AHS Boys Basketball team drops its third Battle-of-The-Boulevard matchup this season

The varsity team failed to contain Washington’s offense in its 11th loss of the MVAL season

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Entering the Friday-evening game with a sole win in league play, the AHS boys varsity basketball team’s matchup against Washington on February 7th presented perhaps its best chance to spark a end-of-season turnaround. While the final result was a loss, cementing one of the Eagles’ weakest overall finishes in the post-COVID era, the play of some of the team’s younger members previewed an exciting foundation for next season’s roster.

American’s previous league game with Washington, MVAL’s 5th place team, resulted in a tight 63-56 loss. “The last game we played against them, we lost due to turnovers,” said Aaron Tai (12), one of AHS’s guards. “So this game, we just want to continue playing good defense and hopefully make fewer mistakes.”

In several pre-game conversations, it was clear the Eagles’ strategy to curtail Washington’s high-powered offense began with attempting to keep the ball out of its hands. Those efforts would be necessary, of course, considering Washington guards Giani Clark and Eesean Johnson rank first and third in points-per-game across MVAL, respectively.

“Number of turnovers is a huge factor in this game. Our goal is to limit turnovers to 12 or less,” said Coach Ed, AHS’s varsity head coach. Much like turnover prevention, rebounding was also a focus, according to Tai. The team set a goal to win at least 75% of defensive rebounds.

In addition to cheering from its spot on the baseline, the AHS cheer squad performed a routine between the first and second quarter (Photo Credit: Nanki Kaur (12)).

Early in the first quarter, American committed several turnovers, forcing them into playing from behind in the frame—save for an early three-pointer from guard Sean Bascos (11). Beyond that early score, American largely struggled from the field throughout the game. This was due, in part, to Washington’s strong perimeter defense that prevented the Eagles from taking high-percentage shots.

Beginning the second quarter in a 22-8 deficit, the Eagles began to counter Washington’s quick and aggressive playstyle with stronger interior defense. After several substitutions early in the quarter, the Eagles matched some of Washington’s ease on the offensive side of the ball, ending the half on a strong offensive run. However, AHS still trailed—this time 31-19.

This season, much of the Eagles’ success was driven by Dylan Lee and Arman Mahanvi, two of AHS’s leading point scorers and notably, juniors. The graduation of eight seniors from last season’s roster resulted in a new-look varsity team, with more spotlight placed on younger players.

Despite Lee’s impressive offensive showing, scoring 21 points, and Mahanvi’s skillful night rebounding, an inability to manage turnovers and the duo of Clark and Johnson halted any comeback attempt. Those two troubles came together, quite remarkably, in the fourth quarter, when a sloppy turnover led to a Clark three-pointer that effectively sealed American’s 73-41 loss.

But these players, and the constantly-improving performance of others, present a bright spot as the team looks ahead.

“Our younger players have been building bigger roles steadily throughout league play and I see that continuing during our final run,” said Coach Ed, citing long-term team building as an advantage of having a younger roster.

With two games left in their season, players outlined their collective goals for the final stretch. “Last few games, get a win and have some fun on senior night,” said Bascos, one of the younger players whose development will likely be pivotal for a turnaround season.

“We talked last night about what we want to accomplish for our final games,” said the team’s longtime coach. “We want to come together as a team, support each other, be great teammates to each other, and build great habits that good players and good teams have.”