Boys Basketball loses to Lynbrook High School 53-41
Matadors trail a few points behind Lynbrook for the entirety of the game
Junior Phillip Chiu jumps up to shoot a basket with less than a minute of the third quarter remaining. Photo by Michelle Zheng
January 11, 2022
On Friday, Jan. 7, the Varsity Boys Basketball team fell to Lynbrook High School during its first home league game of the season.
LHS began the first quarter with a strong offense, breaking past the Matador defense and performing several successful layups. Towards the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second quarter, MVHS improved its defense by making several blocks and steals, ending the third quarter trailing LHS 21-23. The Matadors were unable to make a comeback in the fourth quarter, losing the game with a score of 53-41.
Sophomore and point guard Matt Lau notes that a major factor in the Matadors’ defeat was that the MVHS players were overall shorter than the LHS players. To compensate, the team tried to boost its defensive skills.
“We [tried] to not let their big men get the ball because that’s where their main scorers are,” Lau said. “We are at a height disadvantage.”
Nevertheless, MVHS persevered through the game and maintained their team morale, preventing a blowout from occurring. Junior and point guard Jack Chupar points out that the team’s chemistry allowed the players to smoothly pass to one another and score points, despite their physical disadvantage and inexperience as a new team.
“Sometimes we were playing with really good chemistry,” Chupar said. “But then other times, when the other team was in momentum, we didn’t really know what to do.”
Although the Matadors ended up losing the game, Lau comments that the team was elated by the number of people that came to cheer for them.
“I appreciate the support [from] everybody coming out [and] taking their time on a Friday night,” Lau said. “It’s been a while since we played at home with an actual crowd.”
As this is the beginning of the league season, Lau says there are many more opportunities for the Matadors to strengthen their skills and gain more experience. According to Lau, the team might be considered the “underdogs” right now, but with time and rigorous practice, the team may have the ability to exceed people’s expectations.
