With a great emphasis on the backcourt game, the boys’ basketball team has been finding a successful formula in their opening games as the season gets underway.
Because they are not the tallest or most physical team, they rely on long-distance shooting.
The starting lineup includes guards Jonathan Cai, Harrison Fong, Will Turpin, power forward Kian Ghelichkhani and center Joel Schneidmiller.
At the Los Gatos Tournament held on Dec. 7-9, the Falcons used their deep shots in the three games they played. The team faced San Mateo on Dec. 7 and lost 54-48 despite 14 points from Fong and 12 rebounds from Schneidmiller.
The Falcons learned from this loss by tightening up their defense to beat Gunn with a score of 58-47 the next day. The team kept its success going, routing Leigh in the championship game of the consolation bracket with a score of 69-56. New head coach Patrick Judge came from Leigh over the summer, so the game was an emotional victory for the entire team.
At home on Dec. 1, they beat Lincoln 84-51. All 15 players on the team’s roster were able to score, an impressive feat for the Falcons as they moved up to two straight wins, having previously beaten Branham 69-51 during a home game on Nov. 29. In this game, senior shooting guard Joshua Deng led the team with 10 points in only 5 minutes.
Although confident with their start to the season so far, Deng said the team still has a lot of room for improvement.
“We definitely need to work on defense. We let up 51 points against Lincoln and Branham [and lost to San Mateo], so we have to lower those numbers in order to compete against [more aggressive] teams such as Los Gatos,” Deng said.
The team also attributes a lot of their success to new coach Judge, said Iyengar.
“Pat is a great coach who really helps the team’s attacking strategies during games,” Iyengar said. “He has quickly adjusted to our style of play and has incorporated a more well rounded style of play to lead the team.”
Although not officially on their record, the boys lost against Mountain View during an early-season scrimmage. Instead of being discouraged however, they used that game to prepare for Mountain View in the regular season.
“Mountain View is the biggest team to watch out for due to their individual skills, but as a team, we have better chemistry, and it will ultimately result in a defeat for them,” Iyengar said. “Having played them in the preseason, we now know how to defend against them and will be more prepared when we will face them in the real season.”
With a new coach, new style of play and great passion the Falcons are looking to go far this season.
“At this rate, I think it would be really hard for any team to stop us from winning League,” Iyengar said.
Due to printing deadlines, the game against Wilcox on Dec. 13 could not be covered in this issue.