The West Seattle Wildcats’ Senior Night was one to be proud of, they came into the game fired up and ready to go, having already lost to the Bainbridge Spartans once this year, they refused to let it happen again.

The Wildcats came out of the gates at full force, maintaining their lead throughout the game. For the first three quarters the Wildcats slowly pulled ahead; widening the gap with a steady relentlessness. Until the fourth quarter when they seemed to lose their focus, giving the Spartans a chance to comeback, to make it an; out of your seat, scream and shout, end to the game. But, in the end the Wildcats pulled through to win it over Bainbridge.

The first quarter had the tip going to Bainbridge, but they were unable to finish the possession, after several turnovers the first basket was made, by West Seattle Senior #33 Kyle McDonald. The Spartans attempted to dominate the boards with their big man, #33 Ben Eisenhardt, standing at 6 feet 10 inches he completely overpowered the Wildcats in their last matchup, but this time it seemed that the wildcats had boned up to prepare for the huge Center, practically rendering him useless with quick passes and hard drives to the basket. West Seattle closed out the quarter on top, but only holding on to it by the skin on their teeth, with the score at 16-15.

The second period found West Seattle ranging out for long jumpers, between Seniors Marcus Hamlin #15, and Ermias Haile #20, the Wildcats dropped 15 points worth of field goals, majorly contributing to the Wildcats steadily growing lead.

Bainbridge was not so reliable in the distance shots, but they were able to put points on the board through various post moves. While West Seattle struggled to defend the baseline, the Spartans were unable to keep up with the Wildcats lightening quick passes and blazingly fast point guard, Senior #3 T.J. Lee. By the end of the period the Wildcats had managed to widen the gap considerably, leaving the court for halftime with the score at 35-27.

As the third quarter rolled around the Wildcats began to score by spreading the defense, this was done mainly, by Junior Guard #4 Joe Bell Austin. The Spartans make a string of technical and shooting fouls in an attempt to slow the Wildcats momentum, but the Wildcats are able to capitalize on the penalties, putting them farther ahead. The Spartans’ antics seemed to take a hit on their concentration, letting the Wildcats increase their lead, the quarter closed out with Wildcats still on top, 57-43.

The Wildcats seemed to let up as they came into the final period, as if they thought they had already won, the Spartans took the advantage and ran with it. Bainbridge began to take jumpers with more confidence and therefore with greater accuracy, this allowed the Spartans to begin to close the gap. West Seattle came out hard but not nearly as hard as they had been playing in the previous quarters. The shift in intensity, brought it down to the last thirty seconds of the game and the Wildcats only holding their lead by one point, in the time between that point and the buzzer there were; four penalties, eight free throws, three field goals, and two jump shots, that accumulated between the two teams. Fortunately the penalties were all in West Seattle’s favor and they made good on each one, however the field goals were all made by Bainbridge, leaving the game to two short jumpers that left the Wildcats victorious at 76-72.

It was a game of strong emotions and intense ability that left the West Seattle Wildcats proud of such a memorable Senior Night. Senior Marcus Hamlin when asked about his feelings on the game, and how it showed the teams improvement since their last face-off with Bainbridge, said, “We came out more focused tonight, and as a group of seniors we knew this was are last home game, and we wanted to leave everyone with something to remember. We also felt we had something to prove to ourselves and the city.” Well they certainly did that, in the end this heart pounding game was emotional because of the effort that was shown on the court, by a group of young men who knew they would never play on their home court again, and strove to make their last show, one to be proud of.