On Nov. 14, OHS hosted its annual basketball extravaganza hosted on Tuesday, Nov, 14 as a part of the annual Cash Drive. This year’s tournament consisted of eight teams, seven of which were students and one teacher team, it was played as a single elimination bracket style tournament.
The eight teams are the Teacher Crew, Duck Dudes, Hot Shots, Moisty Mire Munches, O-Block, Deggys Munchkins, Mali Strip, and Mixed Roots. The basketball extravaganza is a part of the yearly cash drive here at OHS. The foundation being donated to this year is Rachel’s Light which is a nonprofit organization that helps out homeless women and children in the community. Rachel’s light provides a safe space for people to stay and gives them resources to meet their basic needs.
This year’s extravaganza got very competitive as the games were close and very physical throughout. The refs consisted of members from the OHS Boys Basketball team. In the first round of the tournament eventual champions Hotshots took down the teachers in dominant fashion. In the semifinal game junior Hunter Theis of the Duck Dudes hit a last second three to take down Deggy’s Munchkins and send his team to the championship game. After the tough loss coach Ashton Kraus said, “My favorite part was getting to coach with a great group of guys. We played good overall, but made a few minor mistakes.” Although the games were very intense, everyone enjoyed themselves and it supported a great cause.
In the championship game the Duck Dudes took on the Hotshots. Things got chippy early as many hard fouls made tensions rise. The Hotshots took a lead early and never looked back, at halftime the score was 15-8 Hotshots. The second half featured more of the same and they took home the championship. Senior coach Yaasir Munye said, “It felt great to get that win with the team. Nobody believed in us from the start, but we overcame that and proved everyone wrong and won the championship.” The Hotshots ran away with the tournament from game one and never looked back.
The extravaganza again brings fun to OHS while also helping out the community with the money it costs to play and watch. Student Council adviser Casie Devos said, “Our goal as student council is to give back to a nonprofit within our town.” With that being said OHS hopes to impact Rachel’s Light while having a good time along with it.
