It was senior night at the roundhouse as the South Tama Trojan boys basketball team was set to face off against conference opponent the Williamsburg Raiders last Thursday.

This was both teams’ final regular season game of the 2023-2024 season, before heading into their first round playoff games. Going into the night, both teams wanted to get a end of the year conference win and much needed momentum for their highly anticipated playoff matchups.

The game got off to a slow start as both teams struggled to put points on the scoreboard due to some great defense being played. For the Trojans, senior Jeramy Dolash and freshman Emerson Bridgewater defended Williamsburg’s post players well and got rebounds to get the ball back to the Trojans. But Williamsburg’s defense led by senior Derek Weisskopf proved to be stronger in the first quarter as the Raiders took a 15-7 lead over the Trojans.

As the second quarter got started not much changed for either team, as both defenses if anything seemed to get better. The Trojans scoring struggles continued but they really picked up for it on defense, holding the Raiders to only 4 points in the second quarter. Senior Cade Rosenberger helped pick up the defense for the Trojans with key steals off Williamsburg passes. Going into halftime the Trojans had managed to put a dent into the Williamsburg lead as the Raiders led 19-13.

As the second half got underway both teams were finally able to get things going on offense. Right out the gate, Bridgewater was able to get strong layups under the basket that were unfortunately for the Trojans quickly matched by Raiders senior Kellen Cockrell. But as the third quarter continued the Trojans were able to go on a scoring run due to costly Williamsburg turnovers to tie the score at 25-25. To end the half both teams traded baskets, to result in a 31-28 Williamsburg lead going into the final quarter.

Both teams stayed evenly matched for the first minutes of the fourth quarter, but eventually the Raiders pulled away. Weisskopf and senior Braden Plotz both were able to aid the Raiders in making the final scoring run to create a comfortable lead with three minutes left in the game. Rosenberger and senior Daniel Wiese hit shots late but unfortunately it wasn’t enough to make a comeback as the Raiders secured the 48-37 win on the road over the Trojans.

Bridgewater led the Trojans in scoring with 14 points and rebounds with six on the night. Following Bridgewater with seven points was Rosenberger, who also led the team with three assists. The Trojans were back in action on Monday night for their first round playoff game against the Grinnell Tigers.

The South Tama community also celebrated senior night before the game by honoring the 11 seniors on the team: Keiler Alvarado, Cade Rosenberger, Tommy Tyynismaa, Daniel Wiese, James Brant, Jeramy Dolash, Holden Schirmer, Kaden Kopsa, Gustav Ojenholt, Kaden Timm and Jonathan Ebersole.