Wildcats break Wildchair streak

Nicholas Valenzuela Arizona Daily Wildcat UA sophomore center A.J. Bramlett and Wildchair Ray "Razor" Lopez go for a loose ball during the annual Lame for a Game competition held at McKale Center last night. The Wildcats defeated the Wildchairs, 65-59.

"Now this is cool," said the wide-eyed Villaman, who along with anyone else in a wheelchair, sat courtside for the game. "Us in chairs can play."

Forced to stay seated except for frustration dunks, the Wildcat team was comprised of men's and women's basketball players used the favored scoring - each basket counted as three, with three-pointers good for four points compared to the Wildchairs' two - to keep the 12,311 record attendance happy.

The 65-59 final score didn't seem to matter.

"Everybody wins in these games," said athletic director and Wildcat co-coach Jim Livengood. "That is what is so neat about this event. It's a great basketball game, the fans get involved and most importantly it's for a good cause."

Wildchairs' coach and program coordinator Dave Herr-Cardillo said last night's sellout was the largest crowd to attend the annual charity event.

"We could have sold so many more tickets, too," he said. "You go away from this with a good feeling."

Herr-Cardillo estimated over $40,000 was raised for the Center for Disability Related Resources from ticket sales, $30,000 more than the average of years past.

Looking like fish out of water, the Wildcats struggled throughout the first half. Passes were few and missed shots were plenty. Wildcat sophomore Donnell Harris missed eight-straight shots from directly under the basket after outreaching the Wildchairs for rebound after rebound.

The raucous crowd, predominately filled with screaming teens, got what they came to see when the Wildcats were allowed a frustration slam dunk. Smiles filled each players' face and chants of "I love Miles Simon and Mike Bibby" opened the two stars to jeering from teammates. Bibby was the only casualty during the game. He fell over backwards on one trip down the court.

While the game took a back seat at times to whenever T-shirts were being tossed by the players, the Wildchairs had a memorable time.

"It was like a dream come true," said Ray "Razor" Lopez, a 10-year Wildchair veteran. "To be able play these guys is wonderful and for them to be the national champions that's like living our dream. I'm a Wildcat fan, I grew up here, this is definitely special."

Amidst the silly-string and frequent substitutions, the Wildcats took their first lead, 37-36 when Eugene Edgerson got out of his chair for a slam dunk. Sophomore Monica Crank sank back-to-back four-point shots to put the Wildcats up, 45-38 with under 10 minutes to play. Crank finished with 11 points and teammate Cha-Ron Walker had 12.

Sean Eres, one of the youngest players of the Wildchairs at 12-years-old, figured the Wildcats would have had more trouble with the chairs.

"They did better than I expected," the La Cima Junior High student said. "But I guess they have done a lot lately that has been unexpected."

The Wildcat players were immediately evacuated from McKale Center in vans out a side entrance after the game to beat the Beatles-like following of young fans.

UA's Bennett Davison did slow for a second to praise the Wildchair players.

"It was actually a lot easier than I thought in those chairs" said Davison, who was the game-high scorer with 17 points. "They were amazing though. I look up to those guys a great deal."

Augie Mendoza led the Wildchairs with 14 points and David Kinsley added 10.

Lopez said the Wildchairs play roughly 20 games during their schedule, traveling to cities such as Denver and Las Vegas.

"We are not real tall, but we are quick and athletic," he said.

Joan Bonvicini, the UA women's head coach and co-coach of the Wildcats, said that she thought the evening was a success.

"The neat thing is that a lot of people here tonight haven't had the chance to see the Wildcats play. It's nice to be able to play everyone. There definitely are no winners or losers in this situation."