Mason Senna-Fleetwood

Overwhelming was the word Mason Senna used to describe his Senior Night experience. The 6’2 guard had tears of joy in his eyes after a thrilling 47-46 victory over Wyomissing. Senna, the lone senior in the Tigers’ starting lineup, sank a go-ahead free throw with 1.8 seconds left. “I was a little nervous, I won’t lie. I was feeling the nerves,” he acknowledged. Fleetwood trailed by eleven points in the third quarter of their final regular season game. The (12-10, 6-5) Tigers were down 46-39 with less than three minutes remaining. “We started to feel a sense of urgency. It just came from a place of wanting to win really badly,” explained Senna. Fleetwood is on the bubble of the District 3-5A playoff picture. The Tigers needed to beat the Spartans to keep their hopes of continuing their season alive. Senna knocked down three 3-pointers in the opening quarter and finished with a game-high 24 points. He was averaging 24.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 2.4 steals entering Tuesday’s contest. “I’ve coached a long time. He is probably the best athlete that I’ve ever coached. Not basketball player per se, but just an athlete,” emphasized head coach Jason Bieber. Senna is also an all-division soccer player.

The first four shots made by Fleetwood were all from beyond the arc. However, Wyomissing was on top 15-14 after the first quarter. Daniel Moyer, a 6’ senior forward, scored seven points in the first eight minutes. The (13-7, 8-3) Spartans went on an 8-0 run to begin the second period. Sophomore Brady Eisenhower, the quarterback of the football team, hit a pair of triples. Senna provided seven points in that quarter and the Tigers pulled within 29-27 at halftime. Wyomissing kicked off the second half with an 11-2 run, including a three-point play by Dom Arguelles. The 6’ senior point guard ended up with a team-high 20 points. Eisenhower chipped in with 13 points and Moyer added eight. The Spartans were in front 42-33 going into the fourth quarter.

Eisenhower and Arguelles converted layups to give the Spartans a 46-39 edge. A three-point play by Senna made it 46-42 with 2:48 left. Senna missed two foul shots with 2:20 to go, but he followed up his second attempt with a bucket. CJ Sallee then hit Eli Herndon with a bounce pass for a layup with 1:29 on the clock. A 7-0 run by Fleetwood in 80 seconds had tied it up at 46-46. Wyomissing opted to hold for the final shot. The Spartans committed a turnover with six seconds remaining which gave the ball back to the Tigers. Bieber ran a play called “53.” Senna inbounded it along his own baseline. He threw a short pass to Bryce Ryan and then ran deep like a wide receiver. Ryan lofted a long pass over the defense to Senna who was fouled as he was going to the basket. “That’s exactly the way we drew it up. It worked like a dream. I saw it coming before it happened and Bryce threw me a great pass,” noted Senna. He hit nothing but net on his first free throw with two seconds to play. Senna missed his second attempt, but the comeback was complete.

Fleetwood scored the final eight points and outscored Wyomissing 14-to-4 in the fourth quarter. “We definitely wanted to shut down their drives. That’s where they generate a lot of their points from,” replied Senna. The Spartans went 10-of-14 from the foul line and made four 3-pointers, all in the first half. Their seven-game winning streak came to a halt. Wyomissing and Schuylkill Valley are atop the Division 3 standings with (8-3) league records. The Spartans earn the division title by virtue of winning both meetings with the Panthers in the regular season. Wyomissing and Schuylkill Valley are headed to the BCIAA playoffs which begin on Monday with the quarterfinals. The Berks County girls basketball tournament starts this Saturday.

The Tigers finished 11-for-16 from the stripe. They connected six times from beyond the arc. Herndon had seven points, including five in the pivotal fourth quarter. Sallee and sophomore Josh Szilli helped the cause with six points apiece. Fleetwood swept Wyomissing this season. The Tigers took the first matchup 40-38 one month ago. Senna also led the way in that nailbiter with 19 points. “He’s such a great role model. He’s not a kid that’s arrogant. He wants everybody to do well. He wants to help everybody to be the best they can be including myself,” remarked Bieber. Fleetwood has improved dramatically from a (5-17) mark last year. The Tigers now wait to see if they get in the District 3-5A tournament. The top 16 teams qualify and Fleetwood is #18. Palmyra, Red Land, and Lampeter-Strasburg are currently ahead of the Tigers, but those schools still have games to play. If Tuesday was the final time that Senna puts on the Fleetwood uniform, he hopes that he made a positive impression. “I try to instill in them my work ethic. You can be as good as you want to be, you just have to work for it. I hope that I can really pass down that work ethic to them,” he said.