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Teens Take on Police in Exciting Basketball Standoff

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College Park and Lakeland police met with community teens Friday night, but not in the way normally expected. At the College Park Community Center, area teens, called the “College Park Dream Team” took on the “Police All Stars” in a series of two basketball games, uniting the community in a spirit of friendly competition. Put on by the University of Maryland Office of Community Engagement with the Prince George’s Police Department and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the night was an exciting time of family-friendly competition! The night desired to unite area teens with the university and the surrounding community. Teens were encouraged to speak to the police officers in this safe environment, but an environment full of competition! The UMD mascot Testudo provided the cheerleading for the night, doing pushups and even shooting some layups during warm up. University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell welcomed the players before the match. “Tonight promises to be an exciting one, the gang’s all here,” he said. Looking over at the College Park Dream Team, he said, “I see some future Terps here playing for Maryland!” And the game was close throughout, with plenty of 3-pointers from the police and steals from the teens. Many exciting breakaways left the crowd cheering and the first game was close, with officers winning narrowly 50 to 45. There were also prizes and a raffle winner announced during the break between games. Overall it was a fun night promoting community relationships, come out to the community center on February 1 at 7:30 to see the exciting games again!