In a close contest, the varsity boys’ basketball team traveled to Hendrickson High School to take on the Hendrickson Hawks on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Ultimately, the Warriors couldn’t grind out a win away from home, falling by a score of 62-53. Despite the nine-point defeat, the Warriors were able to hang with the Hawks until Hendrickson began to pull away in the final quarter, effectively diminishing the Warriors’ chance of victory.

“We were neck and neck with them for the entire game,” Corey Levinson ‘19 said. “Kudos to them, they played well, but I’m extremely proud of my teammates for playing really hard throughout the entire game.”

Both teams struggled to put the ball in the basket in the first few minutes of the game, with turnovers and poor shot selection affecting both teams. Then, Levinson began to lift the Warriors out of their early slump, scoring their first 11 points of the match. The team quickly hit four three-pointers in the first frame of play, with Levinson knocking down three and Brandon Parks ‘20 with the other. Thanks to their excellent shooting, the Warriors found themselves on top after the first quarter, holding a 14-13 lead over the Hawks.

The second quarter followed the same trend as the first – a physical eight minutes of basketball, but slightly higher scoring. However, the Warriors’ aggressiveness paid off, as they drew more fouls in order to earn trips to the free throw line, making the most of their opportunities at the stripe. However, the team wasn’t able to hold on to the lead, as the Hawks held the advantage heading into halftime thanks to a late scoring surge from the home side to go up 31-28.

“In the first half, we were hitting on all cylinders, everything was falling, and we were playing aggressive. I think their length and aggressiveness just got to us in the second half,” Levinson said.

The Hawks started the third quarter very fast, going on a 9-3 run before Coach Brad Hastings was forced to use a timeout for the Warriors to try and find their rhythm. However, already being down 40-31, the Warriors couldn’t close the gap much, and eventually the Hawks took a double-digit lead on the Warriors. After being outscored 17-8, the Warriors were looking at a 48-36 deficit heading into the last quarter of action.

“We were in the game the whole time up until that point. The run just got to us and it left a sour taste in our mouths, and we couldn’t recover,” Levinson said.

The Warriors were able to hang with the Hawks for the majority of the fourth quarter, but foul trouble doomed their chances of a comeback victory. Hendrickson’s lead was cut to single digits with three minutes left in the game, but the Warriors couldn’t convert enough shots to steal a victory on the road, falling 62-53.

“[Hendrickson] knew how to get to the line a lot. Our defense was there, but their aggressiveness changed our game plan,” Levinson said.

The Warriors look to bounce back from the loss as they get ready to defend their home court against the Vista Ridge Rangers on Friday, Jan. 18.