‘Hoya Lawyas’ beat congressional staffers in charity basketball game

Members of the Georgetown University Law Center community on Wednesday beat a team of congressional staffers at the 30th annual Home Court Charity Basketball Game.

Playing for Georgetown Law, the blue-clad “Hoya Lawyas” topped the white-jerseyed “Hill’s Angels” 34 to 31 in the game.

Normally the annual event sees lawmakers face off against the law school, but this year, members of Congress were forced to drop out to focus their attention on the fight over the Republican plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare.

The game was held to benefit the nonprofit Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. Organized by Georgetown Law students and hosted at Gonzaga College High School, it raised over $1 million to provide legal defense, advisory services and other help to the District of Columbia’s homeless population.

But even with a busy night at the Capitol, the event still attracted high-profile guests.

{mosads}Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez spoke before tip-off, and Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) made appearances before the game.

Former Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), who played in and coached the game in previous years, stayed on to cheer.

Perez praised the Legal Clinic’s work and said that while he believes the District has seen progress in combating homelessness, more needs to be done.

“While we have made tremendous progress, all we have to do is walk around this city, and we understand the unfinished business,” Perez said.

McIntyre recalled that one of his favorite features of the charity game was that it brought together members of Congress from across the aisle.

“It was bicameral and bipartisan, I should say, because the House and Senate played together,” McIntyre said. “We put it all out there on the court and it was a great way to build harmony and collegiality.”

The game was a high-spirited affair with lots of laughs.

After a pass from the “Hill’s Angels” team was stolen, one of the announcers joked: “Looks like the ‘Hill’s Angels’ passes the ball about as well as Congress passes laws — am I right?”

Patty Mullahy Fugere, co-founder and executive director of the Legal Clinic, said she is grateful for all of the support for the event and her organization over the past three decades.

“I really do believe that without the support of Georgetown students and faculty and administration and the folks from the Hill who have played over the years, we might not have the Legal Clinic for the Homeless, and that would be disastrous for our client community in D.C.,” she said.