The boys’ Freshman White basketball team battled the Hays Rebels on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The court was alive with action and nonstop commentary from parents and coaches, filling the small gym with a buzz of excitement.

Despite the game kicking off with a rocky start and a score of 3-8, the Warriors were able to reclaim victory with a final score of 53-49. With hard work and endless support from the teammates and crowd, the Warriors were able to climb back up, and secure a strong lead, and eventual victory.

“I feel like, it’s the beginning of the season, and we’ve got a long way to go playing together as a team,” Freshman White coach Samuel Forr said.

The first quarter came with a few fumbles, but perseverance led them to an increasing amount of small victories as the game began to wind down. Defense and offense began to improve as the Rebels was kept at 15 points for a four-point streak down to the last few seconds of the first quarter, with a buzzer beater shot by Evan Held ‘19, allowing Westwood to come into the second quarter with a score of 10-15.

As the new quarter began, the Warriors were revived by new opportunities to steal a lead against the Rebels and manages to tie early into the first few minutes with a 15-15 score due to two successful free throws by Julian DeBerry ‘19. The Warriors did not go farther than a tie for the rest of the quarter. However, as the Rebels began to push back, leaving the Warriors a little worse for wear, but still coming through with successful plays before halftime with a 20-30 score.

The Warriors ran into the second half energized and determined, knowing fully well that their outcomes here could determine the final race for the win in the next quarter. The stands cheered as the team seemed to pull together, scoring a consecutive seven points, and leaving the Rebels  scrambling to maintain their lead with only two minutes left on the clock. With a final score for the quarter of 31-36, the fourth quarter became a battle for the win as soon as the timer began winding down.

Before long, the gym was crackling with anticipation as the Warriors began to fall behind, before Borkowski pushed his team out of their momentary slump with a freethrow to make the score 32-41. After that, plays became smoother and more points were easily added as the game progressed, which then allowed for both teams to race neck and neck, back and forth between the baskets. Suddenly, the tables turn as Ryan Lass ‘19  made a three-point shot, pushing the Warriors even closer to the Rebels with 41-45 on the board. Lass then went on to make two more shots for his team before Held came through with two successful free throws and a three point shot; the Warriors then found themselves only one point behind with 48-49. The tie came with Daniel Albert ‘19 who scored a free throw, and Held came in from there with a layup 51-49.

“We didn’t give up and we kept on fighting even though we were down a lot of points,” Lass said.

After securing their lead, all the Warriors had to do was protect it. With one final foul on Lass, and two more points from free throws, left the Warriors victorious with a final score of 53-49. With this win behind them, the freshman boys’ basketball team is going to keep going strong for the rest of their season. Go Wood.