearl Harbor Yacht Club was established in 1924 and was one of the premier social clubs on Oahu in the pre-WWII years. Following the war, the club was reorganized as a military sailing club which also included members from the civilian community.

The club was based at the old U.S. Navy recreational beach on Keehi Lagoon in the 1950s and 1960s, and relocated to Rainbow Bay Marina in 1973 when that facility was constructed to replace the recreational beach lost to the new reef runway at Honolulu International Airport.

The club conducts recreational sailing every Thursday afternoon at Rainbow Bay Marina.

Navy Public Affairs Support Element West Det. Hawaii

AIEA, Hawaii – In observance of Earth Day, Sailors, families and friends volunteered April 21 to help clean up a 13.5-mile bike path that runs along Pearl Harbor’s historic waterfront.

The cleanup is an annual environmental project and one of the Navy’s many community relations and service projects.

“A lot of military members use the bike path for running and biking,” said Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Ngai Benson. “They noticed how dirty it was and how much trash was on the sides. So we put together a team comprised of Pearl Harbor military members.”

Master-at-Arms 2nd Class Paul Mobley, one of the volunteers for the cleanup, talked about the importance of cleaning up the bike path.

“It’s important for the Sailors to show the community that we’re trying to help the solution of picking up trash and pollution,” Mobley said. “We’re here just to help beautify it and make sure all the pollution is not washing down into the harbor and into the ocean.”

The Navy has been involved in a number of environmental efforts ashore and at sea to assist in this year’s observance of Earth Day.

Navy Public Affairs Support Element West Detachment Hawaii.

HILO, Hawaii – Sailors from the Pearl Harbor-based, guided-missile frigate USS Crommelin (FFG 37) and Rear Adm. Frank Ponds, commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, and his wife Carol visited Hilo from April 12 to 15 to participate in the 49th annual Merrie Monarch Festival events.

The Merrie Monarch Festival is a week-long cultural festival that takes place to honor King David Kalakaua, who was called the “Merrie Monarch” for his patronage of the arts.

The Merrie Monarch Royal Court greeted Crommelin during a pier-side welcome ceremony at Hilo Harbor.

“I understand what it means, the Merrie Monarch Festival,” said Ponds. “It’s all about the expression of the mind, but more so an expression of the heart, the emotions that you feel toward each other. Our being here is an extension of that emotion, that relationship.”

Crommelin Sailors and Ponds also attended the hula competitions and were accompanied by the U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet Band when they marched in the Merrie Monarch Royal Parade through downtown Hilo.

During the visit to Hilo, Sailors from Crommelin participated in a community relations project as they visited the Yukio Okutsu State Veterans Home. The Sailors talked with the residents about their past experiences during their time in the military.

A select group of Waiakea High School Navy JROTC Cadets had the rare opportunity to embark the ship on its return trip from the Big Island to Pearl Harbor.

“The port visit was a huge success and it provided our Sailors a great opportunity to engage with the residents of Hilo,” said Cmdr. Michael Johns, commanding officer of Crommelin.

Contributing Writer

Children and their families gathered at Ward Field for Springfest April 7, starting off the Easter weekend at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

The free event during the Month of the Military Child featured multiple themes, including celebrating the spring season, Earth Day and child abuse prevention.

“This is a great time,” said Mana Hopkins, a member of the base community who attended the event. “We had fun with the photo booth and taking pictures with the Easter bunny.”

A larger-than-life Easter bunny posed for photos with children, although he was just one of the attractions available to families who attended Springfest. Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) staff members wore assorted costumes, such as Easter eggs and other child-themed spring characters.

In addition, after standing in line to receive an Easter basket from Winnie the Pooh, children could go into the “Eggland” and pluck eggs from an egg-laying hen coop.

The event included five bounce-houses, with themes ranging from castles to slides, in addition to arts and crafts, batting cages and a basketball station.

Dance group “Hypersquad” performed for the crowd. The rock band “The Day Prevails,” whose members are from the Hickam Teen Center, also performed.

Combining with Springfest, an Earth Day celebration featured information on how to protect and restore the earth.

On a serious note, “Pinwheels” for Prevention, a national campaign for preventing child abuse, had an art station for children to make posters on ways they can help in preventing child abuse. Rear Adm. Frank Ponds, commander of Navy Region Hawaii and Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, signed a pledge to rededicate the Navy’s support and awareness of the importance of preventing child abuse and neglect.

“It was a great event for the kids, informational and enjoyable,” said Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Jarrod Burden.

In addition to activities for children, a “sponsors row” assisted anyone interested in higher education and other services available to the community at the joint base.

“The information booths were really helpful and provided me with options and possible career paths beyond the military,” said Electronics Technician Seaman Nnamdi Oriuwa.

Sports Editor

USS Key West (SSN 722) rebounded from two four-run deficits to earn a nail-biting 14-13 victory March 31 over USS La Jolla (SSN 701) in a season-opening Afloat Division intramural softball game at Millican Field, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Key West fell behind by scores of 4-0 in the first inning and 13-9 going into the bottom of the final frame, but topped off an amazing comeback on a triple by Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Eddy Carter who drove in two runs for the win.

“It (pitch) was a little outside, so I was looking to hit it to the opposite field for sure,” said Carter about the game winning hit .

“There was definitely pressure.”

Down early in the game, Key West started to chip away at the first four-run deficit by scoring two runs on three extra-base hits in the bottom of the third.

After trading single runs with La Jolla in the fourth inning, Key West exploded for six runs in the bottom of the fifth to go out in front by a score of 9-5.

The key hit in the inning was a base-loaded single by Machinist’s Mate 3rd Class Kawika Hines who plated two runs, which gave Key West their first lead of the game at 7-5.

However, the team’s lead was short-lived as La Jolla stormed back to score eight runs in the top of the sixth and take a 13-9 advantage with time running out.

In La Jolla’s big inning, Lt.j.g. Chris Donnelly’s tworun single tied the score at 9-9 before pitcher Machinist’s Mate 1st Class Jimmy Kruzan helped his own cause by following up with a base hit to put his team back on top at 10-9.

Although Key West entered the season with a reputation for staging come-from-behind wins after their strong showing in the league’s pre-season tournament, pitcher Chief Engineman Chris Clark said after falling behind for the second time, he did have some doubts about being able to overtake a tough La Jolla squad.

“To see those runs come in like that and to go from being ahead to drop behind by four, it’s frustrating,” Clark said. “But you just got to keep in it and hope. It’s pretty much, ‘Come on guys we got to get in this, get some bats going and keeping it until the end.’”

After Key West scored two runs, Hines stepped into the box with a runner on third and the tying run standing on second base with two outs.

Hines proceeded to slap a grounder to shortstop for what appeared to be the final out of the game, but a bad throw kept Key West’s hopes alive as Hines reached safely at first, while one run scored and the tying run moved to third base.

The missed game-ending putout set the stage for Carter, who stepped up to the plate and promptly drilled a line shot into right field that skipped into the corner, which allowed two Key West runners to score and give the team a walk-off victory.

“We did it twice last week,” said Hines about the team’s comeback triumph. “We came in second in a tournament last weekend. We came from behind and won two, so we’re getting used to it I guess.”

In one of those victories, Key West faced a deficit of 10 runs, but still ended up on top to advance to the final round of the pre-season tournament.

Hines said that while luck does play a role in making a comeback, the team seems to be very good at paying attention to the little details when the going gets rough.

“Getting the right guys up at the right time helps, I guess,” Hines admitted. “But everyone stays in the game, pays attention to what’s going on, stuff like that.”

In fact, said Hines, he believes that if everyone continues to come out to the games, Key West has a very good chance of being among the top teams in the Afloat Division.

“If we have 10 guys every game, I think we’ll be right up there with everybody else,” he said. “Forfeits have held us down in the past, so hopefully that’s not something we’ll have to worry about. Most of us have been together for three years now. I think the main core has been together two years. We got some good ball players out here.”

Students from Adm. Arthur W. Radford High School spent the morning of March 22 on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam getting an up-close and personal look at various career fields the students are interested pursuing.

The students were separated into different groups based on their career interest, and visited that particular career function on the base.

Areas visited included airfield vehicle maintenance, the Hale A’ina Dining Facility, the base fitness center, C-17 Operations, 647th Security Forces, the child development center, 647th Contracting Office, 747th Communications Squadron, airfield management and the medical clinics.

There was more hands-on experience for students at the medical clinics, according to Guerrero.

Balbino Barrientos, a retired Air Force master sergeant, gave his perspective on being a mechanic in the military.

Joshua Leineweber, a 10th grade Radford student, wants to be a fighter pilot. He went on a tour and received some hands-on experience in the C-17 flight simulator.

First Lt. Michael Hank, a pilot with the 535th Airlift Squadron, said task management and hard work is what it takes to become a pilot. He said, you have to be able to learn and pick up on things quickly and know what to focus on, and to determine what to do right now and what can wait.

The students were asked by Capt. Sharon Cortney, 535th Airlift Squadron, what they thought about their experience after touring a C-17 on the flight line. They responded, “Awesome!”

Cindy Mochida Schrock, CTE/Discovery Center coordinator for Radford High School, said, “It was such a wonderful experience for all of us. I am most pleased that our students were given the opportunity to shadow careers that are not so easily attained outside of our connections with the military, for example computers and communications, pilot and law enforcement.

Schrock added, “The students all had a wonderful experience and felt as if this information helped them to move forward in pursuing the career that they shadowed.”

Schrock said it was very interesting to learn about the different types of aircraft that are on the base, how the base is responsible to host many VIPs such as President Barack Obama, and how vital the department’s role is in getting things to and from Hawaii via an aircraft.

“The other students that I spoke with especially loved their pilot experience and the demonstration with the dog in the law enforcement department,” she added. Schrock emphasized,

“We are just so thankful for our partnership with the military and want to thank the Navy and Air Force for allowing us to participate in such a wonderful day of careers.”

Photo illustration | Photos by AWF2 Amanda DeWelles, VP-9

Patrol Squadron Nine Public Affairs

Patrol Squadron Nine (VP-9) hit the deck plates this March to join the national observance of Women’s History Month. This year’s theme is “Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment.”

Several female Golden Eagles shared their views on women’s contributions to the Navy and the maritime patrol and reconnaissance community within.

They said that seeking knowledge and experience from those who have gone before is vital. Lt. j.g. Rebecca Shaw, VP-9′s Naval Aviator, said, “It’s very unique and beneficial to have a squadron with so many relatively senior female officers and enlisted Sailors who have achieved a great deal in their first tour. It affords an opportunity for more junior females who may not have had many female role models while in training commands.”

As of January 2012, more than 64,000 women serve in the Navy. Women comprise 15.8 percent of total officers, 4.8 percent of naval aviators, and 7.8 percent of naval flight officers (NFO). Women make up 16.7 percent of enlisted Sailors and more than half of female Sailors are in aviation technical ratings. A total of 95 percent of Navy billets are open to women, and women are routinely assigned to ships, submarines, afloat staffs, naval construction battalions, medical units, and aviation squadrons.

Opening fields allow women to pursue their dreams, they explained. “I knew I wanted to be an NFO my sophomore year in college as a third Class midshipman in the Boston University NROTC program. I had many aviator advisors but I felt the tactical mission sets, the range of opportunities, and NFO point of view fit the best with my interests and personality. I am so proud of my double anchored wings and still believe an NFO is the best job in the Navy,” Lt. Thea Lopez said.

First assigned to selected non-combatant ships in 1978, opportunities later expanded in 1994 to include services on combatant ships following repeal of the combat exclusion law.

Chief Aviation Electrician’s Mate Mary Chesnutt said, “The Navy has taken great strides in the last 20 years, especially after 1994. In 1990, my first tour as an aviation electrician was limited to land-based squadrons because women were not allowed on combatant ships like carriers.”

“We were a male and female mixed A-6 Intruder squadron from Key West, Fla. Even though the A-6 could land on carriers, our female pilots were not allowed to land on a flight deck.”

“So we only participated in war games with carrier strike groups from locations like Virginia Beach, Key West and Puerto Rico. The progress today is amazing since now there are no restrictions to women in naval aviation,” Chesnutt said.

Daring women in naval aviation history have cleared the way for future generations. In 1974, Lt.

Barbara Allen Rainey earned her wings, becoming the first female naval aviator. On May 12, 1993, Lt. Cmdr. Kathryn Hire was assigned to Patrol Squadron 62 (VP-62), making her the first woman to fly the P-3 Orion and to serve in a combat air squadron.

In 2003, Master Chief Beth Lambert became the first female command master chief (CMC) of an aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).

VP-9 commanding officer, Cmdr. Richard Prest served with Lambert aboard the USS Roosevelt. “She was an exceptional CMC who was well respected by everyone. She was tough, fair and had a great personality – a Sailor’s Sailor,” Prest said.

Planning for the future is important. VP-9 Naval Air Crewman 3rd Class Nicole Miranda explained, “The opportunities are out there. I plan on serving 20 years in the Navy, and I am working on my officer package and hope to get accepted into the Seaman to Admiral 21 [STA-21] program and become an officer. As an officer I feel I can have a greater effect and make great contributions to the Navy.”

“At all levels of the command, from our aviators to our most junior Sailors, our women make tremendous contributions to the mission. They’re so well integrated, it’s not a focal point anymore. That said, it’s important to recognize how far women have come in our Navy,” Prest said.

Patrol Squadron Nine (VP-9) is located at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay. The squadron is also known as the Golden Eagles and flies the P-3C Orion.

The land based P-3C is the Navy’s premier long-range maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA), operating from locations throughout the world. Its missions include anti-submarine warfare, intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR), and anti-surface warfare.

More information can be found at the website at http://www.vp9.navy.mil/ or on Facebook.

Sports Editor

One week before the official start of “March Madness,” hoop aficionados from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam converged on Hickam Fitness Center for a little insanity of their own by competing for the title of 3-point champion at the first Morale, Welfare and Recreation 3-point Shootout competition on March 10.

A total of 37 contestants, including two women, put their long-distance shooting to a test in a contest that required each shooter to hoist five balls from three different racks that were positioned beyond the three-point arch at the baselines and top of the key.

Sinking one of four regular-colored balls accounted for a single point, while knocking down a multicolored-red-white-and-blue ball gave a shooter two points.

Once the final tallies were totaled, 14-year-old Darrell Randolph Jr. stood head and shoulders about the men, while Christi Wetzel, a former collegiate player from Kentucky Christian University, out shot Melanie Brady to win the women’s title.

First-place winners received a certificate, red-white-and-blue basketball and a fitness center coin.

Meanwhile, second-place shooters were presented with a certificate and coin, and a final certificate was handed out to the men’s third-place finisher.

Although Randolph was among the youngest competitors at the event, the Radford High School freshman and player on the prep school’s junior varsity squad showed that he was up to the much-older competition from the opening round.

Randolph advanced and qualified to each round by scoring seven points in two out of three rounds.

He also totaled eight points in another round, before reaching the finals against Senior Airman Travis Phelps and Airman 1st Class Jordan

Hanks, who h a d to win a sudden death round in order to reach the shoot-off.

“This actually felt pretty good,” said Randolph about playing against the older competition. “At first, it seemed like a challenge, but then after that I started to feel confident. My dad always told me that, if you’re a shooter, you should always be prepared.”

In the men’s final, Randolph started off with the shootaround with another seven-point performance, before handing the ball over to Hanks.

While Hanks tore through the first two racks to tie Randolph with seven points, the usually steady-handed shooter missed all of his five shots on the final rack to finish the round in a dead heat with the Radford student.

“I didn’t find a good spot next to the rack, so I kept bumping my arm and throwing me off,” said Hanks, who would have won the top prize by sinking just one of his final five shots. “That was on me.”

With Randolph and Hanks already tied, Phelps needed seven points to stay in the contest, or eight to end it.

However, Phelps, who had previous rounds of eight, seven and eight, saw his run come to a halt, when he recorded three points in the final.

In the winner-take-all showdown, Hanks started off slow and never recovered, as he sank only two baskets for two points.

The small number seemed to put Randolph at ease, as the teenager pumped in his first two shots to tie, and then went on to post his highest total of the day at 10.

“Right after that I felt like I was just shooting in the gym by myself,” Randolph admitted. “I had faith in God that I could make it though this. After shooting the last couple of rounds with ties and everything, I was like, just let go and let God.”

For the women, although Wetzel didn’t have to face the amount of competition that met Randolph, she still managed to post one of the highest mark of the day.

In the second round, Wetzel seized hold of the women’s title by throwing down 10 points to outdistance Brady by seven.

The former Lady Knight said that with only a couple of weeks practice prior to the shootout, she was surprised at how she shot the ball under pressure.

“I can’t believe I got 10,” she said. “The first time, I was really cold. That’s the hardest part, but after you shoot a couple, I was like, I got this.”

Sports Editor

After falling behind by a score of 14-5 in the early minutes of the game, USS Crommelin (FFG 37) Indestructibles burst out to a 15-0 run and never looked back in defeating USS O’Kane (DDG 77), 58-43. The game was an Afloat Division showdown of second-place teams at Bloch Arena, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, on March 3.

In beating O’Kane, Crommelin maintained their share of second place by raising their record to 51, while the O’Kane saw their Afloat mark drop to 42. Led by a strong bench and Crommelin’s high-scoring tandem of guard Seaman Raymond Dixon and forward Gas Turbine System Technician (Mechanical) 2nd Class Martin Houston, the team’s combined attack offset O’Kane guard Fire Controlman 2nd Class Frank Lofton’s 30 points to earn the lopsided victory.

Dixon scored 20 points, which included two clutch three-point shots in the first half, while teammate Houston, after a slow start, chipped in with 17.

“A lot of it had to do with some guys coming off the bench that don’t get a lot of playing time,” said Houston about the team’s big win. “Beckford (Operations Specialist 3rd Class Jacarous) was out there, got a couple of steals, hustled for us, and I think that got everybody else motivated.”

At first, O’Kane, behind Lofton’s hot hand, started out on fire and opened up a nine-point lead at 14-5, with Lofton scoring 11 points on three three-point bombs and a basket.

However, a free throw by Houston cut the lead down to eight and four minutes later, a steal and a basket by Beckford narrowed the margin down to two at 1412. Then on the next trip down the floor, Dixon popped in a trey to give the Crommelin their first lead of the game at 15-14 with 5:25 remaining in the first half.

“That was pretty big because at first I wasn’t doing anything,” said Houston about Dixon’s lead-changing shot.

Another basket by Dixon, followed by his second threepoint shot of the half, extended Crommelin’s lead to 20-14, before Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Zach Davis of O’Kane sank a shot with 2:13 remaining until halftime to finally break the run at 15.

“I hit our first 11 points, but then they just concentrated on double teaming me,”

Lofton said about losing the early lead. “When I’m dishing the ball out to my teammates, they got to try better to help me out a little bit because with just five players on the team, everybody got to hold their own.”

While Lofton tried to keep O’Kane within striking distance after the break, Crommelin’s balanced attack slowly put the game out of reach, as the team got 10 second-half points from Dixon, five from center Engineman Fireman Marcus Guffey, four from Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Apprentice Davon Saunders, a basket each from Ship’s Serviceman Seaman Angel Colonrivera and Beckford, and 13 from Houston.

Houston’s basket at the 13:10 mark gave Crommelin their first double-digit lead at 33-23, before a trey and basket on successive trips down the court by the forward put the game on ice with a 15-point advantage at 9:22 left on the clock.

Lofton admitted that entering the game with only seven players took a huge toll on his team in the final minutes of the game.

“That hurt a lot,” he pointed out. “We depend on our subs because we run a fast team. Without subs, it’s hard to get fresh bodies in there. Without fresh bodies, you can’t do the things you did in the beginning.”

Although Houston said that beating a solid team like O’Kane was very satisfying, he stated that the team wouldn’t feel complete until it avenges its only loss of the season a 46-37 defeat at the hands of Koa Kai the team from USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93).

“We feel pretty confident. It’s something that we talk about on a regular basis,” Houston said. “They (Koa Kai) beat us, and we got a little grudge against that. We know we can beat them. We’re just waiting for that time to come.”