AROUND CAMPUS
Spartans Win Championship
By Tom Ryan
On February 15, 2005, the Red basketball team, with vocal support from their new First Grade fans and armed with their unofficial nickname, routed the Buckley Tigers 42–23 at our packed, standing-room-only Gymnasium on Ninetyfourth Street. The game set the stage for the boys to clinch the MSPSL Championship, a notable achievement for the team’s first year in the League, which includes Allen-Stevenson, Buckley, Browning, Collegiate, Dalton, St. Bernard’s, and Trinity. The Spartans led from the opening tip to the final buzzer, and they completely manhandled their Eastside opponents. Buckley didn’t score for over four minutes at the beginning of the game. The Red team opened up with a quick nine points and basically cruised to their eleventh consecutive victory. All members of the team played; seven got into the scoring column, and every Spartan got either points, rebounds, or assists. The other main storyline from this memorable game was the crowd assembled. Kim Davidson, Acting Head of the Lower School, brought a busload of eager first graders (shown below) for a taste of “varsity” basketball. Led by Student Council President Demetrios Elias, dressed in full Spartan regalia, the “little guys” loved every minute of the experience, chanting and cheering the whole time. As one veteran teacher remarked, “It’s the first time I can remember that Saint David’s had a real home court advantage.”
First Graders at the Spartans game in February.
20 • Saint David’s Magazine