Last night, Wednesday, February 21st, the OPH Wildcats played the Newton Eagles in the semi-final round of 2024 boys basketball regionals. The game started at 7:30 PM, following another semi-final regional game against Teutopolis and Marshall which started at 6:00 PM.

The game started out with Newton winning the tip-off and scoring the first point. This start didn’t discourage the Wildcats, as Max Lewis then sunk a three pointer to get ahead. However, the Eagles quickly came through and scored multiple baskets, making it hard for the Wildcats to keep up. The score at the end of the first quarter was 27-18, Eagles having the lead.

The Wildcats made their best efforts to move forward in the second quarter, but they couldn’t get a stop. By halftime, Newton was winning 43-36.

OPH still had hope for the game starting in the second half, but the Eagles just fought harder. This is when the Wildcats began to get discouraged. Although being disheartened, they tried their hardest to get back up, and even cut the score to 3 points at one point in this quarter. Despite their best effort, the score at the end of the 3rd quarter was 64-48.

In the 4th quarter was when things really started to go downhill for the Wildcats. The Eagles couldn’t be stopped and were stealing and scoring baskets like no other. It also did not help the Wildcats when their coach, Harry Marshall, was given a technical and proceeded to be kicked out of the game. OPH student section and fans were very angry, but tried to remain supportive of their team. The final score of the game was 91-59, ending the season for the OPH Wildcats.

The 2023-24 OPH Wildcats boys basketball team had a very successful season with a record of 12 wins and 17 losses. Special congratulations to the seniors, Max Lewis and Will Callaway, for finishing a great basketball career. Max Lewis was even the leading scorer of last night’s game with 15 points! What a way to go out and finish strong! Congrats, Wildcats!