Lane Gymnasium couldn’t get any more festive on Jan. 28, hosting Senior Night celebrations for cheerleaders, dance team members, majorettes and the boys basketball team. The energy set the stage for what would be the boys’ final tune up before starting city playoffs, playing against the Northside Mustangs (9-8, 3-4 White-North conference). After a slow start, Lane would pick up scoring in the second half to win 58-39.

Seniors Sean Molloy, Joseph Perona, Ethan Grunebaum, Anthony Zanders, Hayden Matthews, Will Rosenkrantz, Parker Springer, Stephen Goonan and Lucas Basile were the stars of the court Friday night. With COVID causing a year-long disruption for the program, the seniors were filled with nothing but excitement, according to Head Coach Nicholas LoGalbo.

“They were really excited to have a big crowd and get to play in front of their families and friends,” LoGalbo said postgame. “I thought we honored them the right way as well as everyone that contributes to our program with cheer, dance and majorettes and our band – just everyone having a good night.”

Gallery • 10 Photos

Mara Mellits

Lane’s Sean Molloy (1) driving the ball up the court

While Lane would ultimately build an impressive lead over the Mustangs, the first half was a low-scoring affair. 

With Lane keeping Northside out of the interior with a tight zone defense, the Mustangs turned to slowing down possessions. Northside effectively frustrated Lane by taking advantage of the lack of a shot clock, drawing jeers from Lane’s student section with every passing second. With no easy access to layups, Northside’s Jaden Bandi would clutch multiple three-pointers for the Mustangs. Despite sloppy passing and inconsistent shooting, Lane went into the locker room at halftime with a slim 19-17 lead.

Both teams had plenty of time to cool off with an extended halftime that boasted impressive choreographies and routines from Lane’s majorettes, dance team and cheerleaders. For Lane, the first two quarters were a wake up call to get things going and play more aggressively.

“We knew that we were a lot better than this team,” Springer said postgame. “There were specific players that were hitting most of the threes, so we made sure to zone in on them and then just play everyone else as we normally do.”

The second half would prove to be the crux of Friday’s matchup, seeing Lane take a different approach.

“They threw us off our game in the first half with these long possessions,” Molloy told The Champion via direct message. “But with the energy in the gym, we were able to pressure them and cause turnovers, allowing us to get quick baskets and build a lead.”

Both teams brought the best of their defensive game, but Lane’s hustle triumphed with steals and layups from Perona and rebounds from Rosenkrantz. Although Bandi would pick up another nine points in the fourth quarter, Lane pulled away and took the game with a 58-39 victory. 

Lane enters city playoffs at 14-7 on the year, with a 4-5 Red-Northwest conference record. They will take to home court to play Schurz on Wednesday, Feb. 2 in the first round.