West Deptford High School Raises $1,200 For Brain Cancer Research With Annual Basketball Tournaments

WEST DEPTFORD, NJ – The West Deptford High School boys and girls basketball teams raised $1,200 for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) during their fourth annual basketball tournaments at RiverWinds Community Center on Dec. 26 and 27, the school announced Friday morning.

Money raised will help the hospital conduct brain tumor research in memory of Bryce Hansen, a local child who died of a brain tumor when he was 2 1/2 years old.

His parents, Jeff and Judy Hansen, then established Bryce’s Bridge of Hope. It is their resolve to keep his memory alive and try to help others who face a similar fight against childhood cancer.

They support The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and their fight against Childhood cancer. They called Children’s Hospital one of the leading hospitals in the world, and said “they do so many great things.”

“We are very fortunate to live near a facility like CHOP. To go there and know you are getting the best doctors and the best care is very comforting,” Jeff and Judy Hansen said. “We will continue our efforts on supporting them as long as we can.”

Head coaches J. McKeown (boys) and Mark Petito (girls), along with Assistant Principal/Athletic Director Jason Morrell and the basketball Boosters donated to CHOP in the name of Bryce’s Bridge of Hope.

“The cause is great,” Morrell said. “The head coaches J. McKeown and Mark Petito approached me about the fundraiser and we ran with it. This is our fourth year having the tournament and our second fundraising for CHOP and Bryce’s Bridge of Hope. We added a freshman tournament to coincide with the varsity tournament this year. Each year it gets better. We are a close knit family at West Deptford and I couldn’t be happier with all the support from our boosters, RiverWinds Community Center and our sponsors.”

On the court, the West Deptford boys won the tournament championship.

In the first game, the Eagles defeated Cedar Creek, 61-55, according to nj.com. Elijah Malloy led the way with 19 points, six rebounds, an assist and three steals.

In the final, they defeated Woodrow Wilson, 54-47, according to nj.com. Tommy Sampson dropped a game-high 24 points to lead the Eagles.

The West Deptford girls went 1-1 in the tournament.

The Eagles won their first game, defeating Pemberton, 52-49, according to nj.com. Jess McMichael hit the game-winning three with 2.8 seconds left. She finished with 14 points, two rebounds and an assist. Devin Sullivan led the way with 15 points, three rebounds, two assists and five steals.

West Deptford fell to Woodrow Wilson in the final, 50-24, according to nj.com.

Both the West Deptford boys and girls basketball teams are 2-2 this season.

Patch file photo