With about two minutes left to go in Friday’s game, Seymour boys basketball coach Tyler Phillips took three of his seniors out to let them soak up their final game in Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.
It was the last game they would play at home, and by looking at the scoreboard, the game was over, as the Owls cruised to a 73-47 win against Austin.
“I just told them that I loved them,” Phillips said. “All the seniors are my kids and pretty special individuals that will be successful in anything they do, and I told them they won’t ever understand how much I love them.”
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He told the team’s six seniors to go out on the floor and do something they would remember.
“I didn’t write anything on the board except for, ‘Make a memory,’” he said. “They’ve worked hard and deserve this and deserve to go out like this.”
Memories were made, as the team’s seniors combined for all but two of the team’s 73 points. Three of the seniors were in double digits with Ty McCory scoring 30, Tiller Cummings adding 16 and Eddie Louden putting up 10.
Senior Zach Moore led the team with six rebounds, and Louden had five.
The Owls (11-9) opened the first quarter with an 8-0 run against the Eagles (10-10) and never lost their lead. Cummings led the Owls during the stretch with four of the eight points. The Eagles didn’t score until Naeja White scored a basket at the 3:40 mark.
The Owls continued to build a lead and scored nine unanswered points.
Seymour was able to use a fast-paced offense and benefited from a number of missed opportunities by the Eagles.
The Owls closed the quarter up 19-6.
Seymour started the second quarter slower than it did in the first, allowing Austin to grab the first four points on two free throws by Josh Hollin and a basket by Ethan Bequeret.
A series of turnovers and fouls ended any momentum the Eagles thought they were building, and the Owls took off on a 13-0 run.
McCory led the Owls during the run, scoring six points on two back-to-back 3-pointers. Senior Alan Perry was not far behind with five points — three off of turnovers and two from a drive down the lane.
The Owls had a commanding 34-14 heading into the locker room at the half.
McCory led Seymour with 11 points in the first half. Moore grabbed four rebounds to lead the team in the first half, and the team went 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
The second half started hot for the Owls, as McCory scored the team’s first seven points in the first two minutes to give Seymour an astonishing 41-14 lead. That prompted a timeout from Austin.
The Eagles were able to score on the next possession, but McCory answered with another 3-pointer.
Each team exchanged baskets, and the Owls maintained a 54-28 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Cummings led the Owls in the closing quarter with 10 of his 16 points, going a perfect 4 of 4 from the line in the quarter. Both teams scored 19 in the last quarter.
The Owls’ defense held the Eagles at bay throughout the game, Phillips said.
“That’s probably all-around the most complete game we’ve played since I’ve been here,” he said. “They were clicking on both ends of the floor.”