MARINE CORPS BASE QUANTICO, Va. -- Expectations were high at the tipoff between the Marine Corps Systems Command and the Marine Corps Embassy Security Guard teams Feb. 19, 2014, at the Barber Fitness Center, but the overpowering play of MCSC lead to a 68-27 drubbing of MCESG.
“Everybody is playing unselfishly and that is the key,” said Mike Spencer, assistant coach for the MCSC team, which is 7-1 for the season. “The versatility of the team has brought us to this point.”
Billy Dixson, MCESG player, agreed that MCSC worked as a team to win the game.
“They had a five-man team,” said Dixson. “The players passed the ball pretty decently, [and] they had really good shooters and a really good center.”
The game started as a duel, with scoring going back-and-forth pretty evenly. But within minutes, MCSC took total control of the game and outscored their opponents for the rest of the game.
“Defense and speed were the highlights for us [tonight],” said Spencer.
Anthony Johnson, MCSC point guard, agreed with the coach and added that the coach’s mentoring has helped their team.
“As the coach said, defense [was the highlight tonight],” said Johnson. “He pushes us hard every time and tells us not to let up.”
MSG, on the other hand, had a different feeling about their performance.
Dixson identified penetration as MSG’s strengths during the game and said their weaknesses were rooted in ball handling.
“We are just going to keep playing ball,” said Dixson. “[We need] more passing and less turnovers.”
With MCSC’s record of 7-1, Spencer shared his plan to reach a championship spot and win.
“We are not worried about anybody,” said Spencer. “Just get out there and play.”
Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil