The fifth annual James Lafferty One Tree Hill Charity Basketball Game was part real athletic event, part Hollywood. A DJ played music while actors dribbled down the court. Free throws were shot shirtless. And the second half was almost delayed because Jackson Brundage, the 6-year-old actor who plays Jamie on the filmed-in-Wilmington series, was so caught up dancing on the court, Lafferty had to pick him up and plop him down on the sidelines.

Each year, Lafferty, who plays basketball mentor Nathan Scott on The CW drama, hosts the game in Wilmington to thank his fans for their support and to raise money for various charities.

This year, the money raised at the event went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Wilmington Family YMCA and Winnie’s Garden.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for fans of the show to meet the cast and I think it’s for a great cause,” said Chloe Glenn, a 21-year-old fan from New Jersey.

She and her friend, Michelle DuBois, 24, from Atlanta, have attended the games for the past two years. Other fans came from as far away as Canada, Ohio and Florida. The winners of a recent Macy’s Weekend in Wilmington contest attended, too. After the game, they were on their way to a party with the cast and a private concert by musician and fifth season guest star Kate Voegele.

The night before the game, DuBois and Glenn got their own special encounter. While walking around downtown Wilmington, they ran into Joe Manganiello, who plays Owen the bartender this season. To their surprise, he stopped and talked with them.

“They’re just good people, down to earth,” DuBois said of the cast.

DuBois and Glenn were among the 1,300 fans who paid $25 a ticket to see the cast and crew. Tickets, which went on sale more than a month ago, sold out in less than 10 minutes. Saturday’s game began at 11 a.m., but many fans showed up hours in advance and many stayed late into the afternoon.

The game, a face-off between the “old” and “new” lineups of Tree Hill Ravens (the series’ fictional high-school team), started out tough for Lafferty’s home team. The actor, who won his high school’s MVP award in basketball, wore his character’s old black jersey.

Helping him out were co-stars Antwon Tanner (who plays Skills), Stephen Colletti (Chase), Vaughn Wilson (Fergie) and others.

The newbies, who included Manganiello and wore white jerseys, racked up points early on. Laffety’s team fought back to end the first half 40-37.

But the momentum did not last. The gamed ended with the new cast members pulling off 89 points to the old school-ers’ 83.

It probably did not help that Brundage, Sophia Bush (Brooke), Lee Norris (Mouth) and the show’s creator, Mark Schwahn, had microphones on the sidelines and were giving the players a hard time.

“The new Ravens have the lead, but the old Ravens have more screen time,” Schwahn announced at one point to the crowd. “But I think if the new Ravens continue to have the lead, they’ll have even less screen time.”

It’s likely most fans will not remember the details of the game, however. After the two 20-minute halves, most of the 1,300 fans queued up to wait (and wait) to seek autographs from cast members armed with uncapped Sharpies. The cast signed everything from DVDs and inflatable pink flamingoes to posters and the shirts on fans’ backs.

Meanwhile, crew members stood in the center of the court and auctioned off items from the set. The first item, a photo with the cast in attendance, went for $1,000 cash.

Scores of happy teenage girls walked out of Cape Fear Community College’s Shwartz Center giggling and firmly clutching their autographs.

“I expected chaos,” said 17-year-old fan Elizabeth Reese from Virginia. This was her first game. “I watched all season, religiously.”

Source: StarNewsOnline.com by Amy Hotz