On the evening of Feb. 3, the Foothill Technology High School (Foothill Tech) boys basketball team came together for their senior night, where they went up against The Thatcher School (Thatcher) on the Dragon’s home court. The game would prove to be a nail-biter through the first three quarters; however, Foothill Tech successfully pulled away in the fourth quarter to take the win, 59-48.
Prior to tipoff, emotions ran high as family and friends of the departing seniors gathered for a ceremony honoring their final season with the program. Head coach Jamal Brown read heartfelt speeches written by the athletes, which were met with cheers from a packed crowd.
The Dragons’ senior roster consists of: Nick Turner ‘26, Ashton Brown ‘26, Elijah Spencer ‘26, Gregory Davis ‘26, Erik Hernandez ‘26, Brody Baker ‘26, Zaiden Archuleta ’26 and Daniel Rios ‘26.
The first quarter began fast with Foothill Tech securing the initial possession after a tip from Spencer during a jump ball. Turner would get off a solid pass to Baker for a three in the pocket to score the first points of the game, 3-0.
Thatcher was quick to respond and pressed back at the tempo of the game, scoring back-to-back layups over the Dragons and putting together plays to leave them up 5-10 midway through the quarter.
Foothill was fast at closing the gap as the quarter ticked down. Both teams traded layups in the final minutes, but the Dragons edged out ahead before the buzzer, taking a narrow 18-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter brought a similar energy from both teams, with the Dragons getting off solid shots and stringing together some strong drives into Thatcher’s paint. Baker got fouled midway through the quarter on a layup attempt and went on to make both his free throws to put the Dragons ahead, 23-21.
This lead would be short-lived, as the quarter closed out with the Dragons slightly trailing 24-28.
Baker reflected on the atmosphere of senior night and the emotions surrounding one of the final games of his season. “I was sad, but at the same time I was excited … Thatcher’s a good team, and we weren’t really sure how the game was going to go.”
Entering the third quarter, both teams came out refocused from halftime. Archuleta drew three shooting fouls in the third quarter and converted all of his free-throw attempts, helping the Dragons regain the lead. Foothill Tech closed the quarter ahead 36-34.
The fourth quarter was where the Dragons shone. Brown delivered several consecutive shots from well beyond the arc, while Hernandez played a key role in shifting momentum in Foothill Tech’s favor during the closing minutes. With strong support in the paint from the rest of the Dragons, Foothill Tech pulled away in the final stretch to secure a 59-48 senior night victory.
“The emotions were different, but I thought I did a good job keeping everything in perspective. It’s just basketball, and I think most of the team understood that. Erik had a hell of a game and was a huge momentum builder in that fourth quarter, and that’s exactly what he does, so it was no surprise to see that from him,” Turner said.
With their impressive pull away in the fourth quarter, the Dragons were thankful to close out their season strong and send off their seniors on a high note
