Basketball: Terrier Madness Wrap-up

By: Chris Lynch

Basketball season kicked off on Commonwealth Avenue with a bang on Thursday night. Terrier Madness, a midnight madness style promotion night, filled Case Gym to the brim with energetic hoops fans who cheered their classmates playing on the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams.

Both teams had long been anticipating the night and we’re excited for the chance to step out on the floor in uniform to the sounds of roaring applause from the fans, and they got their chance. The teams were introduced with each player running through the line up of the cheer and dance team, and under a spotlight.

When all the players had been introduced, the most fun part of the night ensued: a dance-off between the two teams. The men and women traded songs and moves until they joined the dance and cheer teams for one big routine.

After all that, the teams jumped into the skills competitions.

First one to happen was the three point shooting contest. Three teams of one guy and one girl went against each other to win the respect if the fans and to win some lucky fan free textbooks next semester. Cheddi Mosely and Sarah Hope opened up with 16, but got out gunned by Cedric Hankerson and Troi Melton, who notched 22 points. But they were defeated by the top marksmen of the squads, John Papale and Meghan Green, with 23 points.

The next skills competition was a general shooting contest. One men’s player, one woman’s player, and one coach from either squad took turns shooting. The contest ended early when Clodagh Scannell brought the crowd to their feet with a made half court shot on her first attempt.

The final skills competition of the night was a dunk contest, pitting Dylan Haines, Nick Havener, and rookie Brandon Johnson against each other. Haines and Havener completed their dunks with relative ease, and moved on to the next round, while Brandon Johnson tried to get help from Sasha Boussina of the men’s soccer team, but couldn’t complete the dunk before the buzzer sounded.

On his next attempt, Dylan Haines borrowed freshman guard Kyle Foreman and pulled off the dunk attempted by Johnson, a header dunk ala Steve Nash and Amare Stoudamire. It won the competition, even though Havener made a good dunk as well. A Twitter vote gave Haines the win and another student some free textbooks.

On the whole, it was a successful night. The event planners, the players, and coaches all enjoyed themselves and went away smiling, laughing, and enjoying the entr’acte of what should be an excellent season for both teams.

Check out photos from the night here.

Listen to WTBU’s Preseason Preview Show here.