This past Saturday, February 16th, was Senior night for the Lakewood Boys’ Basketball Team; the boys that were celebrated were Tommy Sala, Christian Marcano, Tim Smith, Dominic Wahba, Derek Walker, Shannon Cotto, Alex Bransteter, Delvaun Philips, and Zion Darby.

The senior ceremony began at 7 PM honoring the nine boys that make up almost the whole varsity team. They were escorted onto the court by their families and had their pictures taken, then began to warm up as per usual.

The game against Bay High School started shortly after the ceremony; it was an out of conference match up. Quarter one and two looked promising for Lakewood, with a lead that was not incredibly large but not too close either. However, after half-time the game got closer and closer, with Bay taking the lead in the fourth quarter.

The score was 50-51 Bay with 1.5 seconds left in the game when senior Tommy Sala got fouled. He went to the free throw line and made both shots, putting the score at 52-51, giving the team the win they wanted on senior night.

When asking Tommy Sala what he thought of the performance at Saturday night’s game he responded with, ‘It was very exciting for me because it was senior night and great to secure that win.” Coach Dimitrius Lovett came with the same positive energy when saying, “I think close games prepare you for playoffs and playoff situations… it gives the boys more experience to be poise in tough situations, and handle pressure….” When asked about the boys going on to play in college he continued by saying, “…College is all about work ethic and balancing out life…through this season, they’ll be better prepared as student athletes.”

This group of senior boys brought our team to the conference championship, paved the way for our programs future, all while setting example for the younger boys to one day take over.