![After eight years of anticipation for this moment, the boys’ basketball team’s first playoff game in nearly a decade, the Senn Bulldogs had to wait another 40 minutes. Marine Academy arrived at Senn at 5 p.m. for a 4:30 tip. Ultimately, though, it was the home team that was slow to show up. Senn trailed early in the first half and never recovered, falling 82-69 Wednesday evening in the first of three playoff games in the Blue North conference. First-year Senn coach Terrell Walsh worried in Tuesday’s practice the players wouldn’t be ready at game time, and his fears were realized when Marine (10-11) went up by 13 midway through the second quarter. “They’ve never made the playoffs, so this is what they do,” Walsh said of his players after the loss. “All season we’ve this been telling them the same thing over and over and they just don’t realize it, so is what happens.” Slow starts have plagued Senn (10-4) throughout the season. Starting point guard Noah Chapman said the team was ready to play, but the group just couldn’t recover after falling behind. “We weren’t nervous,” Chapman said. “We just came out slow, which we always do.” His coach says otherwise. “Yeah, I think they were nervous,” Walsh said. “It is what it is.” Nervous or not, Senn was rattled by the hot hand of Marine’s KeyAndre Spann. The shooting guard scored 18 of his team’s first 22 points and finished with a game-high 27. “We started off slow, and [Spann] hit a couple of shots. He killed us,” Senn assistant coach Marcus Riley said. Riley said the team shouldn’t have been nervous since they were playing at Senn, but it hardly felt like a home game at times. A small group of Marine supporters regularly drowned out any noise by the approximately 60 Senn fans that attended the game. Even though he had a full roster to work with, Walsh stuck to a six-man rotation for the duration of the game. Senn beat Marine less than a month ago with a similar strategy, but Marine Academy simply buried the Bulldogs with 13 made three-pointers. The Bulldogs have two more chances left in pool play to prove they belong in the playoffs. Despite the rough start, Walsh sees his team making it out of pool play, which takes point differential into account. “We have to a blow team out to get back in it,” he said. “I believe it’s going to work in our favor. … We still got two more games. It’s the playoffs. Anything can happen.”](https://s3.amazonaws.com/medill.wordpress.offload/WP%20Media%20Folder%20-%20medill-reports-chicago/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2017/02/sennblock-300x234.jpg)
Long wait, slow start: Senn falls short in return trip to playoffs
By Mark Singer After eight years of anticipation for this moment, the boys’ basketball team’s first playoff game in nearly a decade, the Senn Bulldogs
Illinois start-up revives craft manufacturing
By Mengjie (Jessie) Jiang Under a huge American flag, three craftsmen are scraping and sanding acetate eyeglass frames on a gritty table, one of the
The journey of a Pioneer
By Katy Winge As early as second grade, people paid attention to Carie Weinman on the court. Long-time basketball fans and referees who know the
Northwestern hopes for some ‘SavageCats17’ on defense
By Astasia Williams Meet the new Northwestern Wildcats. Or #SavageCats17, as they have been dubbed by @NUFBFamily, the Wildcats’ twitter feed. The Wildcats officially added
U.S. relents, honors doctor’s visa
By Urvashi Verma U.S. officials confirmed late Wednesday that Chicago-bound Syrian national Dr. Amer al Homssi, holder of a valid U.S. visa who was prevented
Top Mather High School wrestler conflicted with pull of soccer
By Jaaziah Bethea Two days a week, Mather senior Butoyi Anaclet misses wrestling practices for the sport he truly loves: soccer. It is a tough
Cunningham set to take new role for Loyola
By Andres Waters After a long day of practice during Loyola’s summer workouts, junior Kevin Cunningham and senior captain Ramar Evans decided to get some food.
Local basketball player fulfills dream with father by his side
By Rosie Langello The boys’ basketball team at Carl Schurz High School is now the White North conference champion. High school coach James Shelton was
Equity Residential says tough markets ahead
By Mindy Tan Despite fourth quarter results that beat expectations, Equity Residential is expecting weaker growth in 2017 due to softness in its portfolio in
Northwestern football keeps eye on the future at signing day
By Eric Burgher As Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald sat down to greet the media Wednesday at the team’s national signing day event, he knew
Becoming a professional athlete (sort of)
By Elan Kane It’s 1:15 a.m. and I’m at an indoor turf facility somewhere in southwest Chicago. I’m in a huddle surrounded by 35 other
Athletic trainers play vital role in high school sports
By Karl Bullock Walking along the campus of New Trier High School in 2000, Dale Grooms looked in awe at the scenery. Standing a foot