It all came to an end for Williamston’s boys basketball team on March 20 in the Class C state quarterfinal.
The Hornets claimed a final record of 22-3 with a 71-51 loss to Benton Harbor in the Class B state quarterfinal game.
Benton Harbor went on to win the state title game over Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 65-64 in overtime.
“We had been scouting Benton Harbor basically since the start of the season,” Coach Thomas Lewis said. “We had a plan. We were tied at halftime. We knew the first few minutes of the second half were critical. They came out with a 9-4 run. Finally, we had to come out and try to trap them and get some steals, even create a little more tempo. We got a little loose. They went on a run and finished us off.”
Lewis called it a great season.
“We had won 17 straight coming into the quarterfinal game. Our last loss was against Warren DeLaSalle in Motor City Roundball,” Lewis said. “We learned early in some losses. We had injuries early in the year. Guys stepped up. I was proud of everybody. We had six or seven different starting lineups during the year because of injuries. They got better. We really got challenged in the district and regionals.
“Our seniors leaving leave with three league titles, three district titles, three regionals and a final four under their belt,” Lewis continued. “That’s pretty impressive for those guys.”
The team’s leading scorer was Cole Kleiver with 24 points per game and Sean Cobb with 13 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.