The energetic crowd at Herrington Gymnasium cheered on the Breckenridge Village of Tyler. (Jennifer Scott/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

In a nail-biting game at the crowded Herrington Gymnasium on Friday afternoon, the Breckenridge Village of Tyler (BVT) Eagles bested The Brook Hill Guard, 40-25.

“You know, it’s a tough feeling losing,” said junior Luke McNeel. “But they had some really talented players … we were just overmatched, completely. We really couldn’t do much.”

The Guard was called out numerous times by the referee for excessive traveling on the court.

“We’ll go back and watch the film … but it’s obvious that they’ve outworked us,” said Brook Hill coach Jereme Hubbard. “Like they’ve been practicing a lot harder than we have and their desire to win. They outplayed us, played a lot harder than we did today too.”

It came down to effort and skill.

“They made all their shots, we made … not a lot,” said junior Lila Morris. “They were just the better team.”

Brett of BVT was named MVP of the game.

“Our guys have been practicing really hard, they’ve been putting in the work,” said Breckenridge Village coach Rachel Parker. “They really know how to work as a team and share the ball and I think that’s what helped today.”

The Guard coach said the Eagles have beaten them on their own turf every year for the last five years and the 15-point loss was the most.

“They got us pretty bad,” he said. “So, we’ve got to go back to the drawing board … and try again next year.”

With posters and electrifying energy, the crowd cheered for the Eagles at every turn.

“(The student-athletes) were awesome,” Parker said. “They played their hearts out and were such good sports. They had smiles on their faces, and congratulated our team … they’re such great people.”

What started as a way for the residents to participate in the Special Olympics without needing to travel a lot became a time-honored tradition between BVT and The Brook Hill School.

“It was just really crowded and just not working out really well for us,” Parker said. “So, we reached out to Brook Hill to see if we could get some kind of partnership with them and do some sporting events a couple of times a year.”

The tradition is beloved by the staff and enjoyed by the students as well.

“This is, hands down, the best thing I’ve seen in this school in the 10 years I’ve been here,” Hubbard said. “We do a lot of great things … but this touches so many people and you really can’t put a price on it.”

Hubbard is the girls head basketball coach, as well as the director of community service and sports information director for The Brook Hill School.

Morris said she appreciated how selfless the residents were to each other on the basketball court.

“If someone is scoring a bunch of points, they’ll give the ball to someone who hasn’t,” she said. “They are all just so sweet and getting to see them play was so great.”

When The Brook Hill starts preparing for the basketball game, Hubbard said a lot of his players volunteer to be part of it.

“They want to provide their team with the best experience possible,” he said. “We want them to get to experience a sporting event at a high level of competition in a big arena with a lot of crowd. Our kids are great.”

BVT is a faith-based community dedicated to helping adults with mild to moderate intellectual and developmental disabilities. The organization offers residential and day enrichment programs that empower residents to develop spiritually, physically and socially.

“Truthfully, we appreciate them,” Hubbard said. “We appreciate them and what they allow us to do to be a part of this. It’s a blessing to us that is like nothing else.”

So far, BVT and the school have done softball and basketball but Parker hopes to branch out to do more in the future, such as track and field with Brook Hill.

“We are super thankful for this partnership,” Parker said. “We love playing Brook Hill. Our residents talk about it all year long until we come the next year. We absolutely love it.”

For The Brook Hill players, it was more than just a game.

“This moment is all about them,” McNeel said. “I’m glad that they got to have fun and that we got to be a part of it.”