In longtime Ottawa head coach Mark Cooper’s final game at Kingman Gym, the Pirates scored a season-high 74 points in a memorable regular season finale win over Rochelle on Friday night.

With senior night also serving as the backdrop, Ottawa delivered one of it’s most complete offensive performances of the season in front of a packed Kingman Gym with a 74-65 victory.

All five seniors, Colt Bryson, Hezekiah Joachim, Dom Parks, Owen Sanders and Lucas Farabaugh, were in the starting lineup.

Sanders set the tone immediately for how the game would play out, throwing down a fastbreak dunk on Ottawa’s first possession.

“We definitely knew that we had to come to play tonight, not only for us, but for Coach Coop as well,” Sanders said. “So we knew that we really had to bring our ‘A game’ and come out with energy.”

Despite being challenged on the glass early and allowing Rochelle multiple second chance opportunities, Ottawa shot its way into control of the game by connecting on multiple 3s to offset its struggles in the paint.

Coming out of halftime down 33-32, Ottawa took complete control in the second half, going on multiple runs that pushed the Pirates’ lead into double digits in the third quarter and never looked back.

Rochelle head coach Tim Thompson said his team may have run out of gas in the second half following a tough 84-83 loss to Byron the previous night.

“We played a really competitive game against Byron last night,” Thompson said. “I could see us getting a little leg weary out there tonight and Ottawa is always a tough place to play.”

Still, Thompson made sure to give credit to Ottawa for their offensive performance.

“I thought Ottawa played a really good game offensively, and we just didn’t make a whole lot of shots,” he said. “It was frustrating for the kids, and I think they gassed out at the end. But you have to hand it to Ottawa, they played good basketball and found a way to win.”

Thompson, who has known Cooper for 27 years now and knowing this would be his last game against him, also praised his longtime counterpart after the game.

“Mark Cooper’s a great guy, a good friend of mine,” he said. “Just a good human being, a great basketball coach. I’ve loved all my time with Mark. I’ll miss coaching against him, and I wish him all the best in his retirement.”

Over 22 years coaching the Pirates, Cooper finished with 356 wins, two regional championships and was named IBCA Coach of the Year twice.

Although he recognized this being his last game at Kingman, Cooper wanted to make the night about his seniors.

“Tonight was really about our five seniors,” Cooper said. “This was obviously my last regular-season game here as head coach, but first and foremost we’re honoring five seniors that do things the right way on the floor and off the floor. So I was very happy for them that we were able to end things on a high note.”

Ottawa athletic director Jon Leslie called the night a fitting sendoff.

“Mark Cooper embodies everything that Kingman Gym and this school is all about,” Leslie said. “He’s been a mainstay here for over 20 years. He’s a man of character and integrity and he really gets the most out of every team that he’s coached. You saw that this year, and you saw that tonight.”

Although before the game it was business as usual- after the win, some emotions surfaced in the locker room.

“Coop really wanted to make tonight about our seniors,” Sanders said. “He told us we’ve been great role models for the program and that he was proud of us. He turned the focus right back to us seniors. That’s what a good coach does.”

Reflecting on his many games at Kingman, Cooper said Ottawa’s basketball program and community has done more for him than he’s done for it.

“It’s been a professional honor of a lifetime to serve as the head coach here for 22 years,” he said. “It’s not something I’ve ever taken for granted. This program has truly done more for me than I ever could have done for it. It has changed my life with relationships, and I’ll be forever grateful.”

And while the Pirates had plenty to celebrate Friday night, they know their work isn’t finished as they’ll play Streator on Wednesday to open regional play.

“We just wanted to play well on senior night and get a win to springboard us into the postseason,” Cooper said. “We did that and now we’re looking ahead to next week.”

Rochelle will turn its focus to the postseason as well, playing its regional game against Rockford East on Wednesday night.