The boys basketball team was able to overpower the Jaguars of Blue Valley West for BVNW’s Sweetheart game on Friday night. The EKL matchup was dominated by the Huskies from the start.

On the first possession of the game, senior guard Sam Ward pulled up from behind the arc and converted on his shot for a 3-pointer. The Huskies would only build upon this momentum throughout the game.

Blue Valley West was forced to call a timeout early in the first quarter as BVNW held a 7-0 lead. After a couple of baskets from senior forward Joe Pleasant, the Huskies had a 13-0 lead over the Jaguars with less than three minutes left in the first quarter.

One of the keys for BVNW’s offense was their defense. The Huskies came out in a zone against the Jaguars which was too much for BVW to handle. The zone was aggressive which led to a lot of steals for BVNW. This translated into easy points in transition for the Huskies. Head coach Ed Fritz said playing defense is not hard for his team.

“It’s easy,” Fritz said. “They love playing. They want to play for each other, so that was a big deal.”

While BVNW’s defense had a good night, their offense was what stole the show. The first half featured selfless play from the Huskies on offense.

Perhaps the most impressive part of the first half was how efficient the Huskies were in the first half. BVNW missed only one shot in the first half, helping them go into the half with a 39-15 lead. After a productive night offensively, Fritz said the team played unselfish basketball throughout the night.

“I thought it was the best we’ve moved the ball,” Fritz said.

Coming out of the half, BVNW picked up right where they had left off. The Huskies continued to move the ball well allowing for open shots including a 3-pointer by senior guard Max Johnson.

The Huskies rolled through the third quarter as they had a 54-17 lead over the Jaguars. With a large lead, the Huskies substituted out their starting five and played the remainder of the game with a running clock.

Though BVNW had some struggles scoring in the last quarter, the Huskies would walk away with a 60-32 victory over Blue Valley West. Pleasant said the offense was clicking on Friday night.

“I think this was one of our better offensive performances, the way we moved the ball,” Pleasant said. “I feel like everyone’s getting involved, everyone’s getting getting touches. We’re getting good looks, and we’re just hitting [shots].”

The Huskies improve to 12-4 on the season with the win. BVNW will host Mill Valley on Tuesday, Feb. 13 which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

During halftime, the Sweetheart King and Queen were crowned. Senior Ellie Druten was crowned as the queen, something she said came as a surprise.

“I was very shocked because it was a really good group of girls, and I know all of them deserved it too,” Druten said.

Senior Eric Gawlick was crowned during halftime as the 2018 Sweetheart King. Gawlick said being crowned in his last semester as a Husky was great.

“It’s amazing,” Gawlick said. “Ending it on a good note is awesome. Knowing I have left a good legacy at this school is just good.”