The varsity boys basketball team defeated Mill Valley in their season-opening game, 78-53. Senior guard Darien Jackson poured in 18 points for the Huskies. Jackson said the key for him was to sit back offensively and let the offense come to him.

“It was just my teammates getting me open, and me just taking up shots and not really attacking,” Jackson said.

Although BVNW led after the first quarter 18-14, a lackluster second quarter for Northwest allowed Mill Valley to tie the game heading into halftime, 30-30. The Huskies responded in the third quarter with a surge of their own, taking a commanding 43-32 lead with a 13-2 run in the first three and a half minutes of the second half.

Head coach Ed Fritz said the team flipped a switch defensively after halftime.

“We played a little better defense,” Fritz said. “We actually started playing harder.”

Senior guard AJ Pleasant provided 10 points for the Huskies. Pleasant said making the adjustments at halftime and increasing the intensity was important to BVNW’s turn around.

“We had to get back to our fundamentals and our base and… do what we do, play defense,” Pleasant said. “We have to just pick up the tempo and that’s what we did.”

Despite the Huskies extending their lead late, Fritz said the game provided the team with a wake-up call, and reminded them of the focus needed to play to their potential.

“I think we learned that if we don’t come out focused, we’re not going to be very good.”

The Huskies move to 1-0 on the season. In their next game, Blue Valley Northwest takes on St. Louis Vashon in the Ozark Mountain Shootout at Glendale High Dec. 10 at 7 p.m.