Nasty Pac ‘B’ sneaks past NCTAMSPAC

Randy Dela Cruz, Sports Editor

An eight-point run to start the second half helped Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific (Nasty Pac) “B” hold on to a one-point, 47-46, victory July 28 over Naval Computer Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific (NCTAMSPAC) in a Summer Basketball League (SBL) game at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Fitness Center gym.

The SBL is a pay-to-play league, which is open to active duty, dependents and Department of Defense employees, who are 18 years of age or older.

Tied at 26-26 at halftime, Nasty Pac picked up the pace in the second half and shot their way to a 34-26 lead before fighting off a stiff challenge by NCTAMSPAC to earn the one-point win.

“The second half there was a lot more hustle and we played better defense,” said Fire Control Technician 1st Class Casey Pegram about Nasty Pac’s fast start out of the break. “I don’t think we hustled much in the first half and we didn’t come out prepared.”

While Pegram lamented about the team’s slow start, neither team was able to pull away in a close first half that seesawed back and forth all the way until halftime.

Down by a score of 11-7, Nasty Pac tied the score at 11-11 on a basket by Seaman Morton Smith, before a hoop by teammate Yeoman 2nd Class Sammell Humphries completed a 6-0 run to give his team a 13-11 lead with 6:23 remaining in the half.

From that point on, the lead seemed to change hands on every possession.

First, a three-pointer by Ensign Gennaro Hawkins put NCTAMSPAC up by a point at 14-13. Then after an exchange of baskets by Nasty Pac’s Machinist’s Mate 1st (SS/DV) Class Dean Marvin and NCTAMSPAC post-player Information Systems Technician 3rd Class Marquis Perkins, Humphries completed a basket-and-one to give his team an 18-16 advantage.

However, the lead was short lived as Hawkins came back on the very next trip down the floor to spot up and swish his second trey of the half to put NCTAMSPAC up by one at 19-18.

In the second half, Nasty Pac opened up the biggest lead of the game with their 8-0 run, but NCTAMSPAC fought back and slowly chipped away at the deficit behind the strong play of Perkins, who led all scorers with 20 points.

A trey by Perkins closed the gap to three at 36-33 with 11:07 remaining on the clock, and another basket by the NCTAMSPAC big man brought the team to within a point at 38-37.

A three-pointer by Marvin gave Nasty Pac some breathing room at 41-37, but a basket by Hawkins tied the game at 43-43 with 3:51 remaining in the game.

Later, Hawkins hit one of two from the charity stripe to give NCTAMSPAC a 46-45 lead, but Marvin came back with just 27 seconds in the game to knock down the winning basket.

For the game, Marvin led a balanced attack for Nasty Pac with 14 points, while Smith added 10, Humphries scored nine, and Pegram rounded out the team’s top scorers with eight points.

Meanwhile, Perkins received solid support from Hawkins, who complemented his teammate with 16 points.

“We started off slow in the second half and lost momentum,” said Perkins about falling short to Nasty Pac. “We tried to pull it back close, but we lost by one.”

Although Nasty Pac was able to hold on to get the win, Pegram said he felt that the team should have pulled away for an easier victory.

A little more practice, Pegram said, should make Nasty Pac even better in the future.

“I think we could have played a lot better. We should have won by more,” Pegram said. “We’re just learning to play together. First time we came together, it took awhile to jell. In the second half, we came back and jelled better.”

Yeoman 2nd Class Sammell Humphries, forward for Naval Submarine Training Center Pacific (Nasty Pac) “B” squad, soars past Ensign Gennaro Hawkins of Naval Computer Telecommunications Area Master Station Pacific (NCTAMSPAC) for two of his nine points in a Summer Basketball League showdown at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Fitness Center gym.