OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — The Wisconsin Herd say they shattered their attendance record at Oshkosh Arena during Thursday's annual School Day Game.
Thousands of children from the Oshkosh Area School District had a field trip to the arena to watch the game against the Motor City Cruise. A total of 4,324 people were in attendance for Thursday's game, according to the NBA G League.
"It gets super crazy," Herd Team President Steve Brandes said. "We're breaking attendance records today with over 4,200 kids in the building, and a lot of people need to wear ear plugs because it's so loud. We'll probably break a decibel record in the building as well. With the screaming and the excitement from the youth, we're excited to have a lot of people and energy for our players to feed off of."
More than 4,200 children got to see the Herd take home the win, 94-88, and improve to 6-6 in the Eastern Conference. James Akinjo led the way for the Herd with 25 points on 8-of-15 shooting.
Thursday's game wasn't just about basketball. The Herd hosted the Winnebago County Sheriff's Office to give a presentation before the game and at halftime on Internet safety.
"There's a lot of cool and exciting things and activities to do on there [the Internet], but we always want to tell them, you know, as much fun as you can have on there, there are some dangers as well," Lt. Mike Sewall said. "So, we're just here to give them a little tip here and there to make sure that they're safe in that environment and having a good time at the same time."
The Herd have won four in a row and are looking to ride their momentum into a back-to-back this weekend at Oshkosh Arena. Wisconsin takes on the Capital City Go-Go on Saturday at 7 p.m., and then battle the Windy City Bulls on Sunday at 5 p.m. You can watch both — and all — Herd games on tv32.
