Photos by Daniel Shrives unless otherwise noted
Decorated in an array of brightly colored outfits, wacky bucket hats, flags from different nations, and even Superman boxer shorts, the Bromfield seniors fell to the school staff members in the 48th edition of the staff-senior basketball game, 79-57. The game was sponsored by the Harvard Teachers Association and held on Friday, March 28, at the Bromfield gymnasium. The annual faceoff featured stiff competition on both sides of the ball and was played in front of a packed house.
Unlike regular season basketball games that are divided into four quarters, the staff-senior game features two action-packed halves. The girls of the senior class matched up against female staff members in the first half. Led by Bryce Mattie, Carrie Edmonds, and Alexa Cavanaugh (all with eight points each), the staff showed an urgency to score as the seniors ran into trouble with travel calls and missed shots.
Staff takes early lead
Two free throws by Mattie pushed the early lead to 6-2. A layup from Sara Merrihew and an easy put-back from Janis Dyer on the block increased the staff lead halfway through the period, 18-10.
Despite not featuring a single player on the varsity or junior varsity basketball squads this season, the senior girls were not without their own highlights. The seniors crashed the boards during the half as Nikki Margaretos scored her team’s first bucket on their sixth shot of the same possession to cut the early lead in half, 4-2. A smooth left-handed layup by senior Alison Hanlon and another offensive rebound and lay-in from teammate Shannon Barrett closed the gap to 12-8.
Ten- and 12-foot jump shots from seniors Lexi Dutkewych and Jessica Williams were answers to another Mattie layup, but the staff rebounded with a 12-2 run to extend their lead to 36-18 heading into the short intermission.
The boys of the senior class squared off against male staff members in the second half, and it was the seniors who picked up right where the staff left off. Senior Eric McAlpine brought the packed gym to its feet as he knocked down a three-pointer at the top of the key for the first points of the half. McAlpine’s trifecta put a charge into the crowd as fellow teammates Ryan Kennedy and Ben Veno drilled three-pointers of their own to ignite an early 9-2 run.
Staff men dominate as well
As was the case all evening, though, the staff had an answer for everything the seniors threw at them. Easy buckets down low from Principal Jim O’Shea and a three-pointer from Drew Skrocki widened the margin in the staff’s favor, 51-28. A layup from senior Corey Tower and a steal and coast-to-coast layup by senior Ryan O’Leary with just over 17 minutes in the half seemed to spark another burst from the senior squad, but two more three-pointers from Josh Thurston and Associate Principal Scott Hoffman all but stifled the hopes of a senior come-from-behind victory.
The play of the night came from teacher Steve Besold, who channeled his inner Harlem Globetrotter to sink a behind-the-back, no-look shot from just outside the key. “That was the highlight of the game right there,” teammate Thurston said of Besold’s trick shot. An impressive fade-away jumper on the baseline from senior Ben Roop made the score 63-41 with just over nine minutes remaining, but it simply wasn’t enough as the staff pulled ahead for the victory.
‘It’s all in good fun’
Hoffman remarked after the game that he enjoyed playing with the kids. “It’s all in good fun,” he said. Senior Sam Igo added that she “had such a blast,” but for some, the game marks the realization that graduation is just around the corner. “You really realize the senior class has something special,” said senior Martina Stadler.
Kristin Noyes manages to get by substitute teacher Alexa Cavanaugh.
Mattie Van Dorpe gets ready to take a shot.
Lily Shepherd. (Photo by Sam Jackson)
Math teacher Josh Thurston high fives his teammates.
Eric McAlpine proudly displays the Scottish flag as he is introduced.
Jake Turchetta contemplates how to get a shot past Associate Principal Scott Hoffman as his teammates cheer him on.
Family feud! Ross Brown-Cullinane is fouled by his dad, HES teacher Rob Cullinane.
