The emotions surrounding senior night never change. One final chance to show appreciation in the home gym while celebrating the commitment and careers of student athletes who made their team better every day and left it all out on the floor.

‘The Brick house’ has played host to many senior nights, and Tuesday night was the latest installment. The Newton Railroaders were in town and determined to crash the party.

GIRLS’ FINAL:
CENTRAL 59
NEWTON 28

The Lady Mustangs starting lineup featured all five seniors, each of which scored multiple times on the night.

Finley Jones, Charlize Waltman, Remi Myers, Tahlia Morris and Tessa Snyder all played like they never wanted to leave the gym. Everything was falling, starting with Remi who scored the first five points of the game. She finished with seven.

Charlize Waltman followed her lead pouring in eight points including two 3-pointers. Talia Morris led the way with 15 points while going three-for-three from downtown.

Newton had no answer for the Lady Mustangs stellar shooting, and fell behind early as a result. Central led 28-9 at halftime.

The third quarter was highlighted by one of the best scoring stretches of sophomore Grace Ostmeyer’s young career. After going scoreless in the first half, Ostmeyer scored eight straight points, all on and-one opportunities. Her ability to finish through contact and knock down free throws brought her total to 12 points.

The lead continued to grow in the second half and everyone got in on the fun. Tuesday night’s win was the latest representation of how well the Lady Mustangs have been playing over the last two weeks. Now winners of three straight, one more game remains before sub-state.

BOYS’ FINAL:
NEWTON 63
CENTRAL 41

Mustangs senior Christian Carter shared the starting lineup with Kamryn Jones and Tate Gary for the first time this season and looked to make an instant impact in the first few minutes.

As much as the boys would have liked to follow the lady’s lead, some early nerves from the celebration may have contributed to a slow offensive start.

Having a pregame celebration with friends and family may be special, but you do run the risk of forcing the issue to play your best in front of those you love.

Naturally, nerves can set in when things don’t go well and that was the case from tip-off.

Central was off the mark consistently all night. Countless early turnovers forced by Newton gave them a game plan of ball pressure and deflections to use throughout the night.

Despite the Mustangs lack of offense, it was only 23-22 at halftime with Newton leading. Somehow, the Mustangs still found themselves in a close game heading in the fourth quarter, but then an avalanche ensued.

Newton caught fire from 3-point range and forced more turnovers resulting in a 16-0 run to start the fourth, and they did it in under three minutes.

The Mustangs were shell-shocked and could not summon the firepower needed to claw back in it.

Salina Central travels to Haysvile-Campus on Friday for the regular season finale.