Varsity boys basketball team loses to Basis 51-60 in hard-fought game

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Emma Milner

Abhi Namala (12) pushes past Basis players to shoot. The team fell to Basis 51-60 on Jan. 5.

by Emma Milner, Assistant Sports Editor

The varsity boys basketball team fell to BASIS Independent Silicon Valley 51-60 during a home game on Jan. 5.

Basis started off strong, with Harker trailing behind 4-11. The Eagles struggled to keep the ball in their control, with Basis scoring five more points to gain a larger lead of 15-6. Kevin Zhang (11) scored a three-pointer, giving Harker a small boost and bringing the score to 9-15. Followed by an Eagle time out, Kevin scored a layup, giving Harker two more points in an attempt to close the gap with Basis. With 10 seconds left in the first quarter, co-captain KJ Williams (12) scored, bringing the Eagles to 13-15. 

The second quarter began with a gain from the Bobcats but Harker followed close behind, keeping their two-point difference with a score of 15-17. Co-captain Abhi Namala’s (12) layup brought Harker to a tie with Basis at 17-17. With that, the Eagles took off with the lead, with multiple players scoring to bring Harker to 25-17. Basis tried to catch up, but were only able to score in the last three minutes of the quarter. The Eagles ended the quarter with a lead of 25-22. 

The Bobcats started off the third quarter strong, gaining a two point lead of 27-25. KJ scored with an attempt to regain the lead, but Basis controlled the ball and kept a score of 32-31. Even with a lot of back and forth, Harker made a strong effort to secure a lead once again, but the quarter ended with Basis ahead 38-33. 

Kevin Zhang (11) defends a Bobcat during their game against Basis. “We definitely thought we were the better team, but I think we should have come out harder from the start,” Kevin said. “We weren’t able to match their energy from the start and we weren’t able to adapt [and] adjust to how they played us on defense.” (Emma Milner)

In the fourth quarter, Advay Monga (10) scored, giving the Eagles a score of 36-38. With Basis gaining a few points, co-captain Om Tandon (11) scored a layup, bringing the score to 38-41. After Basis called a timeout, the Bobcats took off, gaining a lead of 47-40. Although Om scored in the following minutes, this was not enough to catch up to Basis, who gained a staggering lead of 56-45. With Harker struggling, the Eagles went into a timeout. With a minute left on the clock, Abhi scored a layup and Matthew Chen (12) scored two free throws. However, these final efforts were not enough to secure a win, ending in a 51-60 loss for the Eagles. 

Kevin comments on the team’s performance and their shortcomings in comparison to the opposing team. 

“We definitely thought we were the better team, but I think we should have come out harder from the start,” Kevin said. “We weren’t able to match their energy from the start and we weren’t able to adapt [and] adjust to how they played us on defense.”

With this being the team’s last match before the league games, Bowen Xia (10) looks forward to regaining the Eagle’s momentum next week in the league matches. 

“I feel pretty confident going into league games,” Bowen said. “I think we’re gonna be really determined to win after this loss. Although we might not win every game, I think the competition will make us better and prepare us for CCS playoffs in February and March.”

The team defeated Crystal Springs Uplands at home on Tuesday, 59-47 for their first league game. The boys play again today against Woodside High School.