CLEVELAND — The Maysville Panthers boys basketball team is in the final four this weekend, their first state tournament in 53 years.

Steve Galloway was on the team in 1971. 

“I was the point guard, so I controlled the basketball most of the time,” he said.

1971 was the last year the Panthers made it to the final four. It's something that’s special to Galloway and a reason he keeps coming back to cheer on the team. 

“I’ve been coming for the last two years to every game and just a super group of kids and, you know, it’s just so nice to come back and feel all that Panther pride," Galloway said. "It’s awesome."

Galloway’s mother kept a scrapbook filled with old newspaper articles from when their team made it to states. 

“Where am I? Right there," Galloway said. "And that other guy, Dean Wolf, was our running mate. That’s him shooting that shot right there. That’s when we beat number 3 Garaway in the sectional."

Galloway was in the stands at Ohio University this past weekend when Maysville beat Hartley to advance to the state tournament.

“It brought back a lot of memories this past weekend," he said. "When we were down in Athens, we played in the same gym, and so it brought back so many memories."

Even 53 years later, Galloway still sees some familiar faces at games. 

“I see a lot of the fans, not a lot of ‘em but a few of ‘em that were here when I played, but it’s exciting,” Galloway said.

He said he sees a lot of similarities between this year’s team and his team. 

“I can pick out each kid and kind of compare them to our players," he said. "It’s pretty neat to sit up in the stands and do that."

And his advice for the team ahead of this weekend:

“Go and play as hard as you can and don’t have any regrets," he said. "Leave it out there on the court."