Senators Complete Comeback To Win Pelicans HoopLA Game
BATON ROUGE- Governor Gayle Benson visited Baton Rouge on Wednesday to thank legislators and to attend HOOPLA, the annual Louisiana House vs. Senate legislative basketball game. A few hundred people watched as the Senate surged into a late lead and held on to defeat the House 32-31.
There was a good mix of fun and folly on the court but everyone in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center had a good time. The Jr. Pelicans had a booth, there was a silent auction for signed memorabilia, and some game areas with Connect Four and cornhole stations set up. The Louisiana All-Star band kept the PMAC filled with upbeat, lively performances throughout the evening.
This event aims to bring legislators together in a fun yet competitive family environment to raise funds earmarked for court refurbishments in select districts. LSU coaches Kim Mulkey, Brian Kelly, and Jay Johnson donated signed balls for the auction. A signed Zion Williamson jersey was also available for bidding.
Grant Segar, Government and Community Relations Associate with the Pelicans and Saints shared, “It’s a great thing for our organization to stay involved with our local legislators. 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.”
Rep. Adrian Fisher converted a layup off an inbound pass to open the scoring for Team House after just over three minutes of action. Rep. Marcus Anthony Bryant's encouragement and coaching from the bench could not be missed once the opening whistle sounded.
Rep. Matthew Willard led the way for the House, driving through the lane to lay off some easy looks while acting as the de facto point guard for most of the evening. Team House ran out to a 15-3 lead, with Willow scoring 12 of the 24 first-half points. A behind-the-back pass to Rep. Blake Miguez actually brought the crowd to their feet.
Representative C. Travis Johnson acted as the legs for the group, dropping in a few transition buckets to build a 24-14 lead at halftime. The House went into the break happy but they could not hold off the stubborn Team Senate.
Senators Cleo Field, Royce Duplessis, Caleb Kleinpeter, and Gary L. Smith logged most of the minutes for their short-handed team. The House had twice as many players but the Senate had more time to find a rhythm. Once they figure out a sustainable strategy on defense, the House lead started to shrink. Willard went cold and Team House went 15 minutes without a bucket.
19th District Judicial Judge Wilson Fields, who was a senator between 1995 and 2001, hit two free throws with 10 seconds left to give Team Senate their first lead of the game. The second made free throw wound up being the game-winning shot.
“We just wanted to make sure we could keep the game close down the stretch,” Fields admitted after the win. “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."
The House was looking to repeat as champions but failed to get off a shot in the final seconds. However, it must be reported though that both teams could have used Pierre T. Pelican, who was last seen splashing in a few corner three-pointers.
Timothy Kerner of District 84 (Jefferson Parish) was the lucky name drawn out of the hat for a court refurbishment. The House vs. Senate game is open to the public so put this event on your calendar for next year. Until then, stay tuned to Pelicans Scoop for the latest updates from all of the offseason's events.
