Wareham High School math teacher Charlie Dyer freely admits that his basketball skills pale in comparison to those of one of his students, Vikings shooting guard Diego Mello.

That being said, he liked having a state champion on his team during the High School’s student-teacher basketball tournament on Friday, March 24. 

“If the other players play well, then we’re good,” Dyer said. “If they’re counting on me, then they’re in trouble.”

The tournament, which capped off the High School’s Spirit Week, was played a little differently than in previous years. Instead of the game being students versus teachers, students and teachers joined forces on their respective teams. 

“We’ve done students versus teachers in the past,” said physical education and health teacher Quirino doCanto, “and it usually doesn’t go so well for the teachers.” 

Guidance counselor Carly Granville said that she hasn’t played basketball since her freshman year of high school, but when the students asked her to play, she couldn’t refuse.

“For the class of 2023, I’m willing to go all in,” she said. 

doCanto created brackets which gave each team an even mixture of teachers and grade levels.

“I wanted to mix it up a little bit and make it fair for everybody,” he said. 

Despite the level playing field, some students were still looking forward to playing against their teachers. 

Riana Phillips, a senior on the Vikings girls basketball team, was excited to play against physical education teacher Melissa Smith.

“She’s been talking a lot of game this year,” Phillips said. 

Despite Phillips’s efforts, Smith’s gray team won the final game against Phillips’s blue team in a tight match of 17-16.

“It’s good to just have the team spirit all across the school,” said science teacher Alfonso Navarro.