The UTM Student Government Association (SGA) hosted its first annual Student vs Faculty/Staff charity basketball game in the Elam center on March 19 at 7 p.m.
Attendees had the option of paying $2 admission at the door or donating 3 canned goods benefiting the Martin Teen Center and the Captain’s Food Pantry.
The faculty/staff team, the Pacers, lost to the student team, the Skyhawks. The Skyhawks held the lead throughout the game, which was maintained despite a rally by the Pacers in the second half.
At halftime, the announcer changed the rules slightly to benefit the Pacers since they were down by 17 points.
“We love our students here, but we’ve gotta do something to equal our stance a little bit,” said Carver.
So, for the second half of the game, the Pacers were given five points instead of three for each 3-point shot.
Even after receiving this booster in terms of points, they could not catch up to the Student team. The Skyhawks defeated the Pacers 66-54.
Throughout the game, door prizes were randomly given out to attendees and many had the chance to participate in competitions in between quarters.
Before the second quarter, Sigma Gamma Rho sponsored a 3-Point Shootout with two randomly chosen contestants. The winner, Andrew Bess, received a $40 Walmart gift card.
Between the third and fourth quarters, Deonte Watson was randomly chosen to attempt a half-court shot in 90 seconds. After making the shot with 60 seconds left to spare, he was awarded a $1,000 scholarship.
Regardless of who won the game, the night was a reasonable success in terms of fun and charity.
“It was great idea and a lot of fun,” said Dr. Daniel Nappo, professor of Spanish and member of the Faculty/Staff team. “It’s a good idea to support any initiative that will help young people in our area.”
A total of $425 was raised for the Martin Teen Center, and over 300 canned goods were collected for the UT Martin Captain’s Food Pantry.
UTM’s Student Government Association hosted the first Student v. Faculty/Staff Charity Basketball game March 19, in the Elam Center. Proceeds from the game benefitted Martin Teen Center and UTM’s Captain’s Food Pantry. Featured in the image is SGA President Devin Majors and UTM Chancellor Dr. Keith Carver. Photo credit/Tra Wilder
