The Arc and Stubbs RAs successfully put on LU Hearts Basketball, the first student vs. faculty basketball game in the Willet Gym. The not-so-serious event, helped spread awareness of the very serious issue of heart disease, and heart care, to the crowd in attendance Thursday night.
While the Longwood Lancers weren’t playing, students still came out to cheer on their friends as they faced several members of Longwood University faculty, in a fierce game of basketball.
The crowd could be heard shouting with excitement as members of each team, especially the student team, were introduced. The student team consisted of: Geoff Goodwin, Erin Hessler, Cecelia Howard, Daishun Johnson, Natalie Joseph, Noah Lovely, Molly Monaghan, Praise Nyambia, Alyssa Taylor, Cainan Townsend and Holly Watson, with Emily Russell as their coach.
They faced off against the faculty team featuring: Consuelo Alvarez, Dee Battle, Troy Ge, Greg Miller, Dr. Jake Milne, Michael Mucedola, Shannon Salley, Larry Watson, Thomas Wears, Rondel White and Wade Znosko, with Courtney Everhart as faculty coach. The official for the evening was Josh Harkema.
While the event highlighted a serious issue, there was plenty of excitement, not only from the game, but the prizes being raffled off during the media timeouts. By the end of the night, students won with gift certificates to Red Front, Uptown Café, Sweet Frog, Mainstreet Lanes and several other local establishments. A few members of the audience even walked away with exclusive “Longwood Hearts Basketball” t-shirts.
The game overall was intense, and the crowd was invested from beginning to end. Within the first few minutes of the game, the students were taking the lead, but the faculty managed to catch up, and eventually take the lead by halftime.
Nearing the end of the second half, the faculty was leading by one point. With only mere seconds left in the game, everything turned into complete chaos, as all the members of the student team, ran out onto the court to keep the faculty from scoring.
The rest of the faculty team, in turn, came out to even the odds, but were too late as the students managed to get away with the controversial win, by one point, 29-28.
“It was a lot of fun getting to play,” said Cainan Townsend, a member of the student team. “There was a general feel of good spirit and fun.”
Fresh off the loss, Professor Shannon Salley, of the department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, spoke on how she felt during the game: “It was fun, it was exciting, but it was also a little nerve-wracking, ‘cause I don’t play basketball.”
When asked about their controversial loss, she joked, “They cheated, so we didn’t really lose. Cheaters never win.”
The students, of course, saw it differently, including Townsend, who stated, “I think it was a tough game, but the referee called it, right?”
One of the people responsible for setting up the event was Monique Bates, the Area Coordinator for Cox, Wheeler, Arc, and Stubbs. She explained that the RAs of Arc and Stubbs, had been planning the event since last year, and were finally able to put it on this semester.
When asked if the event would become an annual affair, she responded, “The students got to let us know if they want it. If so we will try our best to do it again.”
If the crowd’s reaction was any indication, the student versus faculty game could become another Longwood tradition.
