As you enter the War Memorial gymnasium at Cambridge Rindge & Latin, there is a sense of nostalgia.

It’s the house that Patrick Ewing built. Where Rumeal Robinson and Karl Hobbsmade their names. You see the jerseys framed on the wall, you see all the boys’ and girls’ names on the 1,000-point banner and the list of the seven boys’ basketball state championship teams (1979, 1980, 1981, 1986, 1990, 2001, 2016).

Led by four seniors, Cambridge (23-0) has a chance to distinguish itself in a rare class in Saturday’s Division 1 state final against Franklin (22-2) at Springfield’s MassMutual Center (5:45 p.m.)

The senior quartet has helped lead the Falcons to three straight Division 1 North titles, a 44-game win streak, the chance at an undefeated season and back-to-back state championships.

“I think of everybody who played before me and the route we have taken,’’ said senior floor leader Jakigh Dottin, who will have his name placed on the 1,000-point banner after eclipsing the milestone earlier this season. “I think of Patrick [Ewing] and Rumeal Robinson and the way that they had established this program and built it.’’

Defensive stopper/3-point whiz Kareem Octavien, 6-foot-8-inch double-double machine Dimon Carrigan, and power forward Daniel Rymer, along with Dottin, have been playing together since middle school. They participate in AAU together, for BABC, and there isn’t a moment you won’t catch them smiling off the court.

“We never give it less than we are supposed to. We always give it more and we always want more for each other,’’ said the 6-5 Rymer, who will play football at Maine.

Octavien added, “That’s the beauty of it. The chemistry we have, we can just look at each other and say, ‘Let’s go.’ ’’

Last season was an emotional ride. In 2014, the team, school, and community lost a beloved member in Davonte Nealto cancer. The players have dedicated their success the past three seasons to Neal.

With signs and posters in the stands and bright orange headbands to represent their devotion, the motto “Davonte Strong’’ resonated in every gymnasium Cambridge entered, resulting in the program’s first state championship in 15 years.

The same motto — “Davonte Strong’’ — is engraved on the side of Cambridge’s 2015 state championship rings.

“This is a special group,’’ said Cambridge coach Lance Dottin. “With the loss of a very close and dear friend, [the team] embraced his spirit and have carried him along with them.

“We sort of always talk about how Davonte carries us, too, because it meant a lot for him to be a part of this . . . He is our 16th man out there.’’

Coach Dottin has his own place in the Cambridge legacy. He was 1,000-point scorer on the basketball court, playing on a state title team in 1986, his junior year, before going on to the University of Michigan to play football.

Upon his return from Michigan, and being named head coach in 1996, he implemented a motto he learned under the tutelage of his mentors at Cambridge, Mike Jarvis and Al Coccoluto.

The Cambridge Way.

And in his 21-year tenure, he has tried to pass along his tenets of the Cambridge Way to all the players that have come through the program.

“First and foremost, there was a certain way you carried yourself as a young man,’’ Dottin said. “Secondly, [there was] the level of excellence maintained in the classroom, which is not always easy but the kids have been able to, for the most part, maintain that.

“And last, of course, is how we go out and play in the basketball game. As basketball players, we want to bring ourselves out there not only as individuals, but we want to go out there and play together as a team.’’

Before the Falcons’ ended their final practice in the War Memorial gymnasium Thursday, Dottin pointed up to the jerseys and banners on the wall and spoke to his seniors.

He reiterated that when they stepped onto the court Saturday at the MassMutual Center to soak up the moment and to acknowledge their school and Cambridge community support.

“What this is all about is looking at the young men and seeing them become young men of character,’’ he said. “When you leave out of our program you are hopefully going to carry the torch and you become part of the circle.’’

For the four seniors — Jakigh, Carrigan, Octavien, and Rymer — Saturday night will be the last time they stand side by side in a Cambridge Rindge & Latin jersey.

Win or lose, their legacy will always be remembered.

“This brotherhood that we have is something that can’t be broken,’’ said Carrigan.

“No matter what happens on Saturday, these are my brothers for life. I am always going to have love for them.’’

Karl Capen can be reached at karl.capen@globe.com. Go to bostonglobe.com/schools for preview capsules of all eight state basketball finals Saturday in Springfield.