By Rabita Aziz (March 7, 2005)

While the George C. Marshall Statesmen sang a good-bye song to their opponents, the Mason Mustangs chanted "We won the real game," on the opposite side of the courts at Marshall High School Friday night. However, the Statesmen prevailed 55-45. The Mustangs played a very strong game, but in the end the rivals came out victorious at the first faculty "Battle of the Pike" charity basketball game. However, both schools came out victorious at the end of the night when the main goal of the evening was achieved with flying colors. As a result of the game, the schools were able to raise over $4,000 in less than three hours for the Tsunami Relief Project. Mason’s share of the proceeds will go directly to the Save the Children Foundation, to which Mason has already donated over $34,000 as a result of a series of earlier fundraisers.

Masonites were encouraged to attend and support their players, and they delivered. The gym was packed to the maximum with over 500 people in attendance, with students sitting on the staircases and floors, the Mason section being the most crowded. The atmosphere was one of both excitement and rivalry, with students from both sides throwing some good-natured jeering at each other. Although the game started at 7:30, the festivities began around 6 o’clock with a tailgate party at Marshall. The radio station Hot 99.5 supported the event by providing energetic music and fun. The Mason team consisted of 14 faculty and staff members from different areas of the school. To this reporter, it seemed that Mason had better players than Marshall, or else they wouldn’t have been able to maintain such a strong lead for three-quarters of the game. The Mason players were Lauren Moran, Shannon Johnson, James Stewart, Jenny Persson, Kara Hanover, Lori LaFave, Dan Wilkie, Stephanie Hulke, Adam Amerine, Bill Broderick, Lauren Szymanski, Dion Green, Jevon Wright, and Erik Bergesen. The head coach was Tom Horn, assisted by coaches Carlyn Kuder and LaBryan Thomas. The athletic trainer was Vicki Galliher, and the manager was Julie Bravin. Perhaps Marshall felt especially inclined to win, seeing as Mason had defeated them in the original "Battle of the Pike" varsity basketball game earlier in the school year. The Marshall students attended in droves as well, and made Masonites feel welcome. Both sides spent much time and effort in organizing the entire event, and it showed. The event not only consisted of the basketball game, but a raffle, a unique half-time performance by Marshall’s dance team, and a touching moment when students from tsunami-devastated nations thanked the people in attendance for their help and encouraged them to continue what they’re doing.

Jennifer Persson, an secretary  in the Middle School  office and basketball  aficionado, storms past a Marshall player to go  for  the shot. (Photo by Sara Sugrue)

The raffle prizes were mostly gift certificates and products from local businesses, such as Bertucci’s, Chipotle, Ledo’s, Borders, Loews Cineplex, and Elegance Nails. Perhaps the most unique prize was an NFL jersey given to Marshall by former student and current NFL player for the Jacksonville Jaguars Nick Sorenson. The Marshall student who won the first prize decided to give her school her prize.

The beginning of the game, and most of the rest of it, started off in Mason’s favor, with Dion Green getting the tip-off. Within seconds after tip-off, Mason scored three points, and then immediately scored another two thanks to Jevon Wright. Marshall then entered the field with four points, but their student’s elation soon ended when Mason scored another three points. With 2:15 on the clock Mason was in the lead 9-7. Mason continued to score with the help of Bill Broderick who scored nothing but net, while Marshall continued to lag behind. With 50 seconds left in the first quarter, Mason was still in the lead 16-9. Mason continued to dominate the Marshall court for the rest of the first half. With 30 seconds left on the clock, the score was 29-21, Mason. With three seconds to go in the half, a Marshall player scored a three-pointer, and the Marshall side exploded with applause and shouts. The first half was followed by the half-time show, with the Marshall dance team giving a very satisfying performance to "Lose my Breath" by Destiny’s Child.

Mason students represented their school and demonstrated their school spirit to counter the  Marshall crowd at the first annual Faculty Battle  of the Pike Basketball Game to raise funds for  Tsunami Relief.  (Photo by Sara Sugrue)

Mason maintained its supremacy for the rest of the third quarter. With 6:10 left on the clock for the third quarter, the score was 33-24 Mason. Three minutes later, however, Marshall began to catch up with Mason, despite the excellent playing by the Mustang faculty. With two minutes left in the quarter, the score was tied, and Mason was not able to recover after this point. Masonites, however, continued to rival the Statesmen in their cheering abilities, and encouraged their players to keep up the good work. With a minute thirty seconds left, Marshall took the lead 38-36.

All the players became more aggressive at this point, and the game got a little rough. In the final quarter of the game, Mason players received eight fouls, and stepped up their game. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. With 3:15 left in the game, the score was 48-38 Marshall, but there was still hope. Mustang spirits rose when Broderick scored three points with three minutes left. But within the next 10 seconds so did Marshall, and the score was 51-41. At this point nearby a Mason student exclaimed, "This is so stressful!"

With 30 seconds left the score was 51-43 Marshall, but then Mason received a foul and Marshall’s score rose to 53. With 20 seconds left, the score was 54-43 Marshall, and the Marshall students began to sing good bye to their challengers. During the same time Masonites began to chant "We won the real game," referring to the "game" between the students, and insinuating that Mason students were better than Marshall students. With five seconds left the score was 55-43 Marshall, but Mason was able to score another two points, and the game ended 55-45.

The first-ever Faculty Battle of the Pike game was surely one to remember, with no lack of surprises and thrills. Both teams played their best, and the main cause of raising funds to aid the hundreds of thousands of tsunami devastation victims ended victoriously in the end. Hopefully this will become a tradition that will bring both school communities together, because Masonites are for sure itching to get revenge on our Leesburg Pike neighbors.