Before the Bison’s last home game of the season, they held their annual senior night, recognizing the senior players as well as their parents. In addition, the senior boys recognized their coaches. It was full of laughter and tears as many of the team’s athletes thought about wrapping their season together up.

“It’s always sad to think about your last high school basketball game as a senior,” senior Evan Grisham said. “You begin to think about what comes after and it’s surreal.”

Fans crowded into the bleachers to watch as parents walked their kids across the court. This year, the Bison lost five seniors.

“We will have to go into a rebuilding stage for a while like most teams,” sophomore Dirk Kilgore said. “We are really going to miss them.”

The game itself was a hard-fought match between Buffalo and Malakoff. The Bison fell to the Tigers by one point after a player shot a three-point buzzer beater from mid-court. 

“The seniors played with a lot of heart,” Kilgore said. “I think they played their last home game really well.”

Seniors Shelley Pate, Bryce Ryder, Jacob Fishbeck, Matt Gilliam and manager Cameron Varner will graduate this year and leave the Buffalo Bison basketball team. The team said that whoever comes to fill their spot will have to work hard.

“The seniors this year were great because they were leaders for the team,” sophomore Jarrett Fishbeck said. “Whoever comes in to fill their spot will have to work super hard because those are some big shoes to fill.”