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Jessica Witt

Junior Grant Stubblefield sets up a play in the Huskies win over the Jaguars, Jan. 7.

The Blue Valley West boys basketball team had not lost a game all season – that is until they played the Blue Valley Northwest Huskies. Going into the game, junior Grant Stubblefield said he knew West was a good team and it would not be an easy fight. 

“[We knew that coming in] they were really competitive and more athletic than most of the teams we’ve played this year,” Stubblefield said. “We knew we’d just have to keep battling with them and eventually they’d start to wear down.”

Although Northwest was in the lead for the majority of the first quarter, West soon began to catch up. Head Coach Aaron Ihm said the game started out well, but near the end of the first quarter, the Jaguars began putting points up on the board.

“We did a really good job following the game plan [at the start of the game], but then the further the game went along, some of that got stressed a little. When you took a bad shot it helped [the Jaguars] get into their offense and we got frustrated,” Ihm said. 

When the buzzer indicated the end of the first quarter, the Jaguars had come back, tying the game, 11-11. 

Throughout the second quarter, the score remained very close. With the game constantly being neck and neck, Stubblefield said the most important thing in this game was staying calm. 

“When [the other team] went on runs, hit big shots and their crowd was getting into it, we tried to keep our cool and know we just got to calm down, get a quick bucket, get a stop, just stay in the game and know that we can pull through at the end,” Stubblefield said.

Ihm also said staying calm in this game was essential, especially with the score being so close until the very last minute. 

“I’ve been in big games before and I just try to keep calm and believe in them,” Ihm said.

At halftime Northwest was trailing West, 36-33. Stubblefield said West was putting in more effort than them, but they talked about not letting that happen any longer at halftime.

“We felt like they were competing harder than us and that’s something we take personally, so we took it upon ourselves to step up,” Stubblefield said. 

The Huskies did step up and ended up defeating the Jaguars, pulling ahead in the last 30 seconds of the game. With 33.3 seconds left and the score being tied 60-60, a timeout was called by BVNW. 

“At the end, [West] really clamped up on defense so we needed to make a couple offensive adjustments to get our point guard to the rim,” Ihm said. 

Near the very end of the game, Stubblefield got the ball and went in for the layup. Then, with just over one second left, he was fouled and awarded two free throws. Stubblefield made both of the shots, winning the game, 64-60. 

“We just had to get a stop. I knew I was going to have an opportunity to get a layup and I just had to finish it,” Stubblefield said.

According to Ihm, although the game was not perfect, the Huskies stepped up right when they needed to in order to secure another victory.

“We in no way, shape or form were perfect and made plenty or mistakes down the stretch, but we made a couple defensive stops when it counted,” Ihm said.  “We’ve won a lot of close games [earlier this year] and I think it’s the belief in one another and [how] they are not afraid to step up when their teammates need it.”

The BVNW boys varsity team will be back on the court on Jan. 11, in an away game against Barstow at 7:00pm.