Flowood, MS — The Jackson Prep student body spends all school year in the classroom with the teachers acting as their superiors, however, during activity period on Thursday they were given their one shot to show them up as they both participated in the annual student versus faculty basketball game. The students were split into two teams who were chosen by a draft like process and each team was made up of 15+ players throughout grades 9-12. This was, however, the first year for it to be done this way as it’s only been seniors who were allowed to participate in years past. What made this year unique is how three juniors (Ben Johnson, Mary Virginia Baldwin, and Alice Ann Hollingsworth) took the game on as their Make A Difference Project for the Jackson Prep Global Leadership Institute and made it open at a $2 entry fee to all students not playing in the game.

The two student teams played each other in game one, with the winner moving on to face the faculty. In the student game, the team coached by junior Sam Buchanan and senior Reece Davis came out with a tight 12-10 win. Their team then moved on to face the faculty in a game of two six-minute periods while also adding several players from the losing student team, such as seniors Thomas Thornton and Peyton Greenwood.

The faculty was represented by Mr. Richard Younce (English), Coach Zander Romano (Psychology and Athletics), Coach Jon Marcus Duncan, Coach Chris Goodman (Basketball), Ms. Temperance Jones (Music and Show choir), and Coach Mariclaire Nix (Basketball). In the opening minutes, multiple faculty players came up with big plays to get their team off to an early 4-0 lead. However, the students didn’t back down as they went into the half with a 5-4 lead. They didn’t let off in the second period either as they finished the game with a 14-12 win.

The students were led in the game by ninth grader Cam Brent who finished with eight points and is also a member of the varsity basketball team. Coach Romano was unhappy with the outcome following the loss and had several choice words calling out the student’s team. When asked about his thoughts on the game, he said, “Cam just came in and you guys had a ninth grader carry your senior class. Is that what happened? Yeah, that’s interesting”.