![“[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)
Junior varsity boys basketball survived a late-game comeback and defeated Andrew Hill High School 59-54 in the Zhang Gymnasium on Dec. 20.
Power forward Babila Mfonfu (10) tipped the ball to Harker on the opening play, but Andrew Hill immediately forced a turnover and scored the game’s first points with a layup.
Harker quickly resurged, with guard Crichton Rockwell (9) and forward Gary Xu (9) scoring consecutive baskets to gain a quick 8-2 lead. Despite two layups from the Falcons, the Eagles quickly extended the lead, with guard Daniel Zhu (10) and Babila scoring, bringing the score up to 21-6. The Falcons attempted to close the lead with five straight points and the quarter ended with Harker leading 21-11.
Harker continued their offensive momentum in the second quarter, reaching a matchup of 26-11. Crichton and Gary knocked down consecutive three-pointers to extend the lead to 32-13. A triple from guard Cam Krause (10) and a layup by Babila brought the score to 37-20, but the Falcons responded by attacking the rim and drilling jump shots. Crichton ended the quarter with another three-pointer, pushing the Eagle’s lead to 40-22 as they headed into the locker room with an 18-point lead.
“We were able to build a big lead at halftime because of our fast-break opportunities,” Babila said. “We rebounded well and had a lot of strong energy charging down the court, so we generated lots of points there.”
In the third quarter, the Eagles’ offense came to a standstill for four minutes as the score reached 40-27. Forward Tyler Wang (10) broke the drought with a layup while getting fouled, earning a free throw and sending the score to 43-27. After a few more points from Andrew Hill, the quarter ended 43-33.
Both teams maintained a similar scoring pace for the first half of the fourth quarter before a few fouls sparked a late comeback by the Falcons. With three minutes left in the game, Babila grabbed two crucial offensive rebounds, making one and drawing a foul on the other to increase Harker’s lead to 53-45. A couple of buckets from the Falcons closed the lead to 50-55 with two minutes remaining, and head coach Nick Nguyen (’15) called a timeout to regroup the Eagles.
Two baskets from Babila and Crichton, along with a steal from Gary, sealed the 59-54 victory for the Eagles.
Mother of Crichton, Kan Rockwell, reflected on the difference in Harker’s performance between the two halves.
“They were really effective in rapidly passing the ball in the first half,” Rockwell said. “But something the players could improve on is passing while under pressure. They made many mistakes because they were getting pressed later on and that made the game a bit too close.”
Assistant coach Brendan Carroll congratulated the team for pulling together to stave off the late Andrew Hill rally.
“Coming out of halftime we were falling apart, and they were making a comeback,” Carroll said. “We were able to stay alive at the end because the guys have been working really hard at practice and played with a lot of heart. That really showed out here tonight because the game could have ended a lot differently.”
The Eagles improve their record to 4-4 and challenge Greenfield High School on Jan. 4 in an away game.
