Scarsdale High School staff—including Lauren Barton, Bryan Bagala, Aaron Ginsburg, Michael Hiller, and Catherine Flores—were pitted against the Harlem Wizards during an annual basketball game hosted by the junior class government on March 15th. As always, the main gym at the high school was packed, and the junior class government sold over 900 tickets to help fund the prom in June 2020.

Although the game was filled with crazy three-pointers and through-the-leg dunks, the undisputed highlight of the game was SMS teacher James Serafin’s slam dunk. “I would definitely consider this year a success because in past years, not enough tickets were sold to provide for the whole prom, but this year we were able to raise enough money for prom and more,” explained junior class government cabinet member Tamara Gee ’20.

Another great part of the game was the Wizards’ interactions with spectators. Several parents were randomly pulled out of the crowd and asked to compete in a dance contest or to make a free throw. At halftime, four spectators were chosen to play a full court game of tic-tac-toe, and prizes were awarded to each person. During the third quarter, the Harlem Wizards’ captain, “The Artist,” called a selfie timeout, and his players ran into the bleachers to take pictures with fans. There was also a meet-and-greet at the end of the game, along with a group photo of all of the kids who came.

The Wizards’ basketball skills did not disappoint. “As a spectator, my favorite part of the event was watching the impressive skills of the Harlem Wizards. They put on a real show with their difficult dribbling moves and crazy dunks. It was definitely entertaining to see the talented Wizards compete against the SHS teachers,” said Michael Waxman ’21.

Friday night’s game might have been Scarsdale’s closest match ever against the Wizards. Although Scarsdale was losing 26-22 at halftime, it had a 3 point lead going into the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the Wizards, led by Jordan Southerland—also known as “Ice”—were too much for Scarsdale staff to handle. Ice had at least 14 points in the fourth quarter, leading the Wizards to an 85-78 victory.