The Ted Martellini Court was packed, “Let’s Go Bel-mont” chants filled the air, and the energy reached an all-time high as the biggest game of the year began. In a stroke of genius, Mrs. Rupley revived the 40-year-old tradition this year as non-varsity seniors took on the faculty in a basketball game during community block with the whole school in attendance. Two giants of the basketball court, Coaches Martellini and Vittal ’24, faced off in what some have called the game of the century.
Following the tip-off, the good guys got off to an early lead. Despite stout defense in the paint, Luke Trevisan ’24 and Nick Andersen ’24 were able to put in a pair of lay-ups, while Ian Hendrix ’24 backed them up early from behind the arc. Andersen had a chance to put the seniors up big, but the hoop height must have not been regulation as his dunk missed, much to the bewilderment of the fan section. Following the miss, Mr. Cofield began to assert himself in the paint while Mr. Leo and Mrs. Baker heated up from three, but the seniors still carried themselves in the half with a comfortable 17-12 lead.
While the seniors thrived in the first half, the faculty got off the a hot start and took a lead over the good guys over the first few minutes of the second half. However, with clutch threes from Ibrahim Barry ’24 andMark “Curry” Price ’24, and with Nick “Shaq” Andersen dominating the court despite the rim clearly being taller than regulation height, the faculty and seniors traded leads and ties throughout the final minutes of the second half. With the scores reaching the unfathomable range of over 30, the faculty hit a couple of clutch three-point shots to extend to 36-30 with just over a minute remaining. With a quick response from the good guys and a defensive stop, the seniors cut the lead to three and got the ball back with seconds remaining on the clock. Coach Vittal frantically called a timeout and drew up a masterful last-second shot, which was executed to perfection. Ibrahim put up the final shot in a moment which seemed to last forever, but the ball bounced off the rim and the wind was taken out of the anxious crowd.
However, hope was briefly restored as Ibrahim was fouled during the shot and received three free throws, but unfortunately, the alleged non-regulation hoop struck once more and the shots just did not fall. Thus, the faculty prevailed over the seniors 36-33 in what has now been dubbed, as aforementioned, “The Game of the Century,” “The Immortal Game,” “The Tussle on Ted Martellini Court,” “The Battle for Belmont Hill,” among other names. Certainly, The Panel is impressed by the athleticism and competitive spirit of the game and we hope the tradition continues next year!
