McClintock High School defeated Arcadia High School 62-50 in a high-intensity matchup on senior night.

Seniors Pascal Volz and Jaylen Wesley shined bright as they waved one last goodbye to a packed home crowd.

“This is what I love to do; putting out for McClintock is what I love to do,” Wesley said. “It was fun knowing it was the last home game of the regular season.”

Both offenses were evenly matched in the first quarter, struggling to make shots close to the basket.

In the second quarter, emotions ran high. The Chargers continued to struggle on offense while good ball movement by the Titans led to open shots, quieting the crowd.

The Chargers lacked energy in the first half, allowing the Titans to bypass full-court pressure and convert easy baskets.

Although the offense was quiet, Volz and Wesley helped push the team to within two at the half 23-25.

The Chargers adjusted coming out of halftime, playing strong defense and utilizing their size, forcing the Titans to work for every basket.

“We need to play defense. We came out flat and missed a ton of layups,” head coach Sam Dentz said. “Sometimes that happens on Senior night with all the pre-game festivities, but we just needed to lock in and play defense.”

A steal by Wesley late into the third quarter brought the crowd back into the game. Ensuing full-court pressure proved too much for the Titans to handle, giving the Chargers their first lead since the early moments of the game.

Volz seemed to be a reliable force tonight, dishing out assists and scoring from all over the floor. His energy on offense kept the crowd and the team in the game.

In the fourth quarter, Volz, Junior Erenzo Scroggins and Wesley took over offensively, lighting up the floor and stretching the lead out to 12.

“Coach said we’ve been thru this before, we’ve faced adversity, our biggest problem is not our talent, skill, or athleticism, its more mental strength,” Volz said. “He just told us to stick strong, fight through it and we’ll win at the end of the day.”

The Chargers seemed the suck the energy out of Arcadia in the second half. Despite being down nine with over 6 minutes left to play, the Titans looked defeated.

It was a close game until the final minute. Wesley closed out the night with a dunk, putting a fitting end to a tremendous regular season by the Chargers.

“I love playing with those guys,” Volz said. “We’ve had our ups and our downs, but for the most part, we are family.”

The Chargers finished the regular season atop their division with a 17-1 record and have qualified for the 2022 5A Conference playoffs.