By Abby Fletcher

Swoosh…buzz… The teachers reclaim their winning title in the annual Seniors vs. Teachers Basketball Game also known as Tuscarora’s March Madness Game winning 59 to 49. The teachers team was stacked with seasoned March Madness veterans and former college and high school basketball stars. While the senior’s team may have lacked some basketball credibility they made up for it in enthusiasm. Only two members of Tuscarora’s Men’s Basketball team and none from the Lady Huskies Basketball team joined the effort to bring down the teachers.

Donned with shooting sleeves and sweatbands the students took center court. The first whistle blew and Ben Knuff took the first opportunity he saw and sunk a three for the students. Next from downtown Nicole Apintiloaiei drained another three. Tique Yarbrough and Brandyn Crittenton who just wrapped up their varsity basketball season gave their coaches and teachers a run for their money as the two lead scorers on the student’s team.  Running on Adeline and wanting to cross up the person who gave them a bad grade on that last worksheet the students had no idea what the teachers team had in store for them.

Mrs. Stefanie Lane an AP World History Teacher in the classroom and a beast on the boards came to play. Being the only female on the teacher’s team she held her own tacking up the points for her team. The fearsome fivesome of Mr. Stephen McNamara, Mr. Mark Gisseman, Mr. Justin Martin, Mr. Michael Newkirk, and Mr. Brandon Wheelbarger banned together to play some tough defense and block as many of the student’s shots as they could. The star of the teacher’s team evidently was Mr. Stephen Shockley Tuscarora’s Men’s Assistant Varsity Coach. Shockley dribbled circles around the students and scoring most of the teachers 59 points.

But the main topic of discussion from the basketball game was Mr. Kevin Malone.The math teacher came out full throttle in the first half of the game. But after coming down from a rebound incorrectly Malone dropped to the floor. In seconds the gym went from cheers to dead silent. Whisked away in a wheelchair by the school’s nurse covered in ice packs he went straight to the hospital. Malone is set to have an MRI in the upcoming week to see if it’s either his ACL or MCL that he possibly tore. However, this is not the first time a teacher has gotten hurt during the March Madness Game. In the 2014 game Martin received a blow to the face and broke his nose.

Usually the event is put on back the junior class government or SCA but this year the game was organized by DECA. Tickets selling for $2 and an entertaining halftime show of a performance of the step team. Along with DECA juniors Josh Walakovits, Darian Khan, and Nial Araby helped with the event by referring the game.