With tensions high in the gym during the fourth quarter, junior captain Tani Simkovich makes a three-point shot, putting the Lions in the lead by one point with only a minute left in the game. Despite being down the whole game, the Lions managed to achieve the win against the Bullis Bulldogs.
Throughout the game, the JDS boys junior varsity basketball team still cheered on their teammates regardless of the score. For the first three quarters, the Lions were down significantly, but according to freshman Tani Kastan, they had a shift in their mentality which made all the difference.
“When you’re winning, it’s easier to get less focused and just think, ‘Oh, we’re winning. We’re gonna win the game,’” Kastan said. “When you’re losing, you need to have a chip on your shoulder.”
With the Bulldogs getting the tip-off, the first quarter had only two baskets, ending in a 4-0 deficit for the Lions. This low-scoring quarter for the Bulldogs was a result of defense from sophomores Caleb Berman and Jonah Anker, each with multiple rebounds and steals.
“I would say a lot of us as a team, and me, myself included, weren’t giving enough effort on the team, like just playing in general,” sophomore captain Judah Trauben said. “I think we really picked that up, and that was a big shift in our game towards the second half.”
In the second quarter, the Lions managed to get their first points, with Simkovich making a three-point basket, bringing the score to 10-3.
After a pep talk at halftime from head coach Matthew Landy, the Lions made a comeback during the third quarter. As the pace picked up, the Lions grabbed rebounds and had more steals than before.
“The biggest adjustment that I saw was we just needed the ball to go into the basket,” Landy said. “That obviously happened a little bit more for us towards the end of the game, fortunately, but really it was just clamping down on defense and making sure that they couldn’t score any more points to kind of minimize the deficit.”
The fourth quarter of the game went in the Lions favor. After the score had been 19-17 for the majority of the quarter, Simkovich made his fourth three-pointer of the game, bringing the game to the final 20-19 score and ending with the Lion’s as victors.
Even though they won, Trauben felt as if they could have improved their technique for the first half of the game, specifically their offense. In the future, they are striving to improve their team chemistry which will make an impact on and off the court.
“I think important teamwork is really key for our success,” Trauben said. “Because we need to understand how each other plays so we can bond and let everything click towards the second half of our JV season.”
