Senior Night Does Not Disappoint for Spartans
By: Anthony Marino
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Seconds before tipoff, for the final time this year public address announcer Lou Horvath said, “It’s time to rock n’ roll in The Alley.” For three Alexander Spartan players it was their last time hearing those words.
Stone Markins-Irwin, Dylan Mecum, and Kameron Riley suited up for the last time in The Alley for the Spartans as they played their first round playoff opponent the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in the last game of the regular season. The three seniors were able to finish out their last regular season game with a win, 67-56.
“I’m happy but I’m also sad because I love these guys so much. It just sucks that I’m done here in Albany at The Alley but we still have the post season and a lot more wins in us,” said Markins-Irwin after the game.
“We expect a lot out of our seniors and they are three quality kids. They have served this school, this system, and this program very well and I am very proud of them. We will certainly miss them,” said head coach Jim Kearns about his three seniors.
Markins-Irwin would finish out his career in The Alley with a double-double, scoring 10 points and hauling in 11 rebounds. Dylan Mecum finished with a team high 17-points and their third senior teammate Kameron Riley finished with six points.
Aggressive play in the paint by the Spartans fueled their offense. The team was 24-for-45 from field goal range, much of those coming from inside the key and off fast break opportunities.
The Buckeyes shot 70 percent from beyond the three-point line. Junior Mikey Seel was responsible for five of those 3-pointers. He was lights out from downtown, shooting an impressive 83 percent. Seel would finish with a team high 17 points.
The Buckeyes found themselves forcing the ball leading into turnovers. For Alexander, those turnovers would lead to easy fast break points. The Spartans were able to control the interior. Junior center Celeb Terry was a pest for the Nelsonville-York players. He recorded seven blocks and added eight points to a productive night.
Nelsonville-York played four strong quarters of basketball but were unable to stop Alexander’s fast pace play and go on a scoring run.
Alexander finished the season with an overall record of 14-7 and a conference record of 10-2. As for Nelsonville-York they finished 8-12 and 4-7 in conference.
The Spartans will meet the Buckeyes in the first round of the OHSAA State Tournament on Feb. 20 at Jackson High School at 6:15 p.m.
“That team (Nelsonville-York) can certainly shoot. We will come up with a game plan for Wednesday but they are a familiar opponent. They are senior dominated, really a lot of experience so we are going to have to come ready to play,” said coach Kearns regarding Wednesday’s first round playoff game.