A group of Northwood students locked in a close 77-76 win tonight over the faculty team during Northwood’s annual student-faculty basketball game. A crowd of parents, students and staff members attended the match.
Basketball coach Cameron Vernon, a member of the faculty team, was confident during the pre-game warm up when asked which side he thought would win.
“It’s not ‘I think,’” Vernon said. “I know the faculty is going to win. We’ve been dominant over the past five years, and we’re going to continue our dominance tonight.”
Assistant principal Valencia Toomer, who played during much of the game, felt confident in her side’s potential to succeed.
“We’re big, we’re bold and we are unstoppable,” Toomer said.
When asked to describe the game from her spot on the bench, the administrator’s sentiment was concise.
“Two words,” Toomer said. “Total domination.”
Sophomore Courtney Wolfe was a member of the student lineup and also plays varsity basketball at Northwood. She expected the high school students would win the game.
“There are so many boys [on the student team] that they really handle it,” Wolf said, “So I just kind of sit in the background, but I’m always game ready.”
Senior Jack Maynard attended the match anticipating that the faculty would be “blown out by the students,” but he later felt that the students played more disjointedly than the faculty.
“[The faculty team is] playing better team basketball, and they’re not trying to show off as much,” Maynard said.
Tameka Johnson, mother of student player Cameron Goins (40), was a spectator. She played basketball at Northwood for her entire high school career.
“The strongest team actually would probably be the students, but as of right now, they are not playing like they are the strongest team,” Johnson said.
Principal Justin Bartholomew analyzed how the faculty’s day-to-day interactions at school affected their ability to play basketball as a group.
“Generally speaking, we get along really well because we spend so much time working together, so it’s nice,” Bartholomew said. “We have good communication. There is no doubt you’ve got student athletes who have a lot more energy and athleticism than we do, but because we work well together [and] collaborate well together, we get it done on the court.”
Neither team practiced as a group in the days leading up to the game. When Vernon was asked if the faculty practiced beforehand, his response was, “We don’t need to.”
Student spectator Carmyn Johnson thought the students pulled ahead during the final minutes on the clock because of their “group work.” A sophomore on the student side, Tyrell Baldwin, saw the potential in the students even when the faculty was ahead in points.
“We’ve got a good team chemistry, and we’re going to play together and just win,” Baldwin said.
As the 77-76 final score showed, Baldwin’s prediction was correct. English teacher Terrence Foushee described himself as “physically drained” and “emotional” after his team’s narrow loss to the students.
“I think the pressure got to us,” Foushee said.
– By Adrianne Cleven