Over 30 past basketball alums laced up their shoes for a day of competition and camaraderie on Saturday, February 18, 2017. It was highlighted by our reception for all former MU basketball players, plus both the MU Men's and Women's varsity teams concluded their regular season play by beating their conference adversary, Goshen College on this same afternoon!In the inaugural women's competition, Game MVP Lakan Hasser-Smith '16 led her "Gold" Team over their "Blue" Team counterparts 37-32, as Gold (which also included Jessica (Woods) Carr '09, Megan Egenolf '11, Kristen Houck '10, Mandy (Kot) Miller '08, & Anjellica Rospond '11) had both a balanced offense and frenetic defense to offset the guile and intensity of Blue. Blue was paced by Kaylee Walters '15 and her 11 points, but she had plenty of support from teammates Sarah (Bowling) Bangel '07, Lori (Warmoth) Fultz '02, Amie Larkins '14, Faith Reese '15, and Rachel Turk '13.
In the Men's game, MVP Dion Smith '16 amassed 43 points from virtually every corner of the court as his "White" Team over-ran their "Blue" Team counterparts 92-66. Smith and his mates, which included significant scoring support from Drew Adams '14 (17 points) and Jake Sullivan '12 (14 points) and a relentless defense paced by Brandon Malone '11, Derek James '08, and Jess Chadwell '14 were a little too much for Blue. Blue was led by Jake Stafford '14 and Alex Sylvester '12 with 20 & 21 points respectively and equally strong contributions from Derek Huffman '06, Brad Metzger '03, Brandon Kaiser '09, Curtis Clem '13, and Jeremy Budreau '04.
In the shooting contests, Sylvester--no stranger to dominance in the Men's 3-point and Free Throw competitions--won both events. Turk and Fulton prevailed in the Women's 3-point and Free Throw shoot-outs respectively.
As always, special thanks to the many who assured the success of this year's activities, but most especially Cathy Siler, Elizabeth Barrett, and Wil Hampton. Additionally, I would be remiss in not acknowledging the player recruiting accomplishments of Brad Metzger and Megan Egenolf, and certainly the support from our Athletic Director, Steve Downing, coaches and staff, including Mitch Huppert, Zach Wadley, and Adrianne Johnson '14.