FUN was the order of the day Saturday, January 6th when eight of PCA’s fifteen Triple-Impact Competitor honorees juggled games, practices, and homework, ignored the -15° temperature, and traveled to Harvard for a celebration.

In the warmth of Harvard’s Murr Center the honorees met over hot chocolate and talked about what sports meant to them. PCA selected and is honoring these exceptional student-athletes because they strive to make themselves, their teammates, and the game better. Gathered together, they talked about how sports have shaped them into the caring, compassionate, focused student-athletes they are today, and every one of them talked about how much fun they have with their teammates—on the field, court, even on the bus rides home.

Donning black and white PCA “RESPECT YOUR RIVAL” t-shirts, the honorees made their way to Lavietes Pavilion for the Harvard/Dartmouth Men’s Basketball Ivy opener.   During warm-ups, they each met Dartmouth Coach David McLaughlin and Harvard Coach Tommy Amaker, a member of PCA’s National Advisory Board. The coaches enjoyed receiving matching PCA “RESPECT YOUR RIVAL” t-shirts as well as the PCA book Elevating Your Game: Becoming a Triple-Impact Competitor. PCA shared its message of the power of sports done right to develop Better Athletes, Better People with the crowd at an information table and on the video board—showing the PCA logo and a favorite Tommy Amaker video about the importance of moving on to the “next play.”

The honorees were treated to a terrific, competitive game. With less than 6 minutes left, Dartmouth took the lead after trailing the entire game. The resilient Harvard squad responded with a 12-0 run to win 61-51. Dartmouth senior Miles Wright (pictured #22), a Boston native and Tabor Academy grad, led the Dartmouth squad with 23 points, including an impressive dunk or two.   Harvard’s scoring came from a host of players, with four players scoring double digits--sophomores Seth Towns, Christian Juzang,  and Justin Bassey (pictured, #20 with a dunk or two of his own), scored 16, 12, and 11, respectively, with junior Corey Johnson adding 11. For game highlights, check out Harvard’s video recap or Dartmouth’s highlight video. The two teams match up again January 20^th in Dartmouth’s Berry Sports Center.

THANK YOU from PCA and all our  Triple-Impact Competitor Finalists.

We appreciate the hospitality and graciousness of Coaches Amaker and McLaughlin and their teams, plus the outstanding, fun basketball on display at Lavietes Pavilion.