The showdown between a BYU-Idaho rec basketball team and a Provo, Utah exhibition team did not disappoint last Saturday, with BYU-Idaho coming out on top with the 96-79 victory.
The bigger BYU-Idaho team dominated near the basket and couldn’t miss from three-point range. Their defensive strategy going into the game left the Provo exhibition team stagnant. The auditorium was electric, and the energy in the room only intensified with the BYU-Idaho Financial Aid Scholarship skills challenges.
The Financial Aid office rewarded four $500 scholarships and one full-tuition scholarship to five lucky winners.
After a great first quarter of basketball, the first two scholarships were given to two lucky women in the stands. After completing an intense skills challenge, BYU-Idaho student Breklynn Reese was the first scholarship winner.
Despite not having a real game plan, Reese left the game with a $500 scholarship under her belt.
“I feel really awesome,” Reese said. “I signed up, like, right before the game and didn’t know we had to shoot hoops to win it. But I’m excited.”
In the third quarter, it was the men’s turn. Eight men were chosen to compete in the skills challenge, two would walk away with $500. One of the winners, Curtis Taylor, was in disbelief after winning the scholarship, relying on his knowledge of the game of basketball.
“I was nervous, but I was just focusing on the hoop,” Taylor said. “Muscle memory.”
But the full tuition scholarship was on everyone’s mind, and after a timeout in the middle of the fourth quarter, four lucky students, two men and two women, were invited onto the court. With all the students missing their first two shots, it came down to the last shot. The first three students, shooting better than their previous attempts, ultimately missed the mark. But the last student, Luke Yorgesen, banked the half-court shot to receive the full-tuition scholarship.
Even after the whole student section stormed the court, the scholarship winner seemed unfazed by what had just happened.
“I just felt good in it,” Luke said. “I’ve done many shots like that before, so it was just really good.”
The game ended with a thrilling run of fantastic offense by the home team, leading to the blow-out win, protecting their home court.