Savannah, Barney win Afloat titles
They call themselves the
"Silverfox Express," but the
maroon and gold-clad basketball team from USS Savannah
was carrying more than beans,
bullets and black oil in winning
the 1984 Big Boy Afloat basketball championship.
Led by forward Ken Scott who
pumped in 18 points, the Express pulled away from the
repair ship Vulcan in the Big
Boy finale to ice the championship by a 42-37 score. The win
marked the third time this
season that Savannah had taken
on Vulcan's cagers with
unlimited success.
Adding to the Silverfox Express' second-half thrust was a
loud and boisterous throng of
Savannah fans who cheered on
their team which had trailed
earlier in the game. Superior
defensive play by Savannah
began taking its toll on Vulcan's
efforts, limiting Vulcan to one
shot per possession. At the same
time, momentum swung to
Savannah's side as the Express
enjoyed excellent shot selection
from the floor, contributing to
the come-from-behind win.
Earlier in the tournament,
teams from the Emory S. Land,
Seattle, Concord, Vulcan and
Savannah battled it out to set up
the Vulcan-Savannah championship match.
Round one saw the Land
carve out a decisive victory over
Seattle, 54-48, at McCormick
Center. Land next met up with
Savannah, but lost, 64-61. Meanwhile, Vulcan was beating back
the Concord, 57-44, to earn a pre-
championship shot at Savannah.
Savannah triumphed in this, the
second meeting of the season
between the two teams, to drop
Vulcan into the losers' bracket
of the double elimination
tournament.
Concord eliminated Seattle by
a score of 56-51 and then lost to
Emory S. Land, 40-39, to end
Concord's season. This set up a
confrontation between the Land
Express
USS Savannah's winning
"Silverfox Express" basketball
team shares the Big Boy Afloat
championship plaque with their
skipper, Bill McGowen, in
ceremonies held on Savannah's
fo'c's'le.
22 Mc^trV l^gH , p. ^c
and Vulcan which saw a hard-
fought contest end in a 48-43 victory for Vulcan and another shot
at Savannah.
Simultaneously, and certainly
no less exciting, was play in the
Small Boys Division that pitted
the likes of the Barney, Truett,
Caloosahatchee, King, Belknap,
Scott, Radford and Kittiwake in
tournament play at McCormick
Center.
First round action saw Barney
beating Truett, 77-41;
Caloosahatchee over the King,
60-57; Belknap 48, Scott, 40; and
Radford over Kittiwake. Barney
than zapped the 1983 South
Atlantic Regional champion,
Caloosahatchee by a 49-44 score
and Belknap pulverized the
Radford, 77-46. This set up a
match between Belknap and
Barney with Belknap hanging
on to win, 61-57.
In the losers' bracket, King
beat Truett, 84-53; Scott over
Kittiwake; King beat the Radford, 68-47 while Scott was
finalizing Caloosahatchee's
season with a 55-50 victory over
the Caloos. Scott then lost to
Barney, 49-32, which set up the
championship round between
Belknap and Barney. Barney
nailed the Belknap, 52-46 in the
first game and came back to
take the final, 50-47, and the
trophy.
