Harlem Wizards Whiz Past Pace All-Stars

The Harlem Wizards posted an 18-point win over the Pace All-Stars during a fundraiser game in honor of Dr. Mel Oremland and the National Myeloma Foundation. The grossly unbalanced teams (the All-Stars roster topped out at 28 against the Wizards' six) played four quarters of lopsided yet thrilling basketball to a near 200 people audience.

Though things started off on a sour note with the All-Stars showing off their air-balling skills while the Harlem Wizards were being announced, fouls were kept to a minimum.

Winning the tip-off, the All-Stars failed to score but instead drew laughter from the mostly student crowd when big wig of finance and administration Rick Whitfield went down while trying to block a Wizards' shot. However, Whitfield redeemed himself when he made the first basket for the All-Stars despite the Wizards' early 8-2 lead.

The first quarter ended with the Wizards leading 16-6, but the All-Stars put a serious dent in the difference when they began the second quarter with three back to back baskets pulling 16-12, the closest they would come to evening the score.

Both leading scorers for the All-Stars were students. Freshman TJ Anakwe led the way with 10 points with junior John Graziano at six. At the half, the All-Stars were down by a mere 12 points at 30-18 Wizards, but their chances at winning this game were all but over.

During the halftime show, Anakwe competed against two other students in a dunk contest, which he won with an outstanding dunk. Throwing the ball against the back wall of the gym and having it bounce back to be dunked was not something the audience expected to see in a rag-tag gym in the Financial District but more during the NBA dunk contest.

The All-Stars surprised even their worst critic during the third quarter despite scoring a mere six points. The Wizards left most players on the floor dazed with their incredible "trick hoops and alley-oops" game. However, the immense resolve of the All-Stars was never stronger than towards the end of the third quarter when English professor Walter Raubicheck caught a rebound, wrestled the ball away from a Wizards' player and nailed a jump shot from the foul line.

Sponsored by the Student Government Association (SGA) and Alpha Chi Epsilon (AXE) fraternity, the fundraiser collected approximately $300. According to SGA President Reggie Thomas, the goal is to reach $1,000 by the end of the semester.

When asked why the organizations chose to have a fundraiser of this sort as opposed to writing a check to the Myeloma Foundation for the amount it cost to hold the event ($4,500 allotted by the Budget Allocation Council), Thomas explained what he called the "spirit" of the event, which was to foster "a sense of community from the 18th floor down."

SGA will be accepting donations at their tables during elections next week and at their upcoming "Coffee for the University" event. Thomas encourages all members of the University community to donate to this worthy cause.

Faculty and Staff: 4. Bill Offutt 5. Walter Raubicheck 6. Christopher Malone 7. Carlos Hernandez 8. David Mulcahy 9. Jonathon Silverman 10. John Cruz 11. Vilas Satkalmi 12. Danny Holmgren 13. Charles Abbinanti 14. Richard Abbinanti 15. Jim Curry

Students: 16. Valerio Bruscianelli 17. Heather James 18. Lisa Ko 19. Jessica M.____ 20. Aimee Fliedner 21. Kevin Ellis 22. John Graziano 23. Nick Shrier 24. Ahmad Sayer 25. Stacy Beaupre 26. TJ Anakwe 27. Reggie Thomas