The Aberdeen Roncalli Cavaliers boys’ basketball team gave its seniors a night to remember, earning a 63-43 non-conference victory over the Langford Lions on senior night at the Roncalli Gym Saturday night.

From the opening tip, Roncalli played with energy and purpose, but it was in the second quarter where the Cavaliers truly took control. Holding a narrow seven-point lead early in the quarter, Roncalli locked in defensively and never looked back. The Cavaliers did not allow a single point from the six-minute mark in the second quarter until halftime, stretching their advantage to 17 points by the break.

Roncalli coach Dan Gallagher credited his team’s defensive effort and commitment.

“It was a lot of grit,” Gallagher said. “The last week we have been talking a lot about buying in on the defensive side and I thought our guys did that especially with a player like Kassen Keough, who’s a phenomenal athlete and we had to make sure we did our best to take him out of it.”

The defensive lockdown set the tone for the rest of the night. Roncalli continued to control the tempo in the second half, relying on balanced scoring and confident shooting to keep the Lions at bay.

“Our shooting, being able to rely on that being an undersized team, Sam Larson had a great game in his last game here for us, a lot of confidence in our shots, Bryson (Olson) played really well down low as well,” Gallagher said.

Jesse Hernandez led the Cavaliers with 14 points, while Olson added 11 and Larson finished with nine, all playing for the final time at home. The trio helped anchor a strong all-around performance in front of a supportive home crowd.

For the seniors, the night meant more than just the final score.

“It feels great just knowing what these seniors have put into this program,” Gallagher said. “There is always talk about blood, sweat, and tears, but these guys literally had a lot of blood left on this court. They have really worked since the time they were freshmen to where they are now.”

Hernandez echoed the emotion of the moment.

“It feels really good, putting this white jersey on for the last time here, coming out with a win just ending on a good note,” Hernandez said.

He also pointed to the team’s focus as a key factor in the win.

“Just us keeping our heads in the game really helped us,” Hernandez said. “Our team chemistry, we’re really good friends off the court and it hasn’t really clicked on the court, but today it did, so that feels awesome.”

Reflecting on his time with the Cavaliers, Hernandez smiled when thinking back to where it all began.

“My freshman year getting screamed at by (assistant coach) Paul Fisher and then seeing all the progress and the coaches being with me the whole time, that would be my greatest memory here,” he said.

Keough finished with a game-high 18 points to lead the Lions. Graydon Hurley added nine.

Roncalli, 6-12 on the season, has a pair of games remaining in the regular season, playing at Warner on Monday night, before a contest at Herreid-Selby Area on Friday.

LANGFORD AREA (2-15): Graydon Hurley 4 0-0 9, Eli Samson 1 0-0 2, Dawson Vander Vorst 1 0-0 2, Kassen Keough 6 4-4 18, Case Reints 1 0-0 3, Ethen Olson 0 0-2 0, Gunner Hardy 1 0-2 2, Cason Okroi 1 0-0 2, Conner Gilnes 2 0-0 4, Hunter Jensen 0 1-2 1. Totals 17 5-10 43.

ABERDEEN RONCALLI (5-12): Jesse Hernandez 5 0-0 14, Sam Larson 3 0-0 9, Ezra Feickert 1 0-0 2, Bryson Olson 5 1-2 11, Austin Fisher 2 0-2 6, Quinten Shelton 3 0-0 7, Creighton Fisher 3 4-4 12, Andrew Bain 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 5-8 63.

Langford Area 13 18 34 43

Aberdeen Roncalli 21 37 59 63

3-point field goals – Hurley, Keough 2, Reints; J. Hernandez 4, Larson 3, Olson, A. Fisher 2, Shelton, C. Fisher 2. Total fouls – Langford Area 8; Aberdeen Roncalli 14.