ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
Thirty-two servicemembers from Andrews were invited by the Washington Wizards to watch the basketball team face-off against the Charlotte Bobcats Saturday night at the Verizon Center.
The Wizards gave Andrews members the tickets as part of their Military Appreciation Night and those in attendance witnessed an exciting game that went right down to the wire.
The Wizards played well early; taking a 68-55 lead with 4:38 remaining in the 3rd quarter, but that lead did not last long.
The Bobcats stormed back, going on a 16-2 run at the end of the 3rd quarter that gave them the lead and the game remained extremely close until the very end.
The Wizards had the ball and trailed 90-89 with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Point guard Mike James penetrated the lane and managed to get a shot attempt off, but missed the pull-up jump-shot resulting in the Wizards fourth straight loss.
Andrews personnel attending the game were nonetheless entertained by the close game and grateful to the Wizards organization for the tickets.
"I think it's great," said Tech Sgt. Robert Tull, 459th Operations Support Flight security officer. "I hope they do it more often."
Other Andrews personnel at the game commented on how nice it was to get out into the local community and take advantage of the many activities that occur both on base and off.
"I think it's great for the Wizards to welcome us here," said Master Sgt. Tiffany Hayatt Fox, 459th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, NCO in charge of information management. "It's a great welcome home for my husband who just got back from Iraq."
"We're lucky at Team Andrews to have such a great relationship with the Washington Wizards," said Eric Sharman, 316th Wing Public Affairs deputy chief. "They understand the sacrifices that our Airmen make, and they want to do whatever they can to show their appreciation."