![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Boys basketball falters against King’s Academy
Jack Connors hits a mid-range jumper in the second quarter. The Eagles travel to Pinewood next Tuesday, with their matchup against the 9-6 Panthers scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
January 20, 2019
The varsity boys basketball team fell 42-60 to the King’s Academy Knights on Thursday night in a league matchup at home, bringing their overall record to 7-9 and their league record to 2-4.
After being tied 5-5 early in the game, the Knights went on an uninterrupted 13-point run to bring the score to 5-18 late in the first quarter.
The Eagles then responded with a 10-0 run beginning with a layup from Jeffrey Liu (11) followed by a key three-pointer from Jack Connors (11). The Eagles kept the momentum heading into the second quarter, with Jack scoring in the paint and Gene Wang (12) hitting a three to bring the score to 15-18 midway through the second half.
“I think I found my rhythm with my shot and it was good to see a couple of those go in, but I still [need to] create more and be more efficient,” Gene said.
Both teams traded baskets through the rest of the first half, with Harker gaining their first lead of the game with 45 seconds left in the quarter off another three from Gene, lifting the score to 26-25. The Eagles headed to the locker room at the half down by 2 points, 26-28.
Harker gave up back-to-back turnovers to begin the third that translated into easy fastbreak points for the Knights, setting the tone for the rest of the quarter. King’s held Harker to just four points in the third, and the Eagles faced a 12-point deficit at 30-42 heading into the last period.
The Eagles were unable to recover the lead and eventually came up short, with the scoreboard reading 42-60 when the final buzzer sounded.
“When we came out of the half, we made a couple mental errors, and they really capitalized on that and built their lead on that, and we were never really able to cut it back down,” Gene said.
Despite the loss, a bright spot for the Eagles was their overall team defense in the game.
“As soon as one person got beat, the next person was next in line to help them out,” guard Arjun Virmani (10) said. “We had good energy throughout the whole game, we just have to focus more on scoring the ball and offense and spacing out and taking advantage of opportunities.”
In a game marked by a surplus of fouls, Giovanni Rofa (11) came up big for the Eagles, sinking 9 out of his 10 free throws, scoring 11 points in total and playing good defense.
“To me, [Giovanni] played outstanding, he was on the offensive rebounds, making all the hustle plays, diving on the ground, physically defending probably their best player. He was doing a good job,” assistant varsity coach Eric Lee said.
Lee also emphasized the overall need to clean up the Eagles’ offense, a sentiment echoed by other players as well.
“We just [need to] work on being smart on offense, because turnovers are deadly, especially because other teams are fast, they’re strong, and they’re going to make almost all their shots, so we just [have to] limit the turnovers and if we keep working hard on defense, I think we’ll pull out some wins for sure,” Arjun said.
The Eagles travel to Pinewood next Tuesday, with their matchup against the 9-6 Panthers scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
