Wildcats roll on Senior Night
- Updated: January 29, 2016
All five White Plains seniors start and score by the end of the first quarter
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
The seniors on the White Plains basketball team are guaranteed at least one more game on their beloved Richard Madden Court before they say good-bye, but it’s hard to imagine them having any more fun than they did in a game on Friday night.
The Wildcats recognized their five seniors prior to playing Faith Christian and the good time continued throughout the evening as they jumped on the Lions early and won 84-58.
It was the Wildcats’ final regular season home game before the playoffs. They will host the area tournament in two weeks where they could play as many as two more games. But Friday night was the night for recognizing their efforts.
“It was good to go out on a big bang like this,” senior captain Eli Hightower said as the players milled around the court after the game with family and friends. “It was fun playing in front of a home crowd on Senior Night and getting a good win.”
All five seniors started and, while not planned, all had scored before the game reached the final minute of the first quarter. In fact, all eight Wildcats who had gotten in the game at the time had scored before the final minute of the first half.
You could tell they were having fun. There was Kevin Carr puring three 3-pointers from the top of the key. There was Lawrence Jackson delivering a no-look pass to a trailing teammate for a layup. Players were photo-bombing each other’s post-game pictures with family.
Even the underclassmen got into the act. Junior Michael McGuirk carried his hot hand from the Saks game and led the Wildcats with 23 points. And then there was sophomore Macey Carr trying to dunk and then hanging on the rim for protection when he missed and laughing about it.
“It was really, really emotional for us; we can’t explain it,” Kevin Carr said. “We’re so happy just to have the win and ending the regular season with a blast.”
The tenth-ranked Wildcats (21-6) used two big runs in the first half to settle the issue. They went on a 15-3 spree in the first quarter that included three of their seven 3-pointers and seven straight points by McGuirk to take control of the game. They used a 21-5 run to double their lead. It was 50-26 at halftime.
“The first half offensively was about as good as we could play,” White Plains coach Chris Randall said. “I can’t remember a dribble that I thought was not a good dribble. Every possession the passes were crisp, the movement was better.
“I can’t remember the last time we passed the ball that hard to each other. It was so crisp and so confident. The ball movement was just on point; I couldn’t be more happy with it.”
While McGuirk was the game’s leading scorer, Carr was the top senior scorer for the Wildcats; he had 16 points. Murphy Doss had 15 and Jackson had 12. Hightower had eight, with two more 3-pointers, and Quez Wyatt had a bucket in the first quarter.
Jordan Griswould led Faith with 21 points. Caleb McCord had 19 and Alex Taylor had 10.
White Plains 84, Faith Christian 58
FAITH CHRISTIAN – Caleb McCord 7 3-6 19, Jordan Griswould 6 8-10 21, Jameson Adams 0 0-0 0, David Wall 1 0-0 2, Grant Martin 0 0-0 0, Jack Sills 2 2-4 8, Michael Kulick 0 0-0 0, Jameson Thacker 0 0-0 0, Alex Taylor 3 2-3 10, Julien Key 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 15-23 58.
WHITE PLAINS – Peyton Morgan 0 0-0 0, Dylan McCareeth 0 0-0 0, Kevin Carr 5 3-3 16, Eli Hightower 3 0-0 8, Michael McGuirk 9 3-4 23, Quez Wyatt 1 0-0 2, Lawrence Jackson 5 2-2 12, Macey Carr 2 0-0 4, Murphy Doss 6 3-3 15, Brett Beaver 2 0-0 4. Totals 33 11-12 84.
Faith Christian 13 13 16 16 — 58
White Plains 23 27 12 22 — 84
3-point goals: Faith 5 (McCord 2, Griswould, Taylor 2); White Plains 7 (K. Carr 3, Hightower 2, McGuirk 2). Technical fouls: M. Carr. Total fouls: Faith 16, White Plains 18. Officials: Maske, Hollingsworth, Kelley.
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