Derek and Wes Brooks; Cari and Codi McMaster

by Jake Ulick, McDaniel College sports information intern

Everyone who follows Centennial Conference basketball knows that the final Saturday of the regular season is reserved for "Rivalry Day".

For McDaniel, that means a Saturday Showdown with its so-called Route 97-rivals, Gettysburg.

For two Green Terror players, the rivalry means even more in 2013.

Codi McMaster on the women's team and Wes Brooks on the men's team each face off against their siblings for the second time.

Both Bullets, Cari and Derek, got the better of their Green Terror counterparts in the January showdowns in Westminster. And, while the games don't have playoff ramification for McDaniel, Codi and Wes will look to exact some revenge and potentially affect Gettysburg's postseason.

Cari's women's team is in the playoff but playing for the potential of being the top seed.

"Since it's the last game and we don't have any chance for the playoffs it takes a lot of the pressure off, adding playing my sister on top of that it kind of adds a little more pressure since bragging rights are on the line but I'm just really looking forward to playing on the same floor again. There's mostly excitement than anything," Codi explained.

Derek's men's team, on the other hand, will be fighting for the final playoff spot and a loss coupled with Ursinus win puts the Bullets on the outside looking in.

"If they don't make the playoffs, it's the last college game of his career and after watching him play for three years, it would be pretty special to play in his last one with him," Wes said.

The Brooks' brothers also have a third brother in the conference, Sean, who is a sophomore at Washington College.

"But either way, playing against both my brothers in college will be fun to talk about when we're older, so just like the other three so far, this game really means a lot to me, and I'm sure to him as well," Wes added.

Codi and Wes both admitted that in competition, there's somewhat of a struggle between wanting to see the other succeed on an individual level but fail as a team.

"When we were on the floor together that's not as much of a struggle because your head is so into the game you don't really think about it, but when I was on the bench watching her play [in January] part of me keep wanting to cheer for her when she did well," Codi admitted.

"She said it was the same for me when I was on the foul line and I missed my first shot of two, and Cari was the first person lined up to my right, so in my head I just persuaded myself that she was encouraging me to sink it, and after the game I brought it up to her, and we actually got a little teary-eyed because she said she was actually urging me to make the shot without saying anything. It was a really cool moment that I think neither of us will ever forget."

Wes shared a similar sentiment yet with more of an emphasis on the brotherly intuition of wanting to be better, but not in a malicious way.

"The perfect situation would be for him to have the game of his career and we win. But I will still do all I can to beat him, because it will feel good after losing to him in 1-on-1 games so much in the past and him being three years older. But yeah, I hate seeing him do poorly. Same with Sean, my other brother, especially if I am part of the reason."

When it comes to these meetings, the parents are forced to make a decision that doesn't always just come down to rooting for one or the other. In Codi's case, despite her mom's intense deliberations about what to do, the parents simply decided to cheer for both girls individually.

Wes says that the matchup is more difficult on his father because he hates seeing either make a mistake and the two playing against each other doubles the probability of that. His mother just wants them both to do well.

"But I don't think either of them has clapped once during any our matchups, they've just stayed neutral."