The boys’ basketball team played Hollidaysburg on Thursday Feb. 9. It was also senior night when seniors from the Lioneers, cheerleading and the boys’ basketball team were recognized. 

“Senior night is important because it’s basically the last game of the season. There are a lot of people there, and your family gets to walk out with you,” senior Ashton Neely said.

The starting line up for the Varsity game was Zhaad White (senior), Ashton Neely (senior), Jimere Hardison (senior), Jalen Triplin (senior) and Evan Alwine (senior).  

“It feels amazing to start and that I have a coach that believes in me. I put in a lot of time to work on my game in the summer,” Triplin said.

Less than 15 seconds into the game, Neely made a three point shot putting the Lions on the scoreboard. 

“It takes lots of repetition. When I practice at the gym, I practice that same shot,” Neely said. 

By the end of the first quarter, the Lions had a lead with a score of 16 to 10. During the second quarter, the boys held Hollidaysburg to only 7 points. Going into the third quarter, the score was 38 to 17

“It was a combination of us shooting well, playing unselfish basketball and playing great defense.  We came out at the start of the game with tremendous energy and enthusiasm.  The Mt. Lion Maniacs helped tremendously in creating a great atmosphere,” coach Doug Pfeffer said.

Triplin stole the ball and made a fast break lay-up just as the buzzer went off. Ending the third quarter, the Lions were ahead with a 51 to 29 lead. 

“It felt great. I didn’t realize the time until everyone started screaming, and I thought the buzzer went off before I shot it,” Triplin said.

With about five minutes left in the game, Altoona was fouled by Hollidaysburg putting them into bonus. When a team reaches seven fouls, the next person they foul is put onto the foul line and guaranteed to shoot one shot. if they make it, they shoot a second. With 3:30 left in the game, Hollidaysburg was fouled putting them into bonus too.

“We weren’t worried about them being in bonus because we were already blowing them out of the water,” Neely said. 

Altoona won the game with a final score of 67 to 47. The team now has 8 wins and 13 losses.

“We finished in third place in the very tough Mid-Penn Conference,” Coach Doug Pfeffer said.

At the end of the game, the students from the student section ran onto the court to celebrate the win with the team. 

“Having a student section like that makes you get up and want to play even more and it changes the atmosphere,” Triplin said