Varsity boys basketball defeated Rowland High School at home on Tuesday, Jan. 9 after center junior Harland Fluker scored the buzzer-beater, winning 47-46.
To start the game, the Raiders won the jump ball but the possession was short-lived with a ball poke by center senior Chris Wang, securing the first basket. Throughout the first half, the pacing was quick with constant turnovers, jump shots, screens and a dunk from Fluker. The Mustangs ended the first quarter 18-7.
“I feel like the best we played was in the first quarter when we kept making passes and how I made some steals,” point guard junior Nathan Yen said. “Compared to the tournaments, the games are more intense and all the teams are being scouted and trying to win which puts more pressure on us [Mustangs].”
At the beginning of the second quarter, Rowland’s offense increased pressure on the Mustangs, diminishing the team’s energy. The Raiders then started to make quick passes which enabled them to snag the lead, ending the second quarter 28-32.
“We started the game with a lot of energy and the first quarter was good, but then we just lost focus in the second quarter, which gave them the lead,” point guard junior Steven Lee said. “We stopped using the momentum that we had and just started passing the ball around, which didn’t help with their zone defense.”
Starting the second half, coach Joe Khouzam made a play to run a full-court press. However, Walnut brought the score up, bringing the game to a deadlock. Yen drained several three-pointers and Wang made multiple layups to bring the third quarter to an end at a score of 41-42.
“The second half was our worst because we had the most turnovers, but I think we started to be more determined to pick it up,” Yen said. “In the third quarter, I needed to show more energy offensively because my defense was pretty good, but in the fourth quarter, it was extremely stressful but we got the quick [layup] and won.”
With the second half coming to an end, the Mustangs finished the game with their locked-down plays in motion. In the last 10 seconds, point guard senior Joshua Magno threw the ball inbound and passed it to Fluker, who went up for the bank shot, winning the game 47-46.
“I thought we put ourselves in a bad situation with a minute left,” Coach Joe Khouzam said. ”We weren’t taking care of the ball and we made several defensive mistakes so we need to keep improving to have a better chance to win [the Hacienda] league.”
