Written By: Daniel Holscher, Staff Writer
HOOPING: Poly’s Boy Basketball team works together to advance their way through the CIF competition.
“A New Start”
As the weeks built up to the CIF Prelims game, the boys basketball team here at Poly had to advance through numerous other matchups between other schools in which they shocked the court. Breaking through the barriers of this build-up was the easy part for their team; as for the hard part, well, that lay in the mental prep needed to step onto the court for CIF Prelims. “It’s a challenge to shift to the endgame mindset as we win the games leading up,” Kameron Dodson (11) said about his postseason experiences. The feelings of hope and unity tie together the grounding of the team as they keep up with practices and techniques. “It’s also a lot of trust involved for our coordination and timing… Scary but exciting stuff,” he continued. As for the tying knot of the team, Mr. Showalter steps up to become the anchor of motivation and grit for the team in their pursuit of success. Much of the team vocalized how important he is to “the well-being of [their] team” and is a “big part of [their] motivation for sure”…… ” We do it for him and us and everyone involved.” As more and more games became a thing of the past, the CIF Prelim game approached steadily on the 21st of February. Fairmont Prep was the boys’ next big target, and the bus set off to give them a chance at victory.
“Bears On The Court”
The game kicked off at 7 pm sharp, and the stands were filled. Poly and Fairmont flooded the court with an immediate, apparent drive for success. As the game progressed, both teams began to one-up each other, point after point, one drive after another. Poly sat at 12 points while Fairmont jumped to 15; Fairmont sat at 15 points and Poly jumped up to 21. The court was electric in the rapid need for control between the two teams. “It’s intense out there for sure; you have to be thinking about not thinking, which is kind of weird to say, but it makes sense,” Carter Monks (12) expressed about his mindset on the court. The intense matchup continued throughout the night, and the game sat onto halftime for a calming of the court.
As the Boy’s settled into the competition they got their bearings on the tough parameters for winning. “Gosh it was so competitive- play after play, both of our teams were all in” J-Rob Croy (11) emphasized sharply.
As the game progressed Carter Monks reminisced on how hard his team worked to get to this point. “We practiced pretty hard leading up to this game-we always need improvement in every aspect of the game” he continued. As the game came to a close the two scores of the teams intensified in comparison to each other. It became anyone’s game.
“Final Bearings”
The game inched into the final minute, and to say it was a close call is an understatement. Poly fought hard alongside its competitor for the shower of triumph it was to receive. Ending the night,, the Poly Basketball Team conceded with a score of 45 points, just missing the goal of triumph. Yet the night was not ruined at all. “We got another shot at this in the state games because of our prelims advancement, so I’d say for tonight we did great as a team,,” Justyce Lucero rejoiced after the game. As for the team as a whole, everyone could agree that they played the best they could and shattered their expectations in a wave of optimism. Tonight wasn’t only a show for what our boys can do but also also a reminder that the strength of happiness lies in teamwork and bonding; for the boy’s basketball team, “pizza” would be added to that list. As State treads closer to reality, all of the Boys stay loose and prepared for this final opportunity for success. “Basketball teaches me several life lessons, like being a better person and leader. Everything I need to become the person I want to be today,” Kory Dodson (12) leaves us with. The Poly Boys Basketball team is just another example of the courage and determination all of our bears share on this campus, just like many of our other sports teams. The pursuit of excellence never stops with the Bears!