After establishing an early lead helped Blue Valley Northwest to a 77-40 win over Greenwood Laboratory on Saturday, the Huskies knew it was important to continue to bring intensity as they went into the game against Blue Valley High. Senior Alston Mason said the team did a good job in transition and knocked down shots as they finished the first quarter with a 17-10 lead. 

“We did a good job in the first quarter on defense and running the floor and it helped us to get some easy shots,” Mason said. 

The Huskies continued to build on their first quarter lead as they finished the first half leading, 37-21. Senior Jack Chapman said the Huskies had a great game offensively and it helped them be ahead early.

“We executed our game plan well and had a good game on offense, sharing the ball and making shots,” Chapman said. 

Playing in their first game without junior Joey Robinson in the starting lineup, who is out after injuring his foot, head coach Ed Fritz said the team faced a lot of adversity, but did a good job fighting through it.

“We had a lot to overcome tonight because it is our first game without Joey. It was a very emotional game for our coaches and players because Joey has been such an important part of our team, but we had different guys step up,” Fritz said.

A major part of the Tigers offense was junior Aidan Shaw, a four-star recruit and top 70 in the nation for the class of 2022. Chapman said the Huskies game plan included focusing on shutting Shaw down. 

“We were focused on locking him down and keeping him from getting hot. In order to win you can’t let him get hot and we did a good job keying in on him,” Chapman said.

Down the stretch, the Tigers began to mount a comeback in the third quarter, but Fritz said the team did a good job holding them off, as they played patiently and limited turnovers.

“We did a good job limiting turnovers, we took good shots, but were just ok with foul shots. We did just enough to win and Blue Valley is a really good team so I feel lucky to be 11-0,” Fritz said.

The Huskies next game is against Blue Valley North scheduled for Friday, Feb. 5 at home at 7:35 p.m.