On Sat Jan. 6, Issaquah Varsity Boys’ Basketball team had a disappointing loss against the Skyline team with a final score of 57-59.
The first quarter started with Skyline on offense and the Eagles on defense where for the first minute or so possession went back and forth after an out of bounds and a foul for Skyline. Issaquah got a free throw and missed, which gave the Spartans the opportunity to take possession and score a two-pointer two minutes into the game. Skyline proved to be tough for the Eagles as their defense held strong. Issaquah came back ready when senior Carter DuBreil scored a two-pointer, tying the game. The Eagles continued this momentum, scoring six more points but Skyline was no match, ending the first quarter in their favor.
Issaquah came back fighting in the second quarter with four points scored courtesy of sophomore MacCoy Pond and DuBreil. The Eagles continued with their streak with four 3-pointer shots, the notable players being DuBreuil and junior William Hawk. Despite Skyline’s attempts with their own 3-pointer the second quarter ended in Issaquah’s favor 33-31.
The third quarter started intensely, as Skyline scored a two-pointer one minute in, followed by another two points. However, Issaquah did not give up as senior Justin Chan scored a two-pointer, consistently having good passes throughout the game. Even as Skyline retaliated with their tough defense, Issaquah scored two three-pointers ending the third quarter 48-46.
Tensions rose in the fourth quarter as Skyline pushed back; more body checks and physical contact began to occur leading the scoreboard to 53-54 in Skyline’s favor with five minutes left. Catastrophe occurred for the Eagles with forty seconds left in the game as Issaquah received a foul for holding, giving Skyline the chance to score winning points, and they did, closing the game at the very last second.
Pond reflected on the Eagles’ performance tonight, stating, “I think we play pretty well. I think we played pretty hard but there are some things that we have to clean up.” Pond goes on to talk about the strengths of the team mentioning how they shared the ball very well and played more for the team as the season progressed. Senior Charlie Roorda commented on his thoughts about playing tonight on senior night, stating, “It means a lot because I have played basketball my whole life.” Roorda has spent three years on the varsity team.
Assistant Coach Scott Nelson talked about his perspective of tonight’s game and strategies, explaining, “We lost. I think we worked hard for the entire game. I thought we showed a lot of effort and I thought our seniors did a good job. However, when things got hard we did not execute things as well as we should have.”
Overall, it was a close match and the Eagles showed great spirit and determination! Make sure to check out their next game on Jan. 9 at North Creek.
