Boys’ basketball: Falcons pick up big wins to improve in league

After a disappointing 3-4 start in league, the players on the varsity boys’ basketball team have found their rhythm and improved at closing out tight games.

The Falcons won a squeaker against Milpitas on Feb. 2 65-64. Earlier they destroyed Fremont 70-48 on Jan. 31, improving their record to 5-4 in the regular season.

“Our goal is to win all the league games we have left,.” senior center Neal Iyengar said “There is a slim chance that we’ll win league.”

After losing to Gunn 56-54 on Jan. 24 and missing 14 free throws in the game, coach Patrick Judge had them redouble their efforts in practice on this key aspect of the sport.

Judge has also put in a couple of new plays that have been effective. These plays improved the Falcons’ ball movement and help them get better shots. More players have also become involved in the team’s rotation.

“If you look at the box score, you’ll see that we’re getting more contributions from everyone in terms of scoring,” Iyengar said. “Everyone, from the starters to the end of bench, has been playing better.”

Senior guard Harrison Fong has been the primary source of offense for most of the season, but recently he has had great all around games as well. Not only does he lead the league in points, averaging 21 points per game, but he is also averaging five assists a game and playing solid defense.

In addition to their goals for the league season, players are also looking toward the post-season. After losing in the championship game last year, the Falcons have their eyes set on winning CCS division 3 this year.

“We got some big wins these past few weeks,” senior guard Michael Xue said. “It’s great to get out of our slump and get back on track for CCS.”

Some potential CCS opponents that the players are looking forward to playing against are Aptos and Jefferson. Jefferson rejected a chance to play the Falcons earlier this season because they believed that they would see the Falcons later in CCS. The Falcons beat Aptos last year, but lost to them this year 70-65.

“Both Jefferson and Aptos are solid teams,” Iyengar said. “So if we get a chance to play them in CCS, those will definitely be a couple of good games.”