An Oklahoma high school basketball team celebrated Senior Night in a remarkable way.
After the home court at Bethany High School was vandalized in January, the Oklahoma City Thunder gave students the opportunity of a lifetime to host Senior Night at Paycom Center in downtown Oklahoma City. According to KFOR, five teens broke into the gym on New Year's Day and started to play basketball, but one kid kicked a basketball that wound up hitting a sprinkler and the gym flooded.
Before Senior Night on Monday, the Bethany middle and high school basketball teams used courts at neighboring schools to practice and play since the gym won't be done with repairs for the next three to four weeks, according to KFOR. And that's not the way seniors at Bethany wanted to close out their high school experience.
"I was just super upset that I couldn’t play on it my senior year,” basketball player Lauryn Scalice told KFOR.
The Thunder, however, wanted to make Senior Night a special one for those students.
"We saw the need. We were able to get together with the management team here at Paycom Center and that’s what it’s all about for us. That’s Thunder basketball. It goes beyond the walls. It goes beyond the court," Michelle Matthews, manager of fan development for the Oklahoma City Thunder, told KFOR.
Bethany Public Schools Superintendent Drew Eichelberger said, "We sold over 800 tickets to come down here and watch our kids play on a professional court. It’s something they’re going to remember for a lifetime."