Huskies dominate in home-opener, defeat Abraham Lincoln, 84-58
The boys varsity basketball team led by 16 points at the end of the first quarter and maintained their momentum through to the end of the game.
Senior Nick Sullivan dribbles the ball down the court in the game against Abraham Lincoln.
December 12, 2020
With a limited audience and a nonexistent student section, the Huskies’ home-opener was a stark contrast from the packed audiences that reliably showed up to last year’s games. However, senior Jack Chapman said he and his team were able to overcome the lack of energy in the audience.
“At first, we were a little upset just because our student section is something that’s really big and always has been at Northwest, but we were able to hype each other up and get ready to play,” Chapman said.
The Huskies had a good start, leading the Lynx, 24-8 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter yielded an even wider margin for the Huskies, with a lopsided 19 point lead at the end of the first half. Similarly, for most of the second half, the Huskies were able to continue their domination, with the Lynx only scoring 21 additional points.
Seniors Alston Mason and Jack Chapman scored 47 points combined, making up over half of the Huskies’ points for the night. Mason attributed this performance to several aspects of his team’s preparation for the game.
“It starts with practice, you know, Coach Laser, Coach Fritz, and Coach Price to get us ready in practice,” Mason said. “[We were] attacking the rim and being aggressive.”
Although the Huskies controlled most of the game, both Chapman and Mason said there were still areas for their team to improve moving forward. Specifically, Chapman said the team still needs to learn how to better prevent teams from getting back in the game.
“[The biggest area to improve is] just putting four quarters together,” Chapman said. “At times, we let them get back into the game a little bit and cut a little closer. We just need to stay locked in and blow teams out.”
With the performance, Assistant Coach Zack Price said defense was a big part of the team’s focus. Overall, Price viewed the Huskies’ home-opener as a positive performance, with the team playing as a unit.
“We held them to 18 in the first half, so defense was a big part of what we’re trying to preach and what we’re trying to coach,” Price said. “But I think we played together as a unit really well.”
The next boys varsity basketball game will come against Lincoln Prep Academy on Tuesday, December 15 at Blue Valley Northwest.
