The last two games of year 2016 were played on 29 December at North Highland Assembly of God's church gymnasium.  The first game was played between the (8-5) Heat and (7-9) Bombers.  I observed the team leaders - Norman King (Heat) and Tony Moses (Bombers) - as they entered the gym and saw "mission" written all over their faces.  They made sure their benches were setup and scoring books filled out.  The players reported with a quiet demeanor focused on warming up and going over the game's strategies.  The Heat and Bombers are similar in so many ways.  The players have a lot of respect for each other on the court and bench.  They also believe in all players having the opportunity to play.  In response, the players do not bring negative attention to their teams by acting out.  They win and lose together.  On the other hand, I use my observations and statistics to assess how each team performed.

The game started with the Heat winning the first possession that resulted in a turnover.  The Bombers took an early lead with a three point shot from (#22) Jimmy Foster.  Sidney Dowlen (#24) entered the game, for the Heat, and put them on the scoreboard with two points.  The Heat caught-up with the Bombers and took the lead at six.  The bombers were not about have that and regained the lead at eight.  The Heat scored two points to tie the score a eight.  The Heat and Bombers would exchange leads nine more times and tying scores three times.  The Bombers requested their first timeout when the teams were tied at 15 - 15 with 11:54 remaining in the first half.  The Bombers requested another timeout when the Heat took a one point lead of 23 - 22 with 6:07 remaining in the half.  The Bombers came out of the second timeout and scored two points to go up 24 - 23.  The Heat responded with two points to take a 25 - 24 lead.  The Bombers were determined to stay close or ahead and scored on a three-point shot to go up 27 - 25 before the Heat tied the score, again, from two free throws from (#55) Roger Powell.  The Heat would go on a 6 - 0 run to end the first half with a 33 - 27 point lead.  The Bombers committed seven team fouls and the Heat committed three team fouls.  Seven players scored for the Heat.  Michael Brown (#3), Felton Scott (#31), and Sidney Dowlen (#24) combined for 18 points from six (6) individual points.  Norman King (#11) scored five (5) points along with four each from (#15) Johnny Sanchez and (#55) Roger Powell and two points from (#15) Donald Brophy.  The Heat also out-rebounded the Bombers 25 - 11;

The second half was clearly about staying focused, knowing your team, knowing your players, and scoring as the Heat slid from 33 first half points to 22 second half points.  The Heat outrebounded the Bombers 23 - 10; tied the Bombers with five (5) assists; and led the Bombers, in steals, 3 - 2.  The Bombers outscored the Heat by 16 points with 12 of those points coming from the free throw line.  Jimmy Foster scored nine (9) of his 17 second half points from the free throw line.  The Heat only scored four (4) free throws for the entire game - two in the second half.  Both teams played "scrappy" basketball that benefited the Bombers because the Heat did not use size as a possible challenge.  The Bombers defeated the Heat 65 - 55 to improve their record to 8 - 9.

The scorers for the Heat were:  (#11) Norman King with 12 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist; (#3) Michael Brown with 11 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal; (#13) Donald Brophy with 2 points and 5 rebounds;  (#31) Felton Scott with 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal; (#15) Johnny Sanchez with 4 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 assist; (#24) Sidney Dowlen with 10 points and 6 rebounds; (#50) Tracy Cohen with 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal; and (#55) Roger Powell with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist.

The scorers for the Bombers were:  (#3) Tony Moses with 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal; (#5) Keith Bridges with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals; (#22) Jimmy Foster with 23 points, 1 rebound, 3 assists, and 1 steal; (#33) Chris Watson with 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist; (#10) James Dix with 6 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists; and (#38) Shederal Hughes with 17 points and 5 rebounds.