By Kim Ly
This Wednesday, the varsity boys’ basketball team came out victorious in the first game of their season against the Huntington Beach Oilers with a final score of 75-41.
The game opened up with high adrenaline, both sides scoring within the first few minutes. Despite this, the Barons were playing a bit rocky as they missed several shots at the basket and gave up many rebounds.
“We have to do a better job [especially] on the defensive side cause we gave up a lot of offensive rebounds,” Senior Preston Amarillo said.
Nevertheless, the Barons never fell from the lead due to notable plays by junior Aden Casarez and Amarillo. Casarez had a few successful three-pointers whilst Amarillo made several layups; both also made critical passes that helped the Barons score. The first quarter ended 13-8.
The Barons entered the second quarter with an even more aggressive offense. They widened the gap significantly with key plays made by junior Roddie Anderson who was able to get past the Oilers’ defenders and make numerous layups.
The Barons went into halftime with a score of 27-16.
Neither side slowed down as they entered the third quarter; the tension rose as the score’s gap widened. Huntington Beach made several faulty passes which the Barons capitalized on. Within the first three minutes, the score rose to 38-23. Furthermore, multitudes of fouls from the Oilers gave the Barons many chances at a free throw.
A combination of both relentless offense and the ability to capitalize on their opponents’ mistakes allowed the Barons to finish the third quarter with a score of 52-30.
The momentum stayed high going into the final quarter for the Barons. While they gave up many rebounds, they kept up their streak of impressive layups and ended the game strong with an ending score of 75-41.
Being the first game they’ve played in the while, head coach D’Cean Bryant comments that they have certain skills that could be improved upon. Nevertheless, he has high hopes for this season.
“Our personal goal is to win [the Sunset] League, first and foremost. We want to just win every game and just let that add up,” Bryant said.
The players resonate with his sentiment and have high ambitions to win as many titles as possible.
“We’re just trying to take it on and leave a legacy at FV[HS] … [we’d like to] put some championships on the board for the first time in a while,” Casarez says.
The boys’ next game will be away at Ocean View High School on April 17 at 4 p.m.
