COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Bishop Ready boys basketball team enters OHSAA tournament play with a perfect 22-0 record.

But the Knights remember their last loss: March 4, 2022 against Africentric by three points in the district finals.

“We were all really hungry after that loss and it just got us going,” said senior Kaleb Schaffer. “We’re in here almost every day in the summer and we’re putting in work and we’re making each other better and I think that’s when it kind of clicked we have something special here and we have a lot of talent in this gym.”

That talent begin with seniors Schaffer, Luke Ruth and Charlie Russell who have been teammates since elementary school.

“We’ve been playing together since the third grade,” Schaffer said about he, Ruth and Russell. “If I drive, I know in the back of my head where Luke or Charlie are gonna be because we’ve been playing together for so long.”

“We all know who can do what, who’s the shooter, who’s the driver, so we’re very good at that,” Ruth added.

“I think it’s given us a good foundation of leadership,” Russell said. “I think that gives us something that the younger guys can model and look up to.”

The combination of senior leadership and youthful development has made the Silver Knights formidable and eventually undefeated.

“We celebrated it for a day,” said Bishop Ready head coach Tony Bisutti. “But now it’s over and we’ve got bigger things to get to.”

Bigger things like winning a state championship. The Silver Knights felt like they played 22 must-win games to uphold the perfect record.

“A lot of teams play physical, like to push us around, play a little more tough,” Ruth said. “But I just think that’s the biggest thing — we got everyone’s best so it helped prepare us.”

“It’s been really special,” Russell said with a smile. “I’ve been trying not to think about the end but you know it’s my last season of basketball ever. It’s obviously been a great way to go out so far and hopefully we can go all the way.”