Space Jam blasting through the speakers. The biggest Freddie’s Fanatics student section of the year. Each player donning a stitched, electric blue jersey shipped across two oceans and one continent. The annual Nazareth Student Council basketball game against Marist featured everything a fan could want from a sporting event except a win from the home team — but in the end, each player agreed that the memories would outlast the final score.

The Roadrunners, led by a Kobe 9-wearing, smooth-steppin’ power forward in Roben “Big Rob” Mata, validated the hype by jumping to an early 2-0 lead. Lelandra “LeBron-dra” Randle wrestled in the layup after a signature crossover-shoot-airball sequence from yours truly, David “@ladiesKLINGtome” Klinger. The momentum clung to the Redhawks from thereon out as Marist trainwrecked Nazareth through a commanding 18-2 run.

“This was easily the biggest game of the year for Nazareth sports besides the state championship,” began Carl “Car” Robst and Ruben “Ben” Gonzalez in unison, who were referring to the academy’s other athletic family, the Nazareth Roadrunner class 6A football state champions. “We may have gotten stepped on, but our preparation was far superior than that of any student council basketball team in the state.”

The two, known around the academy as Carben, were absolutely correct in that the team’s preparation was commendable. Morning announcements, jerseys, and social media posts captured the attention and intrigue of every Nazareth student, and perhaps none did so more than Roben Mata’s dunking montage that was played in all lunches.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smb60OUCUDU

The preparation may not have resulted in a win, but the Roadrunners skipped off the hardwood with a value often spoken of and felt within Nazareth Academy: Family. Every team dinner, every text in the team group chat, every ankle-shattering crossover brought the squad together and mended a bond never to be broken. Once a StuCo baller, always a StuCo baller.