On a night when basketball fans could have stayed on their sofas to watch NCAA Midwest Regional playoff games, many braved raw weather to enjoy the game played at an entirely different skill level.

That would describe Friday night's Doctor-Lawyer Basketball Game, an annual fund raiser for the Community Counseling Center Foundation. An estimated crowd of 175 were on hand.

Though this is a game in which mass substitutions are the rule, and the out-of-shape aren't bashful about taking themselves out of the game, from time to time flashes of actual basketball emerged.

With two former collegiate players lobbing in bombs from the perimeter, the Doctors took a 27-15 halftime lead and coasted to a 65-37 romp. The win was their fourth in the five-game series.

It was a game in which Cape Girardeau Mayor Al Spradling III, coach of the Lawyers, could be heard challenging the visual acuity of one of the referees. "His glasses are fine," optometrist Dr. Greg Leet, coach of the Doctors, assured the crowd.

Leet formerly played for the University of Alabama-Birmingham while teammate Dr. Todd Lumsden played forward at the University of Northern Iowa and Mankato State. They were the source of some sparkling behind-the-back passes and deft shooting at times.

In Curt Poore, John Harding and Scott Lipke, the Lawyers boasted some former high school players who could score from the outside. But the Lawyers failed on the boards.

Before the game, Spradling said his strategy would be "to keep from hurting ourselves and hurting other people."

The Community Counseling Center Foundation undertakes capital projects on behalf of the center, which serves Cape Girardeau, Bollinger, Perry, Madison and Ste. Genevieve counties.

Ten people participated in the MVP Long-Distance Shoot-Out during halftime. Each earned the right by collecting $250 for the foundation.

Raffles for various prizes were held during the game, and more money was raised at a pregame patrons party at the Royal N'Orleans Restaurant.

Businesswoman Kathy Swan and Division II Circuit Judge John Grimm were co-chairmen of the event. Grimm did not play in this game after amassing 2 points in the previous three contests.

Scoring isn't Grimm's favorite part of playing in the Doctor-Lawyer Basketball Game anyway. It's "fouling someone," the judge said.