There’s no doubt, it was a memorable senior night for the Mendota boys basketball team Tuesday.

On top of the traditional senior night festivities, the game started on a special note for the Trojans when injured senior Grady Jones was able to start the game before quickly coming out to a loud round of applause from the crowd.

Then senior Aden Tillman scored the first six points of the game to become the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.

The game was paused as Tillman was presented with a commemorative ball, which he took into the packed stands to deliver to his sister.

All that happened just in the first two minutes.

The Trojans took control early and led start to finish in a 70-42 rout of rival Hall in a Three Rivers Conference East Division game in Mendota’s final regular season home game.

“The crowd was amazing,” Tillman said. “A Tuesday later in the season, a few years ago we might have had like 42 people in this gym. It’s really a testament to what our seniors have done for this program and the culture that we brought.

“I think me (reaching 1,000 points tonight), the basketball gods have a way of rewarding you for doing good things. I think everything we do, we deserve a reward like that every now and then.”

Tillman entered the night needing four points to achieve the milestone and on Mendota’s first possession he got the ball in the post, made a move to score and was fouled. He hit the free throw to put him one away.

On the Trojans’ next trip down the floor, he buried a 3-pointer on an assist from Johan Cortez to surpass 1,000 points.

“It’s an awesome thing,” Tillman said. “It’s a tribute to all the guys around me too because I don’t think I had one bucket tonight that wasn’t off an assist. That’s how I score. I feed off the other guys’ energy and their assists. It’s a team game.”

Tillman drained five 3-pointers and scored 30 points, which is the second highest total in his career.

“There’s something about that kid, he just lives up to the moment,” Mendota coach Steve Wasmer said. “He’s got an intrinsic thing. Once we got him that first post layup, I kind of knew it was going to be a special night for him. He had a look in his eyes once he hit the 3. He was feeling good. When he’s shooting, he’s hard to guard because he can get his shot off.

“I’m super happy for him. He deserves it.”

The Trojans built a 22-7 lead by the end of the first quarter, and that was with leading scorer Cole Tillman and fellow starter Drew Becker not entering the game until less than a minute remained in the opening period as Wasmer played seniors.

“We were good in the first and third quarters,” Wasmer said. “The second quarter they made some shots and we had some lapses defensively. But the first and third quarters, our ball movement was awesome. We’re so unselfish right now and it’s fun to watch when the ball is popping like that. I’m happy with the way we passed the ball.”

Mendota led 39-24 at halftime and extended the lead to 62-32 by the end of the third quarter to force a running clock in the fourth.

Hall played its fourth straight game without 6-foot-4 sophomore starter Chace Sterling.

Braden Curran led the Red Devils (12-13, 1-6 TRC East) with 11 points, while Greyson Bicket and Noah Plym scored eight each.

“We’re playing a man down,” Hall coach Mike Filippini said. “Our kids our trying. They’re doing the best they can, but when you’re missing your 6-4, 230-pound center who scores and rebounds for you, it’s tough. It’s never a good time to play Mendota without one of your starters.

“We told the kids in the locker room, there’s no Mendota in our regional. We’re in a 10-team sub-sectional and there’s nobody even remotely close to the caliber of Mendota. We just have to keep playing hard. We’re pretty confident we’re going to get Chase back. The news was a lot better than we first thought.”

Also for Mendota (21-5, 6-1), Oliver Munoz scored 12, Cole Tillman had 11 and Dane Doyle added 10.

Along with Aden Tillman and Jones, the Trojans also honored seniors Alex Beetz, Cortez, Mateo Goy, Munoz and Doyle.

“Everything was perfect,” Wasmer said about senior night. “We have an incredible group of seniors. It was packed again tonight and they deserve it because they work so hard and it’s because of them that all these people are here.”

The Trojans close the regular season with five road games, but they have a chance at another home game as Mendota is hosting a sectional.

“We talked about it in the locker room, we’re saying we’re going to be back here, don’t think it’s our last game here,” Aden Tillman said. “Sectionals is a goal we’re really trying to reach.”

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Mendota's Aden Tillman gets his 1,000th career point with this jump shot over Hall's Clayton Fusinetti on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026 at Mendota High School. (Scott Anderson)