“The students get to go against their teachers and the teachers get to do something they don’t normally do, so it’s all around good vibes.”

That’s junior Dom Yarbrough talking about the annual students versus staff basketball game that serves as one of the highlights of Mission Week. This year’s edition, like so many past ones, was electric, and wound up coming down to the closing seconds when the faculty finished off the students.

In general, the game presents a conflict for students: Go hard and win, but risk an unfortunate incident, or take it easy and lose.

“It’s pretty embarrassing if you’re…going as hard as you can and…hurt someone. Like, that’s not cool,” Yarbrough said. “I think the teachers are going 110%, but the students were more 50%, you know. We just kind of stayed around and shot.”

When asked about the teachers game plan, PE teacher and coach Jake Bradshaw said “We don’t practice or play. Everyone just goes to show up and have some fun.”

The game started with the students winning the tip off, but both teams looked very sloppy with many turnovers and no points scored. An assist from senior Patrick Adriano to junior Colton Wemhoff eventually broke the scoring seal, but didn’t help the game pick up much momentum. It took an Ignatius Nguyen electric and acrobatic fadeaway for the teachers, followed by a couple of three pointers from junior Will Gormson to really get things going.

Going into halftime, students led 14-11, and the crowd was going wild.

The second half started faster, with a three pointer from the staff and a student layup on social studies teacher Tim Reidy’s head among the highlights.

The adults did manage to tie game at one point, and it stayed that way until senior Cole Stuckey splashed a triple to put the students back up.

The teachers finally grabbed their first lead on an uncontested three from Bradshaw with one minute remaining.

With 27 seconds left, Stuckey went to the free throw line with the students down by two. He missed his first shot, but drained the second, narrowing the staff’s margin to one. The students then had to foul Bradshaw with 12 seconds left to stop the clock. When they got the ball back, they caught a break when senior Matthew Kelly got fouled. With the students trailing by one facing a one-and-one with mere seconds remaining, Kelly missed his free throw, leaving the faculty victorious once again.

Despite the loss, student participants say it was a memorable experience.

“It’s just fun participating in things like that in front of the school, so that there really is a connection,” Yarbrough said, “not just among students but among the teachers, too.”