It was time to get Dom Rossi a basket.

As the Knights student section began chanting for Rossi to enter the game, with 1:47 remaining head coach Ryan Mangini made the move and called for his junior No. 21.

Both the crowd and the Eisenhower bench rose when Rossi entered the game.

What sets Rossi apart is that he has a disability. He doesn’t recognize it, and more importantly, he doesn’t let it limit or define him.

Rossi scores his lone bucket late in the game. Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

“Dom has been a great addition to our team,” Mangini said postgame. “He always has a great attitude. He never complains and everybody loves him.”

On Maplewood’s first possession with him in the game, his Knights teammates told Rossi who to guard.

Once Eisenhower got the ball, there was little doubt where the ball was going. Rossi took a pass from teammate Casey Seymour about 10 feet from the basket and with a confident shot — and a cooperative Tigers defense — Rossi put it up and into the hoop.

The Knights fans and teammates celebrated the moment the ball fell through the hoop.

“Dom had no hesitation when he entered the game and there was no doubt in my mind it was going in when he shot it,” Mangini said. “It was truly a great moment for him.”

The Eisenhower bench reacts to Rossi’s basket. Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

In the end, Rossi and his teammates walked away with a 66-35 victory, led by senior Wyatt Lookenhouse’s 23 points.

“He is a super-positive person who always gets us pumped up,” Rossi’s teammate Gavin Lindemuth said. “He is an awesome teammate that we love having on our team.”

Eisenhower opened the game in a full-court press and built a 20-5 first-quarter lead that grew to 31-14 at halftime.

Lookenhouse then scored 9 more points in the third quarter as the Knights took a 27-point lead into the final eight minutes.

MAPLEWOOD (35)

Dom Rossi matches up with a Maplewood player Friday during Region 3 action in Russell. Times Observer Photo by Steve Younger

Beauchat 1 2 4, Peterson 4 1 10, Williams 2 0 4, Phillips 0 0 0, Peterson 0 2 2, Lentz 4 0 8, Pierce 0 0 0, Woge 2 2 7. Totals 13 7 35.

EISENHOWER (66)

Sobkowski 0 0 0, Black 4 6 14, Wonderling 0 0 0, Lookenhouse 9 2 23, Palmieri 3 0 9, Chase 0 0 0, Bunk 4 0 8, Seymour 1 2 4, Hunt 1 2 4, Fincher 0 0 0, Lindemuth 1 0 2, Guiher 0 0 0, Rossi 1 0 2. Totals 24 11 66.

3-point goals–Peterson, Woge, Lookenhouse 3, Palmieri 3.

Maplewood 5 9 16 5 — 35

Eisenhower 20 11 26 9 — 66