Wins have come at a premium for Rob Dombroski, Joe Delucia, and Ted Jensen during their careers on the Guilford boys' basketball team, but the trio of senior tri-captains got a proper send-off last week in the Indians' regular-season finale. Honored before the opening tip-off with their families, Guilford honored its eldest statesmen, sending its seniors off with a convincing win over Platt Tech and injecting confidence into the program entering the offseason.

The Indians were taking candy away from babies, picking pockets, and locking down Platt Tech on Feb. 21 as they coasted to a Senior Night victory, 60-25. The Panthers struggled to control or even possess the ball, and like frenzied sharks in chummed water, Guilford went in for the kill. The Indians came up with 22 steals, leading nearly wire-to-wire as their seniors walked off the court the final time with their heads held high.

"I think this is a sign of a lot of improvement, especially over last year, when we went 2-18," said Jensen who scored nine points, grabbed five boards, and had a team-high seven steals. "We worked really hard over the summer, got the team together at the police courts a lot, and this year we got a lot better. I think this win is good looking forward."

The Panthers (4-15) hung around early, trailing only 7-4 after Guilford's Luke Dombroski hit a mid-range jumper. But from then on it was all Indians (5-15). Guilford only allowed four second-quarter points as it extended its lead to 26-11 by the half. Defensive pressure on inferior Platt Tech ball handlers, along with junior center Andrew Kelly having his way inside (6 points and 6 rebounds), was too much for the Panthers to handle as the rout was on early.

"We were able to up our pressure tonight. We are not always able to do that, but we were about to tonight, which was nice because it was part of the plan," said Guilford Coach Jeff DeMaio. "We doubled in some good spots, we got a lot of nice quick steals, and we can play that chaotic game sometimes. Not all the time, but sometimes we can do it, which is nice."

While it was the seniors' night to shine, it was junior Nick Moretti again leading the way offensively. The junior guard was Guilford's leading scorer this season, again putting his game on display. Scoring a game-high 13 points-including seven of the Indians' 12 points in the third quarter-Moretti helped push the lead to 39-21.

"I was just trying to run off screens; they were kind of overplaying me a lot," said Moretti, who also added three boards and a pair of dimes. "I was just trying to run off the screens from the big guys and get open."

Leading by nearly 20 entering the fourth, the Guilford bench kept its foot on the throat of the Panthers, coming up with more steals while only allowing two fourth-quarter field goals. By the time the final horn sounded, the Indians had more than doubled Platt Tech, 60-25.

"I'm just proud to bring this program from where it was last year. We've got a lot of good, young guys and I'm looking forward to coming back [to watch] next year," Jensen said. "I hope they all work as hard in the offseason as the other seniors did this year to improve."

DeMaio knew the only parting gift acceptable for his senior tri-captains was a win.

"As we talked about in the locker room, the goal is to win the game; we always play to win the game," he said. "We know it is Senior Night and we want the seniors to go out with a win. We were able to do it last year, which was nice, and were able to do it this year. They are great kids, all three captains, and all three filled a vital role on this team. They are great kids, great leaders, and I'm very happy we were able to win tonight and we played very well."

Rob Dombroski scored four points and had two steals, while Delucia added a bucket and a pair of steals, as well. Their leadership and production, along with Jensen's will, have to be replaced this offseason, but with the core of the team returning, winning the regular-season finale gives the Indians some momentum heading into next year.

"The offseason is going to be pretty big; we have big expectations for next year," Moretti said. "We want to get double-digit wins, make the state tournament, and just compete next year."