On January 30, the Bolles boys basketball team faced off against Hilliard for Senior Night. They won in a crushing fashion with a 54-41 point win over the Hilliard Flashes. The seniors that were recognized during the Senior Night ceremony were Kaden Fergusen, Reed Worley, CJ Ennis, Mac Verlander, and Finley Bredehoeft.
After the Senior Night win against Hilliard, Fergusen reached the achievement of scoring 1,000 points throughout his high school career at Bolles.
“We played together and we came out with the dub,” Fergusen said.
The seniors, along with the rest of the basketball team, have put together a great season this year and look to replicate the high points of this year next year as well.
The beginning of the season for the Bulldogs started out differently. They began the season with a losing record but were able to turn it around come mid-season. The Bulldogs ended with a hot streak right before playoffs, having won six of their last seven games.
“Towards the end of the season, we were able to get it together, and we won seven of our last eight games,” Fergusen said. “We were at six and ten, and managed to get to 13 and 11 with a key win over Bishop Kenny.”
The only time the Bulldogs lost a game in their streak of winning was to our school rival Bishop Kenny near the ending of the season, who they had also beaten just two weeks prior at home. The home game win was against Bishop Kenny and it had the fans fired up with the biggest student section turn out for a basketball game all year. The student section wore a theme of business casual for that game.
“The Bishop Kenny win at home this year was pretty awesome,” Verlander said. “We haven’t beat them at home in two and a half years. Although we sent them home last season in districts, it was good to get one at home with our home crowd. It was a pretty publicized game that week, so it was cool to get a win in front of our students.”
This year, the new addition of the new Athletic Director for the school, Rock Pillsbury, looks to add funding to the basketball team to further encourage the team to continue to play better in the future. Verlander believes that the underclassmen have high hopes for the future to continue the success of the basketball team in years to come.
“I think the underclassmen are set up well, and I’ll commemorate our group of seniors for that. I think we’ve shown a lot of grit and perseverance, showing by example this year,” Verlander said. “As long as shots can fall and their talent proves sufficient, I think that our younger guys will have a great season next year.”
It has been a hard fought season with many accomplishments along the way for the Bulldogs, but they managed to get hot at just the right time..
The years ahead also look hopeful due to the new athletic director for the whole school, the added budget to the basketball team, and the aspiring underclassmen on the team. The team ended the season with a record of 13-13 with many bumps along the way but high hopes for years to come.
