It came down to the last point, when senior Car Gibbs hit the game-winning foul shot with .9 seconds left in the game.
That’s when a group of students, on a Tuesday night in Seneca High School’s gymnasium, beat the law.
Seneca seniors took on the Red Lion Barracks state troopers in a charity basketball game on June 11, with a final score of 64-63. The money they raised will be used to create a scholarship fund.
“I had a blast playing in the game. I wish I could do it all over again,” said Gibbs.
This year the school did something different. They allowed the involvement of any senior to participate in the event. Close to 35 seniors signed up to play. As a final memory of Seneca High School, the seniors were given jerseys from the game.
Last year, the seniors won 46-41 in a game that raised about $300 to support Prom House 110 Carranza, a post-prom, all-night, safe event for Seneca seniors and their prom dates.
Along with winning, the school continued another tradition of the event. At the end of each quarter, there were intermission games for the crowd and seniors to participate in. They had a dribbling relay, foul shooting contest, and a knockout contest, which involved free-throw shooting. A few kids were picked to participate in a slam dunk contest, where winners were chosen by the crowd by cheering on the best dunks.
During halftime, the school invited Perry Parks from Absolute Control Dog Training Academy in Medford to bring a K-9 for the crowd to watch a trained police dog at work. Parks walked the dog up and down the court to get the canine comfortable with the area. Then, Parks put on his safety equipment for an attack demonstration. He called a few people to perform in the demonstration, including Trooper Tyree Cooper.
This year, Cooper, who also played in the game, and social studies and special education teacher Casey Burk planned the event.
“Trooper Cooper and myself want to create lasting relationships between our State Police and Seneca community. This is something that Trooper Cooper and myself want to keep up each year, and make it better,” said Burk, who was one of the two referees of the night. The other referee was Jeff Weiler, the head coach for the Seneca boys basketball team.
To plan this event, Cooper and Burk had to get the involvement of the senior class. Both of them held signups, and created RSVPs to ensure enough participation from the students. Cooper handled the outside sponsors and Burk reached out to the surrounding community to get the bleachers filled for the night.
“This was a great event and awesome to see the state troopers take the time out of their busy schedules to play against us. It was so much fun playing with my closest friends. Plus, it was a great experience to have as our last Seneca event before we graduate,” said senior Joah Mikulski.
