Frosh and sophomore boys basketball open season with 45-18 Stratford win

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Alison Yang

Ethan Lei (9) dribbles the ball down the court. The Eagles jumped to an early lead and grew it through a barrage of two-pointers and free throws.

by Alison Yang, Assistant A&E Editor

The frosh and sophomore boys basketball team defeated Stratford San Jose 45-18 in their first game of the season on Nov. 22. 

Jumping to 11-3 early into the first quarter, the Eagles maintained and extended their lead for the rest of the game. David Li (9) attempted a three-pointer but missed as the buzzer sounded, and the Eagles headed into the second quarter with a 19-6 lead. Stratford took three timeouts over the course of the game but remained unsuccessful due to several missed two-pointers and free throws. 

The Eagles consistently put of shots, mainly centered around the key. This barrage of shooting coupled with tough fights for rebounds kept the game fast-paced. Notably, Thomas Ryan’s (9) first free throw halfway through the third quarter bounced around the rim several times as everyone stared in suspense, eventually falling out. He also missed his second but secured a rebound and scored a layup.

Frosh and sophomore boys basketball head coach Brendan Carroll focuses on building fundamentals and skills for the team.

“We played a young team, but we are a young team ourselves,” Carroll said. “We have a lot of potential, but a lot to work on at the same time. We weren’t able to find a way to run a lot of [the plays] we work on in practice. Still, I think the boys came together and played their first game really well.”

Thomas Ryan (9) fights to shoot the ball on a rebound from his free-throw. The frosh and sophomore team will travel to Stratford on Dec. 2.

Carroll also remarked on cleaning up concepts and emphasizing proper positioning going into practices and is confident that more repetitions and court experience will continue to help the boys grow. The team, composed of players with varying levels of experience, enjoy a good connection among themselves.  

“It’s been really easy fitting in with everybody,” forward Lucas Chen (9) said. “The whole basketball program at Harker is just like a family. [In practice], we’ve been focused on creating chemistry, but we need [to translate] that into our game.”

The team will travel for a Stratford rematch on Dec. 2, followed by games at Woodside and San Lorenzo Valley. 

Team member Umair Paranjpye (9) comments on the team dynamic.

“[The team is] great,” Umair said. “I haven’t played basketball in a while, but it’s great to be back playing a sport we all love. We’re all ready to work really hard.”