Omar Collinton leads way as teachers rout students

The crowd hushed. Tension was in the air. The first home basketball game of the 2011-2012 season was about to start. The players on the floor prepared themselves for the tip. But there was one thing missing – the standard blue and gold jerseys of the Bulldogs. All of the players on boys and girls basketball team’s were sitting in the stands, watching the tip-off. But how could this be? Last night was the annual teachers vs. students preseason match-up.For the past two years, the teachers have always taken home the victory. But at the start of the 2011 game, the students looked flawless. Klay Wisseh, a senior, quickly came down the court and sank a deep three-point shot. Wisseh went on to score Decatur’s next eight points, and give the students an early lead.

But the teachers answered. A solid back court led by Wes Hatfield and Carlos Cardoza helped bring the teachers back into the game. By the halfway point in the first half, the teachers had regained the lead. Cardoza’s smooth passing led to many uncontested baskets for the teachers, and suddenly it seemed as though the teachers were pulling away.

By the mid-point of the second half, it was obvious who was going to win the game. Both teams were equally matched it seemed, but the teachers had a secret weapon – Omar Collington. Collington, a former Bulldog basketball star, competed at the collegate level. He started on the UNC-Asheville team, and played professional basketball in Germany. Collington made the crowd gasp at the game with his acrobatic dunks and long-range three-pointers.

The teachers blew the students out by over 25 points. Collington led the faculty with a game-high 17 points.

The Decatur basketball teams open the season on Friday, November 18th. The girls play at 7:00, while the boys tip-off at 8:30.