On Friday, Feb. 3, the Maclay boys varsity basketball team hosted their annual senior night game in the Webster Center and this year they faced off against Taylor County.
The senior night festivities took place right before the start of the game. All ten seniors that were honored included: Blaise Wallace, Colin McAllister, Sawyer Davis, Sawyer Stone, Jamal Brown, Evan Brown, Grayson Oberste, Michael Grant, Tristan Lunt and Slater Bayliss.
The game started off 2-0 for the Marauders because of a pregame technical foul by the Bulldogs that sent McAllister to the free throw line.
“This was a big time win that we needed,” said Grant. “This will give us a huge push forward to the playoffs.”
The first half was dominated by defense on both sides. Maclay was only able to put up 19 points in the first quarter and they led by a small margin of eight. After a series of offensive breakaways, Maclay was able to close out the first half with an 18 point lead with a score of 37-19.
“We got the win tonight and that’s all that matters,” Wallace said. “We got all of our seniors involved tonight and that’s what made tonight so special.”
All seniors got to touch the court for their final game at the Webster Center and the crowd loved every second of it.
“It makes me feel great that everyone came out tonight to support the seniors as well as the team,” Wallace said.
Maclay’s offense was able to get moving again in the second half after multiple Bulldog turnovers. The Marauders wouldn’t give up the lead for the rest of the game.
“It’s always exciting, every senior class is important,” head coach Gene Granger said. “We try to make this a memorable night.”
The night ended with a Marauder victory and a score of 62-37. Maclay improved their record to 20-3 and will face Fleming Island in Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday Feb. 4 at 4:00 p.m. After the road trip, the Maclay seniors will lead their team to another district tournament run.
