DIE REF'S DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Warriors have finally begun to play team basketball. Over the weekend the Warriors played in the Capital Classic sponsored by Coca Cola. Even though the Warriors didn’t win it all they played as a team and gave it their all. The Warriors ended up 2 and 1 in pool play earning them the second seed only to face our nemesis Fort Meade in the first round.
The Warriors knew that this game would be another tough one but we were confident that we could get the win. Fort Meade came out firing like they always do and it seemed that the Warriors would be done early. The referees didn’t help by calling touch fouls against the Warriors and allowing Fort Meade to just beat us up all game long. At the start of the game the Referees claimed that they were going to let us play tough but it seemed like that message was only for Fort Meade. By the half Fort Meade led by three.
The second half was very exciting and it showcased what each team did best. Fort Meade put on the signature press that caused several turnovers early. The Warriors hit some big shots and finally started to play defense. Late in the second half the Warriors were down by 10, Coach Banks called a time out to get our heads back in the game. He told us that we would not just give this game to them but if we continued to play hard we could close this gap and win this game. We came back out and did just that! We ending up closing the gap down to three and with seven seconds left we had a chance to send the game into overtime.
Okay, here was the game plan, Coach Banks wanted us to push the ball up and have our two best shooters come off screens looking for their shot. Lamont Harvin took the ball out and we had to go the entire length of the court. He passed the ball to Brian Hill who was getting bumped and fouled. Once over the half court line the play that we wanted wasn’t there, so Hill took it upon himself to make the shot. He pulled up from the three point line and kissed it off the glass for “THREE!” The gym went crazy; no one could believe that he made the shot, especially the Ref’s. They called Hill’s shot a two pointer and this was unbelievable. The referees said that they didn’t see the play and this was simply poor officiating. It took the scorers table to overturn the decision and they finally gave us the three pointer. We ended up getting the ball back after the shot because of a turnover by Fort Meade. We had a shot to win this game!
We took the ball out underneath our basket and had the best play called for us. Big man Andre Hall passed the ball to L. Harvin who had a great look but just missed it by inches sending the game to overtime. In overtime, Fort Meade dominated us from the tip off. Their two man game plus the three referees was just too much for us to handle. I don’t know where these referees came from but they did not call this game fairly. The Warriors down low game got fouled on every possession, but no calls were made. But on the other end every time someone touched a Fort Meade player the whistle blew time and time again. Fort Meade ended up winning the game with lots of help from the referees.
After the game there was some heated discussion between the Warriors coach and the head referee. Coach Banks made it clear that his crew cheated his boys out of this game by calling a terrible game. The Warriors saw something in Coach Banks that inspired us to know that the only thing we need to do is play basketball and let the coach deal with everything else. I looked at the players after the game and even though we lost the game we didn’t argue at each other or walk out of the gym with our heads down. Instead all I could see was a group of guys ready to play again, ready to go to practice, ready to lace up our shoes and get back to basketball. Fort Meade, you guys played a great game and I can truly say that both teams gave the fans probably the best game this season. If the Warriors continue to build this type of chemistry of playing good team ball and depending on each other to win then ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!
During the game Andre Hall said something in the huddle and I quote, “Hey guys I know we are down, but lets get back in this game together and don’t take it upon yourself to do it all……LETS PLAY TEAM BASKETBALL!” At this point I saw the transformation from a team of individuals to a team of BASKETBALL PLAYERS willing to die for their Battle Buddy! This is a battle people, a battle where only the STRONG SURVIVES!