As the Boys’ Basketball Team prepared for senior night, each senior was introduced to the audience individually and joined by their family for photos. Once the ceremony ended, the game was on. Malden and Somerville stepped onto the court determined to win the last home game of the season.
The game began with a strong Malden lead as they shot and scored on Somerville. The scores continued to get closer throughout, and slowly but surely, Malden’s steam ran out. They began to slow down, and Somerville eventually made it up and widened the gap.
Even though the score was no longer in their favor, Malden never stopped pushing through to the end. They remained positive and put every bit of energy they could into each shot until the final seconds. Ultimately, the game ended in a score of 62-34, with Somerville leading their team to victory.
This season has had its ups and downs, and with a final season record of 19 losses and 1 win, the players have taken this time to learn and grow from their mistakes. Senior Christopher MacDonald explained how the losses have “taught not only me, but everybody how to work together as a team…We started off so slow, and we just realized that we needed to play together.”
The team reflected on the season and their plays throughout as they realized where they had been lacking but also where the team improved. “Our scoring didn’t do that well, neither did our defense. We just didn’t really have the year we wanted,” mentioned junior Ryan McMahon.
“Our offense wasn’t the best, and we didn’t really know what we were doing,” expressed junior Colin Okoth, “but I think the past couple of games we’ve been trying to find a way to work with each other and try to find out what we can do best.” He continued, “We got through these challenges just by understanding one another without the coaches and figuring things out within the team. We just kept on pushing and playing as a team.”
Working as a team was one of the biggest issues the boys had, according to Okoth. He described his focus on the preseason and how they “should’ve spent a lot more time with each other. Even without basketball, just getting to know each other and gaining a little bit more friendship and community on and off the court.”
Through all of their hardships, the team had improved and worked toward fixing their setbacks with the team as a whole. “We just got after it in practice; we worked every day, as hard as we could, two hours every day. Sometimes it translates to the game, sometimes it doesn’t but we always just looked forward to getting better everyday,” described MacDonald. Okoth added, “We got through these challenges just by understanding one another without the coaches and figuring things out within the team. We just kept on pushing and playing as a team.”
As the seniors begin to move on from this year, the juniors must step into their shoes and be ready to lead the team. “They’ve led the way, they show more responsibility since they’re about to get into the real life. They show me a lot of ways that I can be myself and keep on producing as a team,” voiced McMahon.
For next year, Okoth also said that “we’re going to have to find people to step up and a lot of people are going to have to mature both on and off the court.”
