Three Eastern students broke the odds and the athletic department’s pocket Friday night during the Midnight Madness event at Lantz Arena.

Students Vince Ursetta, Kyle Maxwell and Doug Blunk showed up at Lantz Friday night to watch the men’s and women’s basketball team’s first practice of the year at midnight. They left with free tuition for next semester.

The three were part of a group of five students drawn in a raffle for a chance to shoot for tuition. Each had to make a free throw, a three-pointer and a half-court shot in less than a minute for the cash. Blunk, Maxwell and Ursetta shocked themselves and everyone in attendance by sinking the shots.

“We had no idea that one student would have a reasonable shot to win it, much less three out of the five who shot,” Director of Athletics Rich McDuffie said. “And one of the two women that were unsuccessful at the half court shot drop kicked it, and the way things were going, I though that was going to go in.

“There was so much luck and positive karma, I thought anyone could have made a shot that night.”

Ursetta, a junior industrial technology major, was the first of the three to accomplish the feat.

“They called my number and I walked out there, and I was pretty nervous because I was the first person to go and everyone in the place was watching me,” he said. “I started off with the free throw, then I made the three pointer and I kept coming really close to the halfcourt shot, then with two seconds left, I made it, and I can’t tell you how good that felt.

“Everyone was on their feet cheering. Right after I made the shot, all my friends ran on the court and mobbed me.”

The next one to drain the three shots was Maxwell, a sophomore business major who was there to represent the golf team in the celebrity shootout.

“I had been shooting a lot of three-pointers for the celebrity shootout, so I was confident I could make the first two, but I wasn’t sure about the half-court shot,” he said. “I felt a little nervous and missed my first three free throws, but then I hit the three right away and it took me three or four balls for the half-courter.

“The one before had the right distance was a little to the right, but the last one I knew I made as soon as it left my hand.”

And when it went in, a stunned crowd erupted.

“I didn’t even know what was going on,” Maxwell said. “I had a bunch of friends there and I know I ran over and gave them all high fives, but I don’t even really remember anything. I was too excited.”