By: Haley Shaffer [Co-Excutieve Newspaper Editor] @shafferdaffer

The warm-up music starts, the crowd begins to cheer, and the players finally step on the court, just like every other game. Tonight, however, will be different for a group of boys on the team, because tonight is senior night.

Trevor Hardman, senior, will play his final game on the home court for Marion tonight, along with four other seniors on the basketball team. For Trevor, this last home game will be sad, because basketball has been apart of his life for so long. “I’ve been playing basketball since third grade,” Hardman commented. Not only has he been playing for awhile, but he’s also been playing with the same group of guys for a long time, which is another reason tonight will be bittersweet. “I’m sad about the season coming to an end because this is the last year I’m going to be playing with everyone that I’ve been playing with for several years,” Hardman said.

The seniors won’t be the only people sad over senior night. Craig Engle, junior, will also be a little emotional tonight. “This was the group of guys I was playing with when I first came to Marion, so it kind of feels like I should be leaving too,” Engle commented. The bond between the juniors and the seniors on the boys basketball team, is a strong one. “I love the seniors,” Engle said. Engle says that just because the seniors will be gone next year, doesn’t mean that they didn’t leave their mark on the team. “I will take their leadership with us next year, and how they don’t give up easily,” Engle said.

Tonight’s senior night will be an emotional for not only the seniors, but the entire basketball team. While losing the seniors will be a big change for the team, they will take the lessons they’ve learned with them forever.