Boys basketball: Newman cruises past Mendota for Senior Night victory

STERLING – The Newman seniors had been looking forward to Friday night for quite a while now, and the Comets made the most of it when it finally arrived.

Using a rotation of six seniors up until the final couple of minutes, Newman got contributions from all of them in a 62-43 win over Mendota on Senior Night.

“We’ve all been waiting for this since the beginning of high school, we’ve all talked about it, coming out on Senior Night and playing our hearts out,” Marcus Williams said. “We’ve been playing together for a long time, so the connection is already there, and tonight was just one of those nights that we just put it together.”

Jacob Donald did the most damage for the Comets (20-9, 8-3 Three Rivers East), finishing with 26 points on 11-for-12 shooting – including 4-for-4 from 3-point range – and collecting five rebounds. Not a normal starter, Donald set the tone from the start with a 3 for Newman’s first points, then added a drive to the basket and a layup off a Williams assist for a 14-9 lead late in the first quarter.

He then finished with a flourish, scoring seven points in the Comets’ 11-0 run to open the fourth quarter.

“For me to not really play that much, that was pretty big for me. The stats speak for themselves, I guess. Shooters shoot, man, and they were falling for me tonight,” Donald said. “I thought it was really cool for us to be able to get all the seniors in so much, have all the seniors play the entire game, especially when we were able to win the game by as much as we did. I think that was really special for all of us.”

Classmate Ethan Van Landuit added 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals, and Williams finished with six points, six rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Alex Wigginton had eight points, three rebounds, six steals and two blocked shots, while Owen McBride finished with five points and four assists. Mario Passini was the final senior to score, nailing a 3 with 40 seconds left – to the delight of his teammates and the student section.

“It was great. Our whole team, if we can try to get everyone the ball and try to get some touches, we’re all happy. A happy team means great teamwork, and we had that tonight,” Wigginton said.

Griffin Moran, who has missed the entire season after suffering a lower leg injury in the first week, also got in the game, after getting off his crutches just recently. He came on to shoot a pair of free throws after a technical foul, but had both rim out before returning to the bench.

Still, his ability to get onto the court was special for his fellow seniors.

“It means a lot to us for everyone to play, especially Griffin,” Wigginton said. “He’s been out all season, and it’s been tough. He’s been here supporting us, helping us get better, drawing up some plays. It was great for him to get in, try to hit those free throws. Unfortunately they didn’t fall, but it was great to see him out there.”

A 3-pointer from Williams and a putback by Van Landuit gave Newman a 28-19 lead at halftime, but Mendota (5-20, 2-8) fought back out of the locker room. Rafa Romero and Ted Landgraf scored to open the third quarter, then Krew Bond’s alley-oop lob pass hit the backboard and went through the basket before he knocked down a 3 on the next possession to get the Trojans within 31-28.

But Williams converted a three-point play off a steal and runout, then Donald hit a 3 to stretch the lead back to 37-30. The teams traded baskets the rest of the third, with Romero’s bucket with 12 seconds left making it 41-36.

“We talked about coming out in the third quarter and just wanting to get it down to six by the end of the third quarter, so I thought we were in good shape when we cut it to three,” Mendota coach Steve Hanson said. “But we’d climb the hill, and then they’d hit a 3 and just knock us back down the hill, and we just kind of ran out of fight.

“Give credit to them. They got their seniors in all night, and they did what they had to do to win.”

Wigginton and Van Landuit added baskets to Donald’s onslaught to open the fourth, and Donald added a 3 for his final points to make it 55-38 with 3:35 to play. Coach Ray Sharp then subbed out his seniors one by one so each received a loud round of applause from the fans upon exiting.

“It was just amazing,” Williams said. “I’ve been waiting for this night for so long, just as a freshman playing up, not being able to play with my friends for a couple of those years, so I just knew I was going to come in and cherish tonight, get all my guys involved, and most importantly, have fun.

“Donny shot the lights out, everybody scored, and we all left it out there together, that’s the most important thing. It’s just an amazing feeling being out there with all my senior guys. I just can’t describe it.”

Landgraf led Mendota with 12 points and three steals, and Romero had a double-double with 10 points, 12 rebounds, two assists and two steals. Bond added eight points, three assists and three steals, and Ryne Strouss and Izaiah Nañez finished with five points each; Strouss nabbed two steals, and Nañez dished two assists.