“The last game of the MCAL season, whether it’s the playoffs or the regular season, is a painful night for the seniors,” said boys’ varsity basketball coach Steve Compagno after their season-ending loss against Branson in the semifinals. “They’ve been in our program for four years.”

Redwood players and coaches alike witnessed this pain after the brutal 22-point loss to the Bulls two weeks ago. Last week, a loss to top-seeded Montgomery in the second round of the Division III NCS tournament officially ended their season.

Yet, despite second round exits from both MCAL and NCS, the Giants’ season was far from a disappointment.

In fact, on paper, their season was the varsity team’s best in years–and a drastic improvement from sitting out the entire playoffs as they did last season.

Redwood finished with a 9-5 record in league play, beating top teams such as Drake, Marin Catholic, and MCAL runner-up San Marin in a season that saw increased crowd turnouts for many of the home games.

However, at the end of the day, numbers and statistics cannot make up for the heartbreak of losing.

“This was the closest group since 2010,” said Coach Steve Compagno, referring to his varsity team that won NCS four years ago. “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to them.”