Bender Arena hosted the second-annual Faculty vs. Staff Basketball Classic Oct. 11, with the faculty avenging its 2010 loss to the staff by prevailing 36-32.
The honorary coach for the staff team was AU men’s basketball Head Coach Jeff Jones, while AU women’s basketball Head Coach Matt Corkery was the honorary coach for the faculty squad.
The faculty got off to a blazing start. Powered by a fast break offense that would make New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni proud, the faculty ripped off nine straight points to start the first quarter. The staff would later make their first points on a foul shot midway through the quarter.
There was some excitement to end the opening quarter as Michael Sumner of the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, who led the staff with nine points, hit a half-court shot as time expired.
The second quarter was similar to the first, as the faculty used superior ball movement to maintain its lead. The staff was able to cut into the faculty’s lead a bit and trailed 24-12 at halftime.
The third quarter, much like the two before it, saw the faculty maintain the lead, but the staff showed signs of a comeback. Ending the quarter down by nine, the staff showed signs that they could slow down the faculty offense.
The fourth quarter saw the staff mount a furious comeback, as the faculty defense was unable to stop the staff offense. The staff cut the lead to four with 18 seconds remaining in the game, but the faculty held on for the 36-32 victory.
Danny Hayes from the School of Public Affairs led the faculty team with nine points, while Tyler Ward from Public Safety chipped in eight points for the staff.
At the half, both the AU men’s and women’s basketball teams debuted their roster. When asked about what he expected this season, Corkery said his current team is a hard working teams and anyone who attends their games will see a team that gives maximum effort.
As for the men’s team, Jones said that, even though the team hadn’t started practice (which begins Oct. 14), he could tell his team is going to work hard throughout the season. Jones also encouraged fans to come to see the team play its exhibition game against Randolph-Macon College Nov. 2 and the home opener Nov. 16 against Florida Atlantic University.
sports@theeagleonline.com
