The time has come when the spotlight shines bright on the small college town of Upland, Indiana. It is the annual game where students dress up in elaborate costumes and camp out four nights in a row, hoping to score some sideline seats for the highly touted game.
Silent Night has a rich history dating back to 1997. The boys in purple and gray are 25-1 in Silent Night games with their only loss coming against Grace Christian in 2018.
“The Silent Night game is something that is so fun because the whole student body shows up and we just let loose and have fun,” junior Kylie Grogan said.
The game often garners attention from notable people in the sports world. Before last season’s game against Great Lakes Christian, former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt tweeted, “I could watch this all night. It’s pure chaos.”
The Houston Texans legend isn’t the only one who noticed. Sports broadcasting companies such as CBS Sports, FOX, and ESPN annually cover the game.
Last year’s Silent Night was one for the ages. Taylor eclipsed 100 points in a Silent Night game for just the third time since the 2010-2011 season as they defeated Great Lakes Christian 103-65. Junior forward Anton Webb stole the show with a double-double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. It was senior guard Gavin Yoon in his final season who broke the silence with a three-point bucket off of a pass from Webb. Taylor would go on to finish that season 11-18.
“The hardest thing about Silent Night is focusing during timeouts,” Webb said. “You’ve got coach going over gameplan and stuff and then you've got Batman chasing down the Joker behind you and you’re trying to catch a peak of what’s happening behind you for sure.”
The Archers out of Moody Bible Institute will be walking into Odle Arena to face Taylor this season. Moody plays with a small rotation of eight players, compared to Taylor’s 17.
Taylor also stacks up quite well in size against the Archers. The tallest player on Moody’s roster, junior Demotion Jackson, stacks up at 6 feet 4 inches tall. Compared to Taylor’s 6 feet 11 inches freshman center Levin Smith and 6 feet 8 inches Webb, Taylor will be looking for points in the paint early and often.
Over the past two seasons, Moody struggled, not winning a single game. First-year head coach Jack Jordan is already turning things around for the Archers as they have already won two games this year and at the time of this writing are 2-4.
“We will definitely be challenged,” Jordan said. “I will coach as hard as I can and ask my players to play as hard as they can.”
Taylor is off to a hot streak, starting the year 4-1. Webb has been a leader on both sides of the ball, averaging a double-double with 10.4 points and 12.8 rebounds a game. He has also brought home two Crossroads League Defensive Player of the Week honors.
Another bright spot on the team has been off the bench with senior guard Kobe Funderburk. The transfer from Tusculum University is averaging 11.6 points per game and leads the team in three-point percentage, shooting 46.4% from deep.
“I’m excited to coach in this game but I think from a coaching standpoint I have to treat it just like any other game,” Taylor head coach Austin Peters said.
One freshman getting ready to make his mark on the game is freshman center Levin Smith. He is already playing meaningful minutes off the bench and making an impact with his time on the court.
Smith is a defensive stalwart, averaging one block and 2.4 rebounds in limited minutes.
“I may not have played in Silent Night yet but I am definitely looking forward to seeing everyone go crazy,” Smith said.
Taylor looks to improve to 26-1 in Silent Night games this Friday against Moody Bible Institute on Dec. 6 at 6 pm.
