Photo by Jack Armstrong ’15

By Zach Stubblefield ‘15

Boys’ basketball’s playoff run came to an end on Wednesday night when the Warriors fell to Springbrook by a final score of 74-52. Sherwood had won its first-round playoff game on February 28 with a 53-47 win against Paint Branch.

The victory over Paint Branch was a rough and tumble affair. In the first half, bodies were hitting the floor on many possessions on both ends of the court as Paint Branch built a small lead going into halftime. The second half is when Sherwood really started to take control of the game. Junior Xavier McCants opened up the third quarter with four early points that helped the Warriors get into a rhythm. The final score of the game does not tell the whole story, as Sherwood dominated Paint Branch in almost every aspect of the game during the second half.

Unfortunately, Sherwood could not replicate the second-half magic when they played Springbrook, which finished the regular season with a 20-2 record. Sherwood played from behind for virtually the whole game. Despite this, they were able to keep the score relatively close until about midway through the third quarter when Springbrook pulled away.

Despite the loss Coach, Tim Gilchrist was still proud of his team. “Our team matched Springbrook’s toughness the entire game and were resilient when it would have been much easier to just roll over and give up,” said Gilchrist.

The season can only be regarded as a success when one considers that the team lost four starters from last season, including their top scorer, Brandon Loiocono, and got a new coach, Tim Gilchrist. With McCants among the returning players next season, the team looks to build on the foundation that begun this season under Glichrist.

Senior center Ellis Dozier says “It was a great season and thankfully I had a great group of teammates who made my senior year really special,” said senior center Ellis Dozier.

Next season the Warriors will look up to three players who had substantial amounts of playing time with this year’s team. The team will also count on a new group of sophomores who were brought up to varsity to play during the final few games of the season. With this group Gilchrist will be given plenty of opportunities to lead the Warriors during his second season.