Las Vegas, NV- While it may only be December, the Firestorm (10-2) played today's game like it was a winner-takes-all playoff game. With one of Canada's top collegiate programs staring them in the face, and the sting of yesterday's matchup still fresh, the Firestorm put in their most complete games of the year on the way to a 75-67 win in the Las Vegas Hoopla.

The challenge before the game was to take the glimpse of energy and passion we saw in yesterday's game, and turn it into a full game. For the University of British Columbia (15-3) and star Forward Conor Morgan, the message was received loud and clear from the opening tip that the Firestorm were ready for a battle. With Morgan winning the opening tip, Senior Guard Matt Willkomm caught him on the baseline and came up with the first of what would be 13 first half turnovers forced by the Firestorm.

While the game was extremely low scoring early one, no one in the building doubted that the Firestorm would eventually get things going offensively. Led by Sophomore Forward Lawrence Combs , the defense swarmed on Morgan any time he touched the ball. With Combs scoring eight points early on, including a vicious one-handed slam, The Firestorm held onto the lead despite some of their usual key contributors having trouble scoring. With the Thunderbird's Morgan and the Firestorm's Sam Finley and Callum Lawson all sitting on the bench with two fouls, the Firestorm defense showed no signs of letting up as they continued pursuing the ball at an impressive speed. The Firestorm, who never trailed in the first half, took a 42-35 lead into the break.

The second half opened with Willkomm hitting a sharp-looking three to swell the lead to 10 and the Firestorm looked to be rolling. But Morgan showed a couple flashes of just how good he can be for the Thunderbirds, returning the favor with a couple quick points of his own. The two teams spent the next four minutes trading blows with each other, and Junior Guard Torrian Epps showed plenty of signs that he had shaken off the rust of a two-year break from the game. But while the Thunderbirds may have gotten more than they were expecting against the Firestorm defense, they definitely made it known they weren't going to go down without a fight. A couple turnovers and indecisive shooting by the Firestorm gave the Thunderbirds the window they had been waiting for. A three-pointer by Mason Bourcier at the 11:55 mark, gave the Thunderbirds their first lead of the game. With the Thunderbirds gaining their footing, and seeing their lead grow to 60-54, the question now was if the Firestorm still had one more punch left in them.

With Head Coach Jeff Rutter willing his team to keep pushing, the Firestorm used a Johannes Menzel three-pointer to cut the lead back to one possession. It was in these couple of minutes that we truly saw the grit and desire of this team. There was never any doubt on the Firestorm bench that they were going to get back in it, they just needed to wait for the opportunity. That moment came shortly after the Menzel three, with Morgan picking up his fourth and fifth fouls via an over the back call and a technical foul. With Willkomm hitting two free throws, and Lawson missing his but getting his own rebound for the score, the Firestorm regained a 61-60 lead. With the score locked at 64-64, a dunk from Epps and an alert play by Lawson say the Firestorm regain a lead they wouldn't surrender again. With Lawson hitting four free-throws in the final two minutes, the Firestorm found themselves leading by five with one minute remaining. What felt like a last-chance three pointer from the Thunderbirds fell short, a fell right into the hands of Finley. As Finley cut up the court on the fast break, you could almost feel what was coming next from the unusually quiet guard. Anything thoughts of a quiet day for Finley were erased as he threw down an impressive dunk that all but iced the game.

All in all, this was certainly a key win for the Firestorm. With Golden State Athletic Conference play looming in just two weeks, the Firestorm made some very impressive strides in what was a hard-fought battle.

"We showed a little bit of growth today defensively" said Coach Rutter, "this was probably the first time this season where we beat a team by getting down in the stance for long stretches, flying all over the court, and just beating them defensively".

Tough, Smart, and Unselfish is the mantra of Firestorm Men's Basketball. To find an example of what it means to play in this way, look no further than tonight's win. 

The Firestorm are back in action one more time before taking off for Christmas as they will face Yellowstone Christian College (4pm, Fultz Memorial Gymnasium) today.

If you can't make the game, you can view the game via the Firestorm Network

www.portal.stretchinternet.com/acu