After solid start, Varsity Boys Basketball loses to Mission, 44-58
Sarah Jensen
Staff Writer
American’s Varsity Boys Basketball team lost their home game 44-58 against Mission San Jose on February 5, 2012. After a strong first half, American struggled to keep pace with Mission’s renewed push, resulting in a rough second half.
The game began with a close race in the first quarter with American and Mission gaining at nearly the same rate. Between the team’s solid plays and regained slips, both skill and luck worked to American’s advantage. By the end of quarter one, American was in the lead, 17-11.
“I thought the first half was one of our best played halves all year,” Coach Ed Villatoro said. “Our point guard, Jordan Frierson, was on fire in the first quarter, hitting 3 three-point shots and scoring 11 points in the first quarter.”
Quarter two proceeded roughly like the first, with Jordan Frierson (12) acting as American’s “main offensive threat,” according to Joey Hua (10). The first half came to a close with American still leading 27-23.
However, this quickly turned around in the beginning of the third quarter. Mission’s plays began to turn from messy to violent, the number of hard falls and rough blocks. At four minutes and twenty-five seconds on the clock and Mission trailing by only two points, American called a timeout to regroup. But it wasn’t enough to pull ahead, and Mission passed American with several long shots and a dunk by their six-foot-nine post player. The score at the end of the third quarter was 35-42, with Mission in the lead.
“Going into half it was still a close competitive game, but coming into the third quarter we started off weak and they got some easy baskets,” Vignesh Chandrasekaran (11) said. “We started to score again near the end of the third, but it wasn’t enough.”
Quarter four consisted largely of three time-outs, countless technical fouls on both sides, and number 41 on Mission’s team being thrown from the game for elbowing Hua in the neck. After a rough quarter, the game came to a close with a final score of 44-58, Mission taking the win.
“I think we all played with good effort and persisted till the end,” Hua said. “There were certainly things we could have done better as individuals and as a team, though.”
Despite the tough loss and dirty game, the Varsity Boys’ Basketball team remains optimistic about both the game and their future.
“This game helped us realize that effort is not enough, that we must execute especially late in the game,” Hua said.
Villatoro, too, expressed hope from the game’s outcome.
“I think we can gain confidence from the things we did well, like our aggressive drives to the basket and our continued improvement on the offensive end by our younger players,” Villatoro mentioned.
Eagle Era 