Ohio F.O.P. Lodge #21

By Adam Blevins, American Cancer Society

Thursday, March 22, 2010, local law enforcement came together for the 2^nd Annual Police vs Attorney Charity Basketball game, which was held at Lima Central Catholic’s Monsignor Edward C. Herr Gymnasium. Dubbed “Lima’s version of Law and Order” this game was a great opportunity for local law enforcement and local attorney’s to “battle it out ‘in’ court” with bragging rights on the line. As exciting as that sounds, this evening was also about raising money for the American Cancer Society, so they can continue impacting the lives of cancer patients across Allen County and the surrounding communities.

Looking to continue their winning ways, the Police took the court as defending champs from last year’s game, but it was the attorneys who managed to drop the first bucket to go up 3-0. However, with the Police leading at halftime, they came out strong increasing their lead to double figures at the close of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was truly an exciting one. With the attorney’s finding themselves down by 12 with just over 60 seconds on the clock, they began making some moves. Turning up the defensive pressure and getting a few calls to go their way suddenly the attorneys cut the overall lead down to just under 10 points. With 45 seconds left in the game, the attorneys took a chance at a three-pointer which bounced off the rim, and as luck would have it the police were called for a foul and the attorneys were headed to the line.

In protest, Police Coach Chris Sprouse, made sure the officials knew he disagreed with the call. After a quiet discussion with one of the officials, Coach Sprouse yelled to fellow police officer (and one of the other officials) letting him know just how bad of a game he was calling. That earned him a both a technical foul and a trip to the locker room. Only pure speculation would say that may have been planned during that quiet conversation earlier… but as the crowd erupted with cheers and the coach left the bench smiling and waving, it was evident that the evening truly had been a great one.

Watching from the stands, Coach Sprouse and the police watched as the attorneys missed several of the remaining free throws, but made a last second shot to close out the night. The police had successfully defended their title, winning the game 50-45.

The real winners in the end though, were the cancer patients who will undoubtedly benefit from the money that was raised. Over $1,000 was collected and donated to the American Cancer Society. A special thank you to Mark Frysinger for helping organize the game again this year and to the police officers, attorneys and fans who participated and helped cap off a successful night. In all, this charity game has contributed over $1,800 to the mission of the Society.

Law Enforcement Team:
Bill Baker * * Bruce Baker * * Mike Bean * * Dustin Brotherwood * * Aaron Cunningham * * Matt Durkee * * Dan Edelbrock * * Mark Frysinger * * Nate Garlock * * Spencer Howbert * * Todd Jennings * * Matt Murphy * * Sean Niedemeier * * Matt Schmenk * * Chris Sprouse (Coach) * * Corey Wilson

Attorney Team:
Aaron Bensinger * * Katherine Christoff * * Luther Dennis * * Paul Ferri * *  Jeff Hiatt * *  Andrew Johnson * * Rebecca King-Newman * * Sam Patry * * Nichole Wingent * * Scott Winograd
 
Officials:
Matt Albright * * Dennis Bowers * * Ed Hines
 
Announcer:
Ron Freed