The 14th annual House vs. Senate HoopLA basketball game took place at the PMAC Wednesday night, an event which pits Louisiana’s senators against its representatives in a friendly game of hoops for the sake of competition and charity.
This event has been sponsored by the New Orleans Pelicans through the years, with its biggest goal being to accumulate funds to refurbish a basketball court for a randomly selected district. The proceeds are gathered through a participation fee for each participant, along with an auction held after the game is over.
With the state in the middle of a legislative fiscal session, this also provided the members of the House and Senate with a chance to unwind, talk a little trash and have fun amidst a stressful time in Louisiana politics.
Grant Segar, a Government and Community Relations Associate with the Pelicans and Saints, believes the event has served as a great way for the Pelicans to give back to the legislators for all they do for the state.
“It’s a great thing for our organization to stay involved with our local legislators,” Segar said. “We want to continue to be like an olive branch for our state and so for representatives from North Louisiana who might be closer to Dallas, we want to continue to build relationships and make sure that they can come to us for anything they need.”
Regarding the game itself, it was actually pretty entertaining. While there were a few air balls here and there and plenty of missed layups and free throws, it certainly became competitive down the stretch.
Like college basketball, the contest consisted of two 20-minute periods. The difference between the two was in this case, the clock ran continuously, apart from timeouts and fouls occurring within the last two minutes of play.
The first bucket of the night wouldn’t come until four minutes into the game when District-16 legislator Adrian Fisher converted a layup off an inbounds pass. From there, it seemed like the House was going to cruise to victory, something it had grown accustomed to in recent years.
Behind Orleans representative and previous HoopLA MVP Matthew Willard, the House got out to a 15-3 run to start the game. Willard put on a show in the first half, scoring 12 of its 24 points in the period and even showing off some pizzazz with a behind-the-back pass that resulted in an and-one layup from Iberina and Vermillion representative Blake Miguez.
The House might’ve entered halftime with a double-digit lead, but as LSU men’s hoops displayed numerous times last season, you’ve got to show up for both halves of play.
In the second half, Willard went cold, and the House offense struggled to score without him. Following a free throw made a minute and a half into the period, it wouldn’t score again for 15 minutes of game time, as the Senate was able to steadily chip away at its deficit.
One 12-0 run later, the Senate had narrowed the gap to just one at 27-26. A brief, 4-1 run from the House seemingly put the game away with under a minute to go, but it kept missing free throws and the Senate made a few of its, getting it back in position to take its first lead of the game with 10 seconds to go.
A foul in the paint would put 19th District Judicial Judge Wilson Fields, who had previously been a senator between 1995 and 2001, on the line in a 1-and-1 scenario. With the game on the line, he would drain both, the latter of which proved to be a game winner.
“We just wanted to make sure we could keep the game close down the stretch,” Fields said on the contest. “As you know, they’ve got a lot of young legs over there but I’m proud of the team, of the Senate, and I’m bringing the trophy back to Senate this time.”
Following the game, Jefferson Parish representative John Illg Jr pulled the name of the legislator that would win the refurbished court. The court went to Timothy Kerner of District 84, who’s also a representative of Jefferson Parish.
“No matter the Senate or the House, we all try to come out here to have fun and make sure we raise money for a good cause,” Fields said on the event. “We’re excited to give money to good causes and excited to just have some good fun on the court.”
While not the prettiest display of basketball put on in the PMAC, the atmosphere of the event ultimately promoted a good cause. It effectively served its purpose, with the Bensons and Pelicans organization helping out a district of choice and most involved having a blast.
