The varsity boys basketball team entered the last game of the regular season riding an eight-game win streak.
The team would celebrate their seven seniors with a strong 55-38 victory over Mount Dora on Jan. 31. The night’s highlights included team manager and point guard Will Seavers scoring the final two points of the game.
“We wanted to surprise Will, so we asked him at halftime if he wanted to play, he was super hyped up and we told him to go get his uniform on,” head coach Josh Kohn said. “We still had to play the second half, but once we were ahead by 18 points and had the game won, everything shifted to Will and getting him in there. The last minute of the game became Will’s shining moment, which was awesome.”
Another memorable moment from the game came from junior guard Asa Kohn, who hit his 1000th-point milestone by going nine for 13 and putting up 22 points. He led the team in scoring with 480 points and 92 assists.
The victory on senior night solidified a nine-game win streak, which the team hoped to continue into the first round of districts against Timber Creek on Monday, Feb 3. However, despite the hot streak, Hagerty was not able to come up with a win to keep their season alive. After dropping the game to Timber Creek by a score of 50-47, they ended the season with a final record of 15-11.
Though the loss to Timber Creek was tough to take, the turnaround still made for a positive season. Center Gavin Tait highlights their game against Lake Mary on Jan. 14 as the pivotal moment. This was in the midst of a three-game losing streak and overall 1-8 record. According to Tait, Nico Garces gave an inspiring talk to the team during halftime.
After the talk, the team won the game 64-62, winning by just one basket with seconds to go. This win was the start of their turning point, they went on to go 9-0 the remainder of the regular season.
“In the locker room we had a serious conversation about not accepting defeat and leaving it all on the court. We ended that halftime by saying ‘the winning streak starts today,” forward Garces said.
Garces knew that if the team didn’t pick it up, it wasn’t going to be a season they would be proud of. Fortunately, they’ll be able to look back on a successful comeback season and look to go into next year with the same mentality.
“I am extremely grateful to have the opportunity to play and compete this season. I am proud of what we accomplished and how the team fought through adversity,” Garces said. “Finishing the season 15-10 after previously being 6-10 is no easy task, especially with the teams we had to beat to get that record. Although we came up short in districts, I enjoyed every second of it.”
