Varsity Boys Basketball fell to Homestead High School 47-43 on Thursday, Jan. 15 — a close game despite missing five key players, including three starters. MVHS won the tip off and subsequently scored the first two points of the game, along with an additional free throw. Soon after, HHS followed suit, also scoring three points, and the first quarter ended 11-8 to HHS.
During the second quarter, HHS drew ahead, scoring 17 points to widen the gap between the two teams and ending the quarter 28-22. However, the Matadors found its rhythm halfway through the third quarter, and the two teams went neck and neck, with MVHS narrowly overtaking HHS 35-34.
Though the tight scores continued through the first half of the fourth quarter, the Matadors were unable to keep this momentum up, falling behind halfway through the quarter. With 16 seconds left on the clock, MVHS attempted to close the gap with a 3-pointer; however it was ultimately not enough to beat HHS.
Varsity Head Coach Wade Nakamura says he is proud of the team, emphasizing how they needed to adapt to their difficult situation of missing so many players, while HHS had a full team. One unique strategy he implemented was switching out the full team of players every five minutes — a strategy he started using halfway through their previous league season and which he credits with turning that season around.
“I just think it creates a lot more confidence in the kids,” Nakamura said. “They know they’re going to play so they’re more ready, and they know they have to give maximum effort for however many minutes. We have nothing to lose at this point. We might not get a few of those injured kids back, so we have to try and build some depth and some confidence off the bench.”
Senior and shooting guard Kendrick Wong agrees that the team needs to work on stepping up, as well as on its late game plays, but feels the team played very well for the vast majority of the game. He adds that as the team has already qualified for the CIF Central Coast Section championships, he hopes the rest of the team will be healthy and back in shape by then, and that the rest of the season will go smoothly.
Unlike Wong, sophomore and small forward Ethan Lin feels the team took initiative to overcome its situation, noting that he even felt more of a sense of teamwork than usual, with the team communicating more on the court and cheering each other on.
“Honestly, since we were missing three starters, we thought we were going to be blown out,” Lin said. “But we had people step up. I mean, you’ve got to play your role. You got to do what you do and just play the game anyways.”
