Saying goodbye to a group of seniors at the end of a season is hard for every coach and every team.

But the 2007-08 Norwin Knights basketball team meant a little bit more to coach Lynn Washowich. This group put together three of the most successful seasons in Norwin history and helped earn the Knights the reputation of a perennial powerhouse in WPIAL Quad A basketball.

"Our six seniors have been absolutely phenomenal," Washowich said. "We cannot truly put into words how much they will be missed. They brought back the tradition of Norwin basketball."

Over the past three years, Norwin went 60-19 overall and 35-7 in Section 1-AAAA, including marks of 20-8 overall and 12-2 in section play this season.

The Knights featured their first 1,000-point scorer since 1992 in senior Mike Shanahan, earned their first playoff win since 1994 during the 2006-07 season and gained their first PIAA playoff appearance since 1994 on Saturday.

All were significant accomplishments, according to Washowich, even though the team lost in the PIAA first round to Erie McDowell, 58-42.

"The team played very hard. We have to give McDowell credit because they defended very well," the coach said. "They were able to put pressure on the ball, and it was difficult for us to get into our offensive sets."

The loss marked the final game for seniors Nick D'Orazio, Adam Dominick, Steve Removcik, Tyler Urban, Chris Matheny and Shanahan, and several of them had to finish their career on the bench.

Norwin played the bulk of the game in foul trouble, which allowed McDowell to outscore the local squad 25-13 in the fourth quarter to seal the win. The Trojans made 12 of 17 free throws in the final quarter.

"Foul trouble was definitely a factor in the game," Washowich said. "We had four of our five starters foul out. McDowell shot somewhere in the range of 25 more foul shots than us."

Foul trouble kept Shanahan on the bench for much of the contest, as the guard managed just one point in the loss.

"Mike was really neutralized by foul trouble," Washowich said.

"He ended up playing less in his last game than in any game of his entire career."

Norwin trailed by just one after the first quarter, 13-12, but McDowell (26-2) increased its lead to 26-22 at the half.

Norwin managed to cut the deficit to 29-27, but after a technical foul against the Knights, McDowell went on to take to momentum into the second round.

Matheny, who also fouled out, led the Knights with 12 points. McDowell was paced by Zach Spronatti with 17 and Ryan Skellie with 13.

Although Norwin's six seniors were the focal point of the team's run to the postseason, several other Knights contributed to the success.

Returning for the 2008-09 campaign will be junior forward Alex Dennison and sophomore guard Tyler Thomas, who each played key minutes in nearly each game this year.

Other juniors on the roster include Brett Frischolz and Sean Brown, who are joined by sophomores Shane Lee, Geoff Salmon, Colin Wilkerson, Dillon Brooks, Tyler Lukart, Mike Cincirpini and Ian Mikrut, in addition to freshman Ben Baird.