Boys Basketball Claws Out Wildcats On Senior Night

The Eagles (3-20) made their senior night one to be remembered on Tuesday, Feb. 11. After Sullivan held their ceremony, they clawed out the Union Wildcats 51-43 (4-16) for their third season win.

Before the Eagles took the court, head coach Kobe Wands asked them, “How do you want to be remembered?” After the game, he explained his message: “I think for the guys, it’s impactful because you want to play in front of crowds; you want people to be excited about Sullivan basketball. And when you look on record right now on paper, you’re like, oh, you’re a 3-20 team. It doesn’t build excitement that way. When people go in and then they leave the game, how do they remember how we play?”

Seniors Chris Glaser, Robert York, Brayden White, Cooper Donner and Seth Valley followed their coach’s words.

Glaser dropped a season-high 27 points against Union. He drained 11-9 of his field goals, 10-14 of his two-pointers and 1-5 of his threes. The 6’1 guard also made 4-5 free throws, two assists and two steals.

York topped Sullivan with 10 rebounds while swishing in 5 points at the net. 

White broke away with 6 points, a steal and a rebound. The 6’3 center also went 3-5 from the field.

Donner dominated with five rebounds and an assist.

Valley was injured but kept his squad’s morale high on the sidelines.

Wands described working with his seniors as being an “absolutely wonderful” experience in his first year at the helm. He shared, “Some of the things that you hope that they take with them is sticking through processes, even if outcomes aren’t exactly what they want now… If you stick with it and stay on the right path, you will eventually start to see success, and that goes for everything in life. I hope that they take that with them long after basketball is gone.”

Peyton Malady also played lights out against the Wildcats. The junior guard put up seven rebounds, 5 points and two assists.

Landen Doza racked up five rebounds, 2 points and a steal.

Jared Toews drilled in four points and pulled down three boards.

Raiden Redd put on a clinic with 2 points, an assist and a steal.

The Eagles soared ahead with 31 rebounds, six assists and five steals. They sank 21-42 of their field goals, 8-14 of their free throws and 1-7 of their threes. Sullivan overcame 19 turnovers and seven fouls.

Game Recap

Glaser drew first blood for the Eagles. He put Sullivan on the board by driving to the net for a one-handed layup.

The Eagles continued soaring down the court. York clutched a putback basket, while White banked in two consecutive scores.

The Wildcats refused to back down. They fast broke for five unanswered points and seized a 9-8 lead.

After Coach Wands called a timeout, Glaser delivered a go-ahead finger roll. Doza then picked off a Union inbound pass that led to a layup by York.

The Wildcats clawed themselves back to the top at the start of the second quarter.

Toews broke Sullivan’s drought with a jumper from the perimeter. Glaser then drained two free throws and a layup for an 18-15 lead.

Before halftime, Union responded with a bucket to cut their deficit to one.

To tip off the third quarter, Malady dropped a dime to White under the net for the opening score.

The Wildcats continued hanging at Sullivan’s doorstep, but the Eagles prevented them from advancing. Glaser kept up his masterclass at the rim while Malady helped drive the offense down the floor. York and Doza crashed the boards, paving the way for Sullivan to stay ahead. 

The Eagles fired on all cylinders and sank ten unanswered points for a 40-30 lead into the fourth quarter. The Wildcats found themselves on the ropes and could not hit the brakes on Sullivan’s momentum. 

To cap off a dominant second half, Toews, Malady and Glaser fired in knockout punches from the free-throw line. They shut the door on Union’s comeback hopes, winning 51-43 for their third season victory.