The boys basketball team was bested by the Saint Francis Golden Knights 57-47 in their first game of the season on Thursday night.
The game kicked off with numerous missed shots by both teams. The Knights were eventually able to put up the first points on the board after an accidental eye poke sent senior center Aiden Atkins out for the remainder of the game. The Bears battled back with a swished corner three-pointer by senior small forward Jerry Williams to put M-A up 3-2 three minutes into the first quarter.
Despite the Bears’ smothering defense, the Knights took advantage of their seven-foot-three center to regain the lead, making several midrange jump shots to eventually put M-A in an 8-3 deficit.
“I think our team fought really hard. It’s a hard adjustment trying to guard a guy who’s a foot and a half taller than everyone, but I think our team really fought,” senior shooting guard Bryce Winters said.
After a Bears timeout, senior shooting guard Luca Auer nailed an open corner three-point shot thanks to a heroic jumping pass by Williams. Senior point guard Jacob Sutton tied the game with a layup, but the Knights retaliated with a bucket of their own. The Knights slowly gained momentum after several made shots and dunks, ending the quarter ahead 12-6.
Beginning the second quarter, senior shooting guard Evan Makielski started the Bears off strong with a steal, leading to a fouled layup attempt. The Knights had no issue responding with a dunk and steal, leaving seven minutes remaining in the second quarter. Sutton continued to find a way to the hoop, nailing a heavily guarded midrange jump shot to make the score 15-10, Knights.
The Bears gained possession, getting a steal off a sloppy pass from the Knights, but the following layup by Williams was blocked by the Knights’ towering center. Auer continued to battle on defense, diving for a rebound and passing it to Sutton, who forced a reaching foul on the other team to leave the Bears with possession and four minutes remaining in the quarter.
Sutton continued to command the offense, lobbing a pass to Winters, who hit a corner three-point shot to chip away at their 18-13 deficit. Auer built on the Bears’ hot streak after sinking a high-lofted three-point shot. Sutton followed up with a fake spin that opened up another jumper, leaving M-A down 21-18 to end the first half.
The second half started off with both teams struggling to find the net. However, the scoring drought was eventually put to an end after a steal by Winters led to a buried three, tying the game at 21-21 and forcing a Knights timeout.
Winters didn’t let up and soon after knocked down yet another three-pointer. The Knights began to regain momentum thanks to an alley-oop dunk, battling back to a 25-24 lead. Despite this, the Bears remained unfazed and continued to apply pressure defensively, allowing senior center Will Abdella to steal the ball and get the bench on their feet. Winters recovered offensive control, swishing a midrange shot after faking a pass. Sutton then fired a long pass to Auer, who added to the scoring run with a heavily contested layup. Williams finished off by weaving through defenders for two unbelievable layups to tie the score at 32-32 heading into the fourth quarter.
The Bears began the last quarter excellently, thanks to Sutton nailing a spinning fadeaway right as the shot clock went off. Sutton resumed his dominance with yet another midrange shot to give the Bears a 36-35 lead. However, the Knights did not let up on offense, scoring immediately after.
Both teams were assigned a technical foul after an altercation between a Knights center and junior forward Zane Nahas. “I think I was being physical with him, and maybe he’s not too used to a high level of physicality,” Nahas said.
Following up, Winters sank a fadeaway jumper after driving to the key to tie the game at 47-47 with three minutes left. The Knights made a layup to go back up and forced a reach call on the Bears to eventually build on their lead, 51-47, leaving only two minutes remaining in the quarter.
The Bears began to intentionally foul in a last-ditch desperation attempt, but it was to no avail, and they ended up losing the game 57-47. “I think that run they went on in the last two minutes was really key. We missed shots, and they hit shots. That’s really all it was,” Sutton said.
“We just gotta work on the little things on defense, swing the ball faster and space out,“ Winters said.
Next, the Bears will return to play the Clayton Valley Eagles away on Thursday at 8 p.m.
