Varsity boys basketball took a heartbreaking loss against the Lynbrook Vikings with a score of 63-56.
The Scots have torn through competition over the past few years. Last year, they were the Peninsula Athletic League co-champions and Central Coast Section co-finalists. This season, The Scots dominated the other teams with five wins and only one loss to Hillsdale. Looking into the game at Lynbrook, spirits were high as they believed in their teammates and their skills.
“I think we can [win] if we come out with good energy at the start of the game and we keep that energy up,” said Tyler Southworth, a sophomore at Carlmont.
The Scots were also thirsting for revenge, looking to take back their loss to the Vikings in the previous season.
“They beat us last season at Carlmont. So we’re looking to get some revenge,” said Ron Ozorio, the head coach of the Scots.
Carlmont started the game off explosively with an initial score of 4-2. However, Lynbrook fiercely broke through the Scot’s defense and tied the score at 13-13.
“It all depends on how our best players come out, and it depends on if we can keep our energy throughout the whole game,” Southworth said.
Upon reaching the second quarter, the Vikings began to quickly gain momentum, pushing back against Carlmont’s strong offense and taking the lead by two at the end of the first half.
“Honestly, I don’t think we were running many plays. Everyone played their own game. No one played together. No one played as one,” said Aleccio Blythe, a junior at Carlmont.
In the third quarter, the Scots vigorously began to pull through until Junior Aleccio Blythe injured his leg trying to secure a loose ball. With a key player now missing from their team, Carlmont struggled more to maintain the momentum. Fighting to keep up, the third quarter ended with the Vikings nudging ahead with a score of 44-42.
With the final quarter upon them, the Scots fought hard to regain the momentum and bring the game back in their favor. However, despite their strong attack and resilient defense, the Vikings eventually defeated the Scots with a score of 56-63.
However, the Vikings still commend the Scots for being strong opponents and putting up a good fight.
“Our biggest thing going into tonight was how tough can we be? We were going to learn a lot about ourselves, and we learned that Carlmont is a really good team,” said Rick Appler, a coach for Lynbrook.
The team was notably down in morale after the night, remarking that there were many plays they could have made that would’ve turned the tide. Some members found it difficult to move on from how the game played out. However, other team players kept a positive outlook and were ready to dunk their opponent’s next match.
“It doesn’t dictate how we will do this year. So we just got to keep our heads up and no matter what happens, just keep playing,” Southworth said.
