WRENTHAM - As the final buzzer sounded, seniors Joe Rose, Jake Cintolo, Luke Niland, and Jack Ross were on the court, finally feeling the thrill of victory.

It had been 52 games since the King Philip High boys' basketball team won a game, a streak that stretched back to the four Warrior seniors' freshman year. But on Saturday night, in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, King Philip finally ended that streak, defeating Hanover 73-59 to end years of frustration.

"It feels great for us, the kids were so excited," King Philip coach Sean McInnis said. "The kids really earned this one."

The Warriors never trailed in the game, but it was close almost the entire way. The Indians tied the game two minutes into the fourth quarter, but from there it was all Warriors, as King Philip outscored Hanover by 14 until the final buzzer.

Luke Niland made all the difference for the previously winless Warriors, going 10-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final quarter. The senior finished the game with 21 points, a career high. "We were looking to get the ball in his hands the whole night," McInnis said.

As the Warriors began to pull away, the assembled crowd, the coaches and the players could tell what was happening, finally.

"With about 1:10 left you could tell there was something special about this night," McInnis said.

Freshman Jake Layman had 18 points for King Philip, which improved to 1-12 overall thanks to only eight team turnovers. The win was the first at King Philip for first-year coach Sean McInnis, who ranked the victory among his greatest as a coach.

"This ranks right up there, I'm so excited for the kids, it means a lot to us because of the kids," he said.

The Warriors face quite a challenge if they hope to establish a two-game winning streak, as KP travels to Mansfield on Tuesday. But regardless of Tuesday's result, the Warriors are happy to have the considerable weight of a 52-game losing streak off their backs.

"Now we're just a regular basketball program, we're excited about that," McInnis said.