Midnight Mayhem pumps up basketball fans

Photos by Robert Hubner, WSU Photo Services
Article by WSU Athletics
 

PULLMAN, Wash.- Bohler Gym nearly reached capacity as the Washington State University men’s and women’s basketball teams made their public debuts on the court Friday for the third annual Midnight Mayhem.

 
The event kicked off with each member of both the men’s and women’s teams coming out to the entrance song of their choice. After each student-athlete made their entrance, women’s head coach June Daugherty came in, followed by men’s head coach Ken Bone as he strutted into the gym to `Bad to the Bone.’
 
Following introductions, the women’s team showed off their skills before breaking into two teams, competing in a 3-point contest. The first team to 21 was crowned the winner as they moved around the 3-point arc. Katie Grad, Jordan Kelley, Shalie Dheensaw, April Cook, Brandi Thomas and Hana Potter shot at one hoop,
opposite the team of Jazmine Perkins, Tia Presley, Rosetta Adzasu, Rosie Tarnowski, Carly Noyes, Devin Brooks and Sage Romberg.
 
The contest started out tight, before Grad’s team pulled ahead and Kelley gave the squad the game-winning 3-pointers as it won 21-16.
 
The men got into the action with a scrimmage, breaking into the White Team and the Crimson Team. The White Team consisted of Royce Woolridge, Marcus Capers, Abe Lodwick, Charlie Enquist, Chuks Iroegbu, D.J. Shelton, Mike Ladd and Dominic Ballard. The Crimson Team was made up of Will DiIorio, DaVonté Lacy, Reggie Moore, Dexter Kernich-Drew, Patrick Simon, Brock Motum and Faisal Aden.
 
The White Team won the tip and immediately went up 2-0 on an Enquist dunk. Moore answered with a 3-pointer to give his red squad the 3-2 lead. The scoring went back and forth with the White Team taking a 13-9 lead after Woolridge got a layup off a steal. As substitutions began, Lacy heaved a half-court shot and nailed it, as the Crimson Team pulled within one, 13-12.
 
Woolridge and Lodwick got the crowd going on an alley-oop that gave the White Team a 23-20 lead. Later in the final minute of the game, Moore and Kernich-Drew got the loudest applause as the duo converted on an alley-oop of their own. The White Team held on for the 27-26 victory. Shelton led the White Team with six points, while Moore led the Crimson Team with seven of his own.
 
For the finale, Lacy, Ladd, Iroegbu, Capers and Kernich-Drew stepped up for the dunk contest. The five judges included Daugherty, Grad, Tarnowski, student contest winner Daniel Watson and the men’s team’s all-time leading scorer, Isaac Fontaine.
 
First up was Lacy who missed all three of his dunks in a minute for 11 points. Second was Ladd who made his attempt off a bounce for 29 points. He was followed by Iroegbu who nailed his first dunk, a rock the cradle, for 37 points. A veteran of the content, Capers came in and bounced the ball off the backboard and converted his
dunk for a then-leading 49 points. Not to be out-done, Kernich-Drew, the reigning champion, stepped in for a 360 dunk for a perfect 50 points and a spot in the finals.
 
Capers was up first in the two-person final. The senior missed his first two attempts, before going to a dunk he did two years ago, attempting to throw his arm through the hoop. Although he made the basket, he failed to dazzle, scoring him 38 points.
 
Kernich-Drew came up. He missed his first three dunks, before settling on another reverse for enough points to win him the contest, 44 points. The redshirt freshman remains the dunk champion and is a two-time winner.
 
The evening concluded with autographs by both teams as the 2011-12 posters made their debuts. The women’s team will hold its first exhibition game Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. against Seattle Pacific at Beasley Coliseum, while the men will host Lewis-Clark State on Saturday, Nov. 5.
 
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