During the holiday season most families get together and play games with long lost cousins and relatives they have not seen in quite some time. In some households the classic card game Spades can spilt the room due to the traditional trash talking and banter associated with the game. As both Central State and Wilberforce Universities share a familia relationship each time, they are pitted against each other in competition it rivals a holiday family get together. Central State was established in 1887 as a part of Wilberforce University primarily to instruct teachers and those interested in industrial education. In 1947 the institutions split, and Central State became a household staple in 1951.
Tonight's contest started with the Marauders controlling the flow of the game. Moving the ball like a hot potato the Marauders kept the opponents' feet shuffling like a MC Hammer dancer. Seven players contributed to scoring collum mesmerizing the opponent with precise back door and v cuts lead to easy buckets at the rim. Steven Key and Khalil Luster lead the Marauders in the first half scoring. At the two minute and fifty-three second mark Brandon Scott hit a runner giving the Marauders a 30 to 11 lead.
 As the first half concluded the Mighty Marauders walked the Bulldogs closer to the plank heading to the locker room only allowing the opponent to score sixteen points the entire half.  Wilberforce was held to 17% shooting form the field and 14% from behind the arc. The Marauders exploited the opponent and pillaged the basket for twelve points in the paint while the bench contributed eleven points in the first half of play.
The second half began again with the Marauders dominating the paint and the offensive and defensive glass. At the 16-minute mark "Running" Raevon Thomas came off a back screen and rose above the defense finishing with a thunderous poster dunk demoralizing the opponent mentally and physically. After a timeout at the 14:59 mark of the second half the Marauders amassed their biggest lead of the game eclipsing the mangy junk yard dogs by twenty points.  Savion Marshall-Hamilton began to smell blood as he began to dominate the post. His duck ins, foot work, and agility were poetic befuddled the pound puppies as he was perfect from the field amassing eight points by the 10:00 minute mark of the second half. Raevon Thomas also added another electric dunk getting a bounce pass elevating from the baseline silencing the home crowd.
The Marauders looted and plundered the opponent the entire night holding twenty point leads multiple times during the contest. To finish the game Brandon Scott threw down a dunk off a defensive steal bringing the entire bench to their feet. With a final score of 66-53   the Marauders dominated this family affair in all phases of the game. Central State finished the game with 32 points in the paint, 14 points off turnovers, and 21 bench points. Leading scorers were Steven Key with 14 points, Savion Marshall-Hamilton and Khalil Luster each contributed 10 points, and Ramar Pryor and Brandon Scott both added 8 points respectively. The Marauders take the floor again tomorrow at 4 pm in the friendly confines of Beacon Lewis Gymnasium.

Story by Jamar Harp