Bringing their A-game to the court, freshman B boys basketball battled against the Vista Ridge Rangers on Friday, Jan. 16. Although the Warriors had steady teamwork and aggressive offense, they could not turn back the momentum as the Rangers continued to pull ahead and took the victory home 49-39.

From the jump ball, Westwood’s spacing allowed the players to easily weave through and block Vista Ridge – leading to the Rangers missing two shots in a row. However, they pushed past the Warriors and scored the first three-pointer of the game. Westwood refused to let this stop them and responded with a basket of their own. Following this, Vista Ridge fumbled another two opportunities, and their aggressive offense allowed Reehan Iqbal ‘29 to make a free throw, tying up the score 3-3. Despite the Warriors’ confidence, the Rangers stole the momentum and stacked up eight more points before Jonathan Lim ‘29 made a layup. Constant weak ball handling from Westwood stopped them from catching up, ending the first quarter in Vista Ridge’s favor 18-6.

“We’ve been practicing our press every day at practice,” Noah Hwang ‘29 said. “We ran press for basically the entire practice, but it paid off in the game.”

Opening the second quarter, an immediate steal and pass from Clayton Steinheider ‘29 and Hwang blocked Vista Ridge from scoring. However, mixed communication signals and messy ball maneuvering from the Warriors allowed the Rangers to keep making jump shots. Even with a free throw from Ryan Moriarty ‘29 and a three-pointer from Sy Ripperda ‘29, Vista Ridge kept widening the point gap. After two more buckets from Vista Ridge, Hwang shot a two-pointer and broke their momentum. Missed shooting opportunities allowed the Rangers to advance their lead, leaving the second quarter 27-14.

“I contributed to my team by playmaking and getting the ball around for open shots,” Erik Sander ‘29 said. “[We need to improve on] getting our team better shot selections.”

A long-range shot from Vista Ridge launched the Warriors into a rocky third quarter. The Rangers were able to stack up nine more points before Ben Adler ‘29 had the opportunity to break the streak with a three-pointer. Despite Westwood’s determination, their poor dribbling and fouls let Vista Ridge have multiple easy free throws, ending the third quarter 39-22.

“I use [rough moments] as fuel [to mentally stay in the game,” Hwang said. “[For next game] we need to work on finishing around the basket.”

After continuous defensive errors from the first three quarters, Westwood was eager to pull ahead and take home the win in the fourth quarter. The Warriors were on fire, with numerous shots from all across the court finally shifting the momentum their way, forcing Vista Ridge to call a timeout. The stakes were higher than before, with both teams’ energy intensifying by the second. Even with Westwood’s renewed offense, their aggressive defense was fatal. Vista Ridge was able to stack two points from the line, solidifying the game in their victory 49-39.

The Warriors will face off against the McNeil Mavericks next on Tuesday, Jan. 20.