Danville’s seniors finished the regular season in style, as the Hawks defeated Meek 63-57 in their last game before postseason tournaments begin.

It was a special night for the five seniors, as they all started the game and each scored in the game.

Head coach Scott Ellis said his seniors have helped lay the groundwork for the future of the Hawk basketball program.

“The seniors bought in to what we were trying to do this season,” Ellis said. “They have shown really good leadership and they’ve been determined to work as hard as they can.”

The Hawks (17-11) won the regular season area championship outright for the first time since 2005, although Danville hosted the area tournament two years ago when all four area teams were tied at 3-3.

Danville will open the area tournament against Good Hope on Friday at 6 p.m. The winner will face the Vinemont-Hanceville winner on Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m.

Ellis said they defeated Good Hope in two tight regular season games by one and four points. He expects another tight battle again.

“We’re going to have to play our best,” Ellis said. “There’s a lot of parity in our area. The team who shows up and plays better will be the one who wins. Anyone can win on any given night.”

Kyle Alexander hit a 3-pointer near the end of the first quarter to give Danville a 15-12 lead. The Hawks extended that lead to 28-20 by halftime and to 43-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Meek didn’t go away as the Tigers’ Seth Hayes kept them in the game. He scored 14 in the final stanza and finished with 24.

The lead shrank to as small as five points, but the Hawks were able to sink their free throws down the stretch.

Justin Morgan led the way with 17 points followed by Patrick Doherty with 14. Kyle Alexander had nine points and four rebounds while Allen Cordova added eight points and six rebounds. Andreas Cordova had three points, four assists and four steals in the win.

Tyler Jolley picked up four points followed by Evan Anderson with three, Justin Tomlinson and Slater Robinson, both with two, and Tyler Fields with one. Tomlinson also had 12 rebounds.

Danville 55, Meek 28

Jesse Oliver led all scorers with 12 points on a night when the Lady Hawks honored its 2010-2011 Class 3A runner-up team and unveiled its banner.

Gracie George added 11 points for the Hawks (22-8), who will open area tournament play Thursday night at Good Hope against Vinemont.