In a dramatic 4th quarter, the Lakewood Rangers stormed back from a 10 point deficit to win 51-50 over Fuchs Mizrachi in a Senior Night for the ages. As the final buzzer sounded, the East Gym was frenzied, and all the Ranger faithful were smiling. Back to the memorable final seconds in a moment.

Fuchs Mizrachi played hard, smart basketball, the Rangers trailed for all but one minute, and a senior night victory seemed unlikely. But senior Joey Dolan kept Lakewood within striking distance with a team high 14 points, which included four silky smooth 3-pointers. Fellow senior starters Liam McGann (9 points), KaVantah Swain (4 points), LaMar Wilson (9 points) and Nathan Bruwer not only played extensive minutes, but all contributed with rebounds and hustle plays. Nevertheless, in the decisive 4th quarter, a couple of juniors made sure their efforts would be aptly rewarded.

With 18 seconds left, Rory Chanter hit a do-or-die 3 pointer, stole the inbound pass, laid it in, got back on defense, stole the ball again with 7 seconds left, and from there the Rangers were able to kill the clock. Rory scored all 7 of his points in the forth quarter and, as you can tell, was a force on defense. Junior Riley Verderber came off the bench and scored 9 points on rugged inside play, sparking the comeback and setting up Rory’s late-game heroics.

As always, the Rangers were boosted by a large, rambunctious student section, the best Cheer Squad anywhere and our fabulous Pep Band. Thanks to senior Cheerleaders Cora Barcelona, Molly Franciscus, Anna Keane, Claire Noelker, Piper Polen, Janiah Rose, Becky Sever, and Addison Ward for bringing energy, pep and talent to every game.

Senior Night is always special as a celebration of persistence, family, loyalty and team work. As fate would have it, Lakewood managed to deliver a dramatic win against a very tough opponent. Tonight was poetry.

The Lakewood Rangers are one team, from one very special town. Long Live Lakewood