Jolette Law found herself pitted against University President B. Joseph White in the final round of a “celebrity” free-throw contest during Wednesday’s third annual Ultimate Basketball Challenge, designed to raise funds for Coaches v. Cancer.

It was just the two of them at the line, both in wheelchairs already worn out from the first round of shooting when Law, the women’s head coach, went 3-for-5 and White did the same. In the back of her mind, Law started wondering if she should throw the contest for professional reasons.

“I wondered if I should let the president win,” Law said, laughing. “But then he started talking junk and I said, ‘Oh no.’ I had to bring it home.”

Both Law and White struggled in the final round of the contest, needing more than 10 attempts each before Law finally ended it with a much-awaited, exhaustive basket.

“The pressure got to me,” Law said.

The free-throw contest was just one of the oddities in an offbeat, smile-filled event also designed to bring attention to the national champion men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball programs.

“This was a blast,” wheelchair athlete Aaron Pike said afterward. “It was loud, we had a lot of support with the band here. It was great.

“There were some tall dudes sitting in those chairs.”

Wheelchair athlete Steve Serio had said the event, featuring a 40-minute scrimmage that was as wacky as the free throw contest, was the best he’s participated in. The wheelchair scrimmage featured two teams, white and blue, comprised of athletes from both the able-bodied and wheelchair men’s and women’s teams.

“I know the able-bodied players are always joking around but it was cool to raise awareness for the sport and we really couldn’t do it without them. It was awesome.”

The blue team, carried by the performances of wheelchair athletes Brian Bell, Hiro Kozai and Ryan Chalmers, won the scrimmage 51-44.

At one point in the action, white team member Mike Tisdale, a freshman center, stood up from his chair and dunked the ball. While some found the move in poor taste, Tisdale said the dunk wasn’t meant to be controversial.

“I was just tired of missing layups so I thought I would do it the easy way,” he said.

Serio said the dunk brought the crowd alive and that he didn’t find it offensive.

“I was, like, ‘man that looks like so much fun, I wish I could do that.’ No, that was awesome. But it’s not part of the sport.”

Alex Legion had a less-than-flattering Illini debut after transferring from Kentucky last December. The able-bodied athlete struggled from the field during the scrimmage that featured multiple bumps, impressive showings from wheelchair athletes and a few oddities unseen during most basketball events.

He finished 1-for-10 in the contest but laughed it off. Legion also participated in a three-point contest with full use of his legs, but still shot 0-for-5.

“Well, what it was is I was sitting in the wheelchair for so long that I really didn’t have a chance to shoot or anything,” Legion said. “I was on the sidelines stretching a little bit and I didn’t know sitting out so long that you have to work yourself back into it.”

Serio gave Legion some slack afterward.

“I know Alex and he’s one of the best shooters I’ve ever seen standing up,” Serio said. “But he struggled a little bit, the crowd got into his head and he got a little nervous. I feel like he wasn’t jumping high enough or something.”