AFSPC unbeatable as Over-30 season winds down Published Feb. 9, 2009 By Walt Johnson CSMNG PETERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Colo. -- -- After two games, Jan. 27 and Jan. 29, one thing seems to be perfectly clear when it comes to the Peterson Over-30 intramural basketball league. The defending champions from Air Force Space Command are on their way to becoming repeat champions. On Jan. 27, Air Force Space Command used a devastating offensive attack and a stifling defense to rout the 21st Force Support Squadron 61-40. On Jan. 29, AFSPC again showed its dominance when it took apart the NORAD/NORTHCOM Sea Services team and defeated them, 74-41. Entering the Jan. 27 game against the 21st FSS, AFSPC came into the contest knowing it would have to play without its best player, Lyron Paul. The delay of Paul, allowed the 21st FSS team to have a chance to hang the first loss of the season on the AFSPC team. Seemingly, without blinking an eye, AFSPC raced out to a 37-18 halftime lead that looked more like a scrimmage than a game against a team with the talent level that the 21st FSS has. Mark Evanger, who is a supremely gifted ball player in his own right, stepped up to take the challenge of making up for Paul's absence and scored 16 first half points to lead the way for AFSPC. Andre Hope added six points and Mike Duran, five points, to help direct the AFSPC offensive. Roger Hill tried to keep the 21st FSS in the game in the second half when he scored 13 of his game high 21 points. The only other FSS player who scored with any consistency was Archie Ramos, who finished the game with nine points. On Jan. 29, just to prove to anyone who was paying attention that this AFSPC team is not reliant on any one player, the AFSPC team came out and played as perfect a team-oriented first half can possibly be seen. Paul was available for this game from the beginning, but the way AFSPC moved the ball, hit the open man and played unselfishly spectators barely knew he was on the floor. AFSPC's Jeff Russ and Jeremy Neville scored six points, each in the first half, to lead the balanced attack that saw all but one of the 12 players dressed for the game score at least two points. Still, with the balance scoring, the NORAD/NORTHCOM team was in the game at halftime as Chad Kabatoff, 14 points, and Jason Burge, 11 points, did everything they could to keep their team close. The second half of the game was a different story though as Paul scored 14 of his team high 16 points and the NORAD/NORTHCOM team wilted from the intense pressure AFSPC put on them offensively and defensively. After the earlier game, Paul said he was happy with the way the team performed. He cautioned the AFSPC team can play better and that will be one of its goals as the season heads toward the playoffs in February. "This team is close to being better than last year's team was. Today, I didn't play, but that shows you how good this team can be. Everyone on this team knows how to play and we know how to play together. If one of our players isn't here there is no drop off," Paul said. "If we are playing the way we are capable of playing I am not sure there is another team in the league that can beat us. In fact, when we play together and play to our abilities there may not be a team that can come within 10 points of us." Right now you get the feeling the rest of the league is playing for the right to say "we're number two." Unless you talk to Hill, who says, "let's hold off on the celebration until the end of the playoffs because the outcome may not be as clear as people think. I don't think it's a foregone conclusion they will win the championship at all. They will have to come through us again and the outcome could very well be different."