The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Boys basketball: Team loses tough season opener to Oak Grove HS

MVHS boys basketball started fresh this year with a new coaching staff for both varsity and JV.  

After winning just one game last year in the regular season, the team was looking for a win to start off the season playing against Oak Grove HS, a team they beat at the beginning of the season last year.

New coach and MVHS financial specialist Calvin Wong was hopeful going into the game. He had a clear game plan for how to combat the Oak Grove HS offense, anticipating  what had to be done in order to win.

“Transitionally, we knew off the bat that Oak Grove wanted to run the ball a lot so we wanted to make sure we didn’t give up any easy hoops,” Wong said. “That’s one thing we really wanted to do well.”

Junior AJ Falak scans the court against an Oak Grove defender
Junior AJ Falak scans the court against an Oak Grove defender

Throughout the game, players from both teams were scoring freely. The leading scorers in the first half for MVHS were junior Akshay Gopalkrishnan with nine points, and senior Ryan Lee with six points. By the end of the second quarter, MVHS was ahead 28-23.

MVHS players headed back to the court after going to the locker room during halftime. MVHS had a lead of 28-23 at the half
MVHS players headed back to the court after going to the locker room during halftime. MVHS had a lead of 28-23 at the half

 

 

 

MVHS was able to rack up a substantial lead in the third quarter by scoring 13 points compared to OGHS’ 8, heading into the fourth quarter with a lead of 41-31. However, MVHS wasn’t able to keep up the lead with a series of missed shots.

With less than six seconds remaining in the final quarter of the game, MVHS was in the lead by a single point, with the score 45-44. A timeout was called by OGHS, and there was tension in the air as the crowd was silent waiting for the final seconds of the game.

Senior Zachary Wong drives to basket against an Oak Grove defender
Senior Zachary Wong drives to basket against an Oak Grove defender

OGHS came back after the timeout with possession, and MVHS committed a reaching foul on an Oak Grove HS player. 4.1 seconds remained in the game.

OGHS made both of their foul shots, and with three seconds remaining on the board, OGHS was now in the lead, 46 – 45. MVHS tried to do what it could with the time it had left, but even as the players raced down to the opposing end of the court, preparing to score on the other end, time was ticking down.

 

The buzzer blared and the final score stood 46 – 45, as a loss for MVHS.

All it took was 2 seconds for victory to turn into defeat.

“We battled a very tough Oak Grove team that did well,” Wong said. “They were very physical with us trying to dictate their style of play. We just had a couple little things that we need to improve on and that will help us start to step it up and get that first W.”

Photos by Anthony Moll and Anish Vasudevan. Additional reporting by Anthony Moll.

About the Contributor
Anish Vasudevan, Co-editor-in-chief
Anish Vasudevan is currently a senior and co-editor-in-chief for El Estoque. He is a wide receiver and cornerback for the MVHS football team and enjoys playing recreational basketball with his friends. In his free time he watches ESPN and dreams of being a sports journalist someday.
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