The boys basketball team could not have asked for a better ending to their game against Central High School-Springfield Feb. 4 after defeating the Bulldogs 93-39. Stepping onto home court with the crowd cheering them on, the boys began the first quarter with ease and after several minutes of play, stood poised to take not only the lead, but control of the game.
“We’ve really been starting to play well as a team, and we’ve really been focusing on tough defense,” senior Alex Henderson said. “We all knew that if we came out and kept doing what we have been that we would play well.”
Starting the second quarter with an already hefty lead of 26-7, the Bruins didn’t back off. They were able to limit the Bulldogs to only a couple of baskets here and there while more than doubling their score. The boys went into halftime with a promising lead of 56-17.
After the first half “we were playing really well, and we never really felt that [Central] could come back with how we were shooting the ball and playing defense,” Henderson said, “but it always lingers in the back of your mind that they could, so we still had a game plan to execute, and from the final score, you can see that we carried that out.”
Coming back from the locker room, the boys again took control of the court, leaving the Bulldogs no where to turn. RBHS made basket after basket, elevating their score to 85-29 with one quarter left. Because CHS has a very young team this year, Henderson said, they still have a lot of time to grow in the next few years. But tonight, the Bruins exhibited prowess and stamina that went unmatched throughout the game until the fourth quarter. With a gap of 56 points, the Bulldogs gave one last valiant stance, and were able to fight the Bruins point for point in the last minutes of the game. However, despite their efforts, RBHS still ended up on top with a notable victory of 93-39. Although the boys weren’t able to break the 100 point mark, they are still pleased with the overall score.
“We just came out and did what we were supposed to do, and I think if we continue to play like this down the road, we could end up shocking a lot of teams [for state],” Henderson said. “It’s always cool to get close to the 100 mark, but we need to win with respect no matter what the score. We all know that it wouldn’t be fun to be on the other side of it.”
By Daphne Yu
[nggallery id=243] Photos by Maddy Jones