![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[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)
Varsity boys basketball suffered a 34-59 defeat to Lincoln High School in Zhang Gymnasium on Friday.
Lincoln won the opening tip-off and jumped out to a strong start with a 5-0 lead, but guard Lucas Huang (10) hit a midrange jump shot and forward Babila Mfonfu (11) converted a layup to help Harker quickly respond. A Lincoln turnover led to a fast break for the Eagles, but they were unable to capitalize. Following a timeout, Harker struggled against a strong Lincoln defense and missed multiple three-pointers, allowing the Lions to go on a seven-point run to bring the score to 4-12.
“We put in a lot of effort, and we tried hard, but it was difficult to adjust to their team because they had a really tall player,” forward Daniel Zhu (11) said. “So we did the best we could, but a lot of our normal strategies didn’t work.”
Guard Stephen Gao (9) opened the second quarter by hitting a contested layup, and Lucas sank a free throw to cut Lincoln’s lead to 7-12. The Lions capitalized on turnovers and offensive rebounds to extend their advantage to 10-26, with a corner three from guard Rishaan Thoppay (12) being the only Harker basket interrupting Lincoln’s 14-point run. In the final ten seconds of the quarter, forward David Li (12) finished a fast-break layup to make the score 12-26 at halftime.
“It was a tough game,” David said. “During the first half we were hesitant to go up because we were scared of getting blocked. In the second half, we found more success attacking the paint and putting their players in foul trouble.”
At the start of the third quarter, Lucas intercepted a Lincoln pass and pushed up the court, narrowly missing a layup, but Rishaan grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback. The Lions responded with a series of layups and drew fouls to extend their lead to 14-31. After Lincoln committed a shooting foul on Lucas, he converted both free throws.
With 2:45 remaining in the quarter, guard Caden Ruan (12) went coast to coast for a layup off a turnover, cutting the deficit to 18-33. After more baskets from Lincoln, the Eagles closed the quarter down 22-40, with Lucas scoring a last-second transition three off a steal.
In the final quarter, Lincoln extended their advantage to 22-49 with a clinical stretch that included a three-pointer and two layups. Caden responded with a steal and finished a layup, and guard Noe Parra (9) knocked down a corner three. The Eagles continued to cut into the deficit, making it 33-49 after David scored on a putback and Stephen added an uncontested fast-break layup. Lincoln answered with consecutive layups to push the lead to 33-57. Guard Robinson Xiang (12) made a free throw after Harker drew multiple fouls, but Lincoln maintained control and closed out the game 34-59.
“We slightly picked it up in the second half by being more aggressive and attacking their slow big man and trying to put him in foul trouble,” Caden said. “But by then it was too late to really cause a difference. Something that [head] coach Alfredo has been emphasizing but was really prominent in this game is that we really need to focus on rebounding as a smaller team and part of that just comes from hustle.”
Varsity boys basketball holds a season record of 5-9 and will play its second league game against Crystal Springs Uplands School away tomorrow.
