The Emmanuel College Lions hit the court Tuesday night, February 22, 2011, and literally knocked the socks off everyone there. Head coach TJ Rosene and his assistants showed up and coached the entire game bare footed. Coach Rosene led an effort to raise money and bring awareness to the community about 300 million people who go without shoes each day.
Barefoot for Bare Feet is a movement of groups and individuals committed to involving others in accomplishing the goals of "Samaritan's Feet." With hundreds of bare footed screaming fans in the most hated gym in the Southern States Athletic Conference, the Lions pulled off the biggest upset of their successful season. The NAIA Number 2 ranked Mountains State University Cougars fell to the Lions 71-60 as the Lions were fighting to get back into the national scene. A night in which a smaller Lions team jumped out of their shoes to out rebound the bigger Cougars 41-32.
The Lions only trailed at the beginning of the game 3-2 before making several runs and leading by 12 at the half by a score of 40-28. The Cougars pulled within 4 at 44-40 before high scorer Graham Maxwell knocked down a three to go up by 7. The "Footloose" Lions never looked back and cruised on to victory. The Junior Maxwell along with Senior Tedrick "Teddy" Hudson led the team in scoring with 20 points and 18 points, respectively.
The shoeless head coach said after the game, referring to the Cougars, "That's a good basketball team. They are so talented and I just thought our guys battled. We did our job tonight. Guys stepped in from the bench ready to play. We were patient and shared the basketball. We just put together a really good effort tonight."
Emmanuel College is a Christ-centered liberal arts institution that strives to prepare students to become Christlike disciples who integrate faith, learning and living for effective careers, scholarship and service.
[Editor's Comment: I am grateful to Chris Maxwell for this sports news report about the Emmanuel College Lions Men's Basketball Team. What a victory for these fine young men.
Posted on
Fri, February 25, 2011
by Hugh Morgan