After two playoff games, the Minutemen were looking almost unbeatable, as they cruised to two straight twenty plus point wins. But, coming into the semifinals, the team was in for their first real test of the playoffs, as they were set to face off with a talented and extremely athletic Atlantic City team here at WTHS.

With a packed student section almost every game, this game was no different. The student section was jam packed as expected, but not just the student section was filled. Every seat in the gym was filled, and there were even people standing on the sides just to watch what was set up to be a terrific game. As the game got underway the Minutemen won the tip, and got out to a fast 7-0 run, patiently moving the ball and making the extra pass to find the open man. The entire gym was fired up, and the boys were looking dominant once again.

“I have never seen the gym that crowded” said senior fan Chase Smith. “The student section was insane, and I’ve never heard a high school game get that loud.”

After the big run to start the game, Atlantic City seemed to settle down, and were able to must nine points for the quarter, while the Minutemen offense was clicking on all cylinders, and put up an impressive 17 points. But, unlike most teams, it was clear that this Atlantic City had experience and was well coached, and everyone knew that they were very capable of getting themselves right back into the ball game.

“After one we felt good about how we were playing” said Nick Foti ’17. “We were knocking down our shots and getting boards. But we knew they were a great team and that we had to keep it up or they would get right back into the game.”

As the second quarter opened up, the Minutemen stayed hot on offense. The two headed monster of Cook ’16 and Ortiz ’16 were playing great and carrying the offense as they always do. But, the Minutemen were missing some open jump shots that they usually hit, and the ball wasn’t finding the net like it usually does for the boys from behind the arc.

The talented AC team was not flustered by the enormous and loud crowd, and they kept playing their ball game, outscoring the Minutemen 12-11 in the second quarter, and going into half time down only 7 points.

“From a fans point of view, the game had the makings of one that would come down to the last second. Both teams were playing great defense and taking care of the ball. It looked as though the game could go either way.” Said senior fan Colin Eggert.

As the boys came out of halftime, it was clear that these teams were evenly matched, and that the game was going to go right down to the wire. The AC teams came out of halftime fired up and were playing great on offense. They were running the floor beautifully and scoring on fast breaks, and it was clear that they had stolen momentum and were forcing the Minutemen to play their style of basketball. But, after a much needed timeout, the Minutemen came back out and looked solid once again, dominating the boards and taking good care of the ball. AC outscored the Minutemen 17-10 in the third quarter, and the game was tied going into the fourth quarter.

Both teams came out of the break playing hard, being patient on offense, and making sure not to force a bad shot. The two teams battled, and with a minute left the minutemen were down two points. Cook drew the foul and buried two free throws to tie the game at 47. Atlantic City drove down the court, and was able to get a nice look close to the net, and the guard finished the play with a beautiful finger roll lay up over the out stretched arms of Aj Michaels ’16. This put the Minutemen down by two, and Kieser called a timeout to draw up a play and try to tie up the game.

With the entire gym holding their breath, the Minutemen inbounded the ball to the player who has been their go to guy all season, and the player that they wanted to decide their fate, Spencer Cook. As Cook patiently waited for time to slip off the clock, they finally began to run the play. With a high screen at the top of the key, Cook pulled up for an open look from three, which looked good coming off his hand. But, the ball hit back rim, and was just inches long. AC ate up the rebound, and the minutemen quickly fouled, forcing them to shoot a one and one. The AC player missed the front end of the one and one, and the Minutemen had been given a second life.

With nine seconds left the boys yet again fed Cook the ball, and let him do his thing like he did all season. Cook got another open look, this time from just inside the arc. Coming out of his hand the shot looked good once again, but as the ball reached the net, it hit off back rim and kicked out, and was just inches long once again. AC grabbed the board and the clock ran out, putting an end to not only the game, but also to the best season in WTHS boys basketball history.

“It was a great game and I really thought we were going to pull out the win” said Foti ’17. “We’re all disappointed. This isn’t how we wanted our season to end, but I love every one of these guys and I wouldn’t trade this season for anything in the world.”

Although the season did not end exactly how the boys wanted the season to end, it was still a terrific season, and the best season in school history. Not only did the boys post the best record in school history, with an astonishing 25 wins, and only four losses. The boys were also Olympic Conference champions for the first time since 1999, and were one of the most exciting teams WTHS has ever had. The boys had the gym packed and going crazy for every home game, and they were able to put the program back on the map, and make basketball games a must see event.