Going into the championship game, the RBHS boys had played the Kewpies two times before, losing both matches – one of which went into triple overtime. Despite the record, the Bruins were ready to take on the Kewpies.
Going into the game, their plan was “just to stay focused and stay together as a team,” junior Jackson Dubinksi said. “We knew what we had to do and we left it all out there tonight.”
The championship game started with both teams going neck and neck to end the first quarter 13-14, with the RBHS boys down one point. The second quarter was just as close, and neither team was willing to budge, ending the first half with a 29-29 tie. After the break in the locker room, the boys walked back onto the hardwood, focused, with one goal in mind.
“We were just trying to make sure we were ready coming out in the first couple minutes of the third quarter to set the tone,” Dubinksi said.
The boys went out and put up a fight for the Kewpies, but were lagging behind by the end of the third quarter, 43-48. The fourth quarter saw the Bruins almost overcome HHS, the closest when the score was 59-61 for a few seconds. The last minute of the game was filled with intensity, with the Bruins and Kewpies going back and forth.
In the last two minutes, Dubinksi was “just thinking how bad I wanted to win,” he said, “and that I would do anything possible to help my team find a way to be champs.”
Last second attempts to tie the score and hopes to bring the game into overtime were dashed as the final buzzer rang. The boys left the court with a 62-66 loss, a devastating end to their season. While Dubinski said this year’s team might not look like a lot on paper and stats, they are a team that has overcome so much to make it so far.
“We were a tough team that faced a lot of adversity,” Dubinski said. “And our record and the way we will be remembered doesn’t reflect that.”
By Daphne Yu
