Seaholm varsity basketball ended their regular season on a high note with a 63-45 win over Detroit Loyola in the seniors’ last home game of their high school basketball career.
“It’s like the best feeling in the world to get a win at my last home game at Seaholm,” senior center Michael Putz said after Thursday victory.
The win was the Maples’ second straight since the departure of starting point guard Christian Pino, who just transferred to Romulus last week.
“We’ve really stepped it up the past two games,” senior co-captain Bradley White said. “We’ve been playing more as a team, moving the ball more and getting everyone shots.”
Seaholm got off to a slow start, allowing Detroit Loyola to take the early lead at 14-12 at the end of the first quarter.
Once senior Braden Geraldo and senior Adam Banchiu checked back into the game after they changed into a new pair of shoes, the momentum swung back towards Seaholm’s way.
“We came out with a lot of energy and just wanted it more,” Geraldo said, “I wish we could have done it while still wearing our ‘swag’ shoes, but I’m still glad we played well.”
In the second quarter the Maples caught fire and outscored Loyola 15-4 to take the lead at the half, 27-18.
Lead by the hot shooting of Banchiu, who was 3-3 from behind the arc, totaling nine points in the first half.
Seaholm did not let off the gas in the second half, expanding their lead to 17 by the end of the third quarter.
The Maples played with high energy all night, rotating players from the bench constantly to keep fresh legs and give everyone a chance to play in the final home game of the year.
“The best feeling is when the entire team gets to play,” said senior co-captain Matt Lindsey. “Pretty much everyone scored, seniors played a ton and our hard work paid off.”
Nine different players contributed to Seaholm’s scoring, led by senior Shawn Conway, who had a game high 21 points.
Banchiu finished the game with 14 points, going 4-6 on three-pointers.
