ROANOKE, Va. – On Thursday night, Roanoke’s top docs and future docs hit the hardwood for a good cause. They faced off in the 8th annual Docs for Morgan charity basketball game.
Morgan Harrington was a college student murdered in Charlottesville ten years ago, and the event is continuing to make an impact.
After months of practicing, the night finally arrived for the doctors and medical students to match up on the basketball court. Although it was a slow start out of the gate, once the second half picked up, they slid it into high gear.
They’re at the top of their class and were on top of the court Thursday night as the medical students blew the game wide open. As the action heated up, Gil and Dan Harrington could not have been more pleased with the support they’ve received.
“In response to injury, we are creating and educating and supporting financially, healers," Gil Harrington said.
That injury now ten years old, the Harrington’s daughter Morgan murdered after a concert in Charlottesville. Dr. Tracey Criss helps organize the game, which over the last eight years has grown in size and crowd attendance.
“We’re just so grateful that the community has supported this event all these years and Carilion Clinic has supported us and we are just happy to come out and honor Morgan in this way," Dr. Criss said.
The game pits students from the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine against the doctors they spend every other day learning from. Except for these two hours on the court, there’s no mercy.
Virginia Tech president Tim Sands made a special appearance this year playing for both teams.
“I’m winded. These kids are young and it’s hard to keep up with them," Sands said. “I’ve known the Harringtons since I got here six years ago. I never met Morgan, but what a way to honor her and to support a good cause, scholarships for our medical students.”
The game raises money for the Morgan Harrington scholarship. This year’s scholarship winner gets a significant check for all four years of schooling. And while the students came out on top this year snapping the doctors’ winning streak, the final score is hardly the end.
“It’s a good inroads back on the path to joy that we, at the beginning of this long journey, never thought we would be able to access again,” Harrington said.
Through eight years of the game, they’ve raised more than $40,000 that gets added into the already $400,000 in the scholarship’s account.