Friday night marked the annual senior night for the Albany Falcons Boy Varsity Basketball team. The Falcons freshman, junior varsity and varsity teams played the Brothers of CBA and both freshman and junior varsity came out victorious.

As the junior varsity game came to an end, Albany High School held a pregame ceremony for their class of 2016 seniors. The senior athletes that participated in basketball and cheerleading made their way to center court with their loved ones before the game in a very well deserved ovation in their honor.

Albany High is well known for their amped up, intense crowds and Friday was no different. The atmosphere was great as the lineups were announced and held up through the last buzzer.

From the tip off there was a sense that both teams desperately needed a win as the sectional tournament quickly approaches. The game started fast paced and somewhat sloppy for the Falcons. Initially down seven, Albany was able to cut the deficit to only four by end of the first quarter.

Albany came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter with an eight point swing, giving themselves a 34-30 lead with four minutes to go in the first half. Albany’s lead didn’t last long as they played weak defense giving up easy rebounds and buckets. But, the crowd erupted as Jacorey Nixon hit a corner three at the buzzer to take a 43-42 lead over CBA going into the half.

After the back and forth first half, the third quarter was no different as both teams traded buckets every possession. One buzzer beater wasn’t enough as Albany did it again to tie the game headed into the fourth at a score of 63 thanks to Maurice Skeen’s layup.

The fourth quarter was a battle and the final play in regulation ended with a disputed no-call as Trayvon Reynolds drove the baseline and was knocked down as he attacked the rim. The referees jogged off the court after one had signaled a two shot foul while the crowd looked on with disbelief.

Albany came up a bit short by a score of 85-83, but left it all out on the court. Even with a heartbreaking loss it was a great night for all Albany High students and supporters, especially the senior class of 2016.