For two years, Eastern Michigan University students lost to alumni in the annual Students vs. Alumni basketball game. That changed Thursday, when the students left the Convocation Center with a 76-74 victory.
“It feels pretty good, not going to lie,” junior Willie Brown said. “I’m not going to name any names, but someone on the alumni team said we were going to lose so it’s good to win.”
Senior captain Dominique Wade felt good about his team’s win.
“I feel satisfied,” Wade said. “Coming in to this year with two losses under our belts since I’ve been playing, to win a game finally means a lot.”
Brown said he will be back to play in next year’s game.
“Hopefully we can repeat so people don’t say this was a fluke or something,” Brown said.
About 400 people came to see the game. Organizer Keith Jason, who works as the Coordinator of Student Services for the College of Technology, said he thought the turnout could have been better, especially if the game was held on a Friday or Saturday.
“At the end of the day, it was fun, it was entertaining [and] students got to have their classmates see them play well,” Jason said.
Brown said the game is good, not only for the students and alumni who play, but for those who come to watch.
“It’s a beautiful event,” Brown said. “It’s a lot of fun. It gets students and people to come out and watch us play. [It’s] something to ease the minds before the big game comes on.”
Despite his team’s win, Wade said the game isn’t all about who wins and who loses.
“We just have fun,” Wade said. “That’s what it’s about.”
Jason said despite his team’s loss, the students were able to make some memories which they can take home with them.
“I think it’s unfortunate that we took the loss, but at the end of the day it’s always great to see the students get something under their belt,” Jason said. “It’s a great experience for them to get to play with these guys and now they can go home to their family at Thanksgiving and say they beat guys who played professionally.”
For more information, including tryout information for next year, contact Keith Jason at kjason@emich.edu.
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