Country Day’s boy’s basketball team served a decisive victory to Faith Christian 65-20 during their senior night on Feb. 9.
The game was especially crucial as the team needed to defeat Faith Christian to make it into the playoffs — in their last match, Country Day lost 51-38.
According to coach David Ancrum, the team’s attitude during the game had a large impact.
“It was a little different this time around because we knew what was at stake. They knew what happened if we lost,” Ancrum said. “They were dialed in from the beginning.”
He also praised the team’s offense and play style.
“We were physical and we made our layups,” he said.
Senior captain RJ Vargo said that the difference between the games was the atmosphere.
“The energy was so much better for our team,” he said. Senior power forward Tonye Jack played great defense. Senior center Jacob Chand really helps us face the floor and limit turnovers. Junior power forward Derek Taylor got a lot of rebounds. Senior point guard Jonah David and sophomore small forward Henry Wilson helped space the floor,” Vargo said.
Vagro ended the night with a team-high 16 points, while Taylor and Wilson followed up with 11 points each.
“It was hella fun. I couldn’t have asked for a better senior night. The crowd, the game and the atmosphere was great.”
Taylor said Vargo played great as a point guard. “You really need a point guard to keep everyone in their places, and he does a great job.”
The night concluded with Ancrum giving a speech about each senior. He praised all the seniors for working hard and coming to practice early, especially Chand and Vargo who spent time working on their game during the summer.
Now that the Cavaliers have secured a spot in the playoffs, Ancrum believes they can win the league.
“That’s why we play the game. We still have some things to work on. It’s not going to be easy, but we take it one quarter at a time. I’d like to thank all the guys in the morning for coming at 6:00 a.m. in the morning. Some guys were here before I was, and it shows,” he said.
The Cavaliers play in the quarterfinals against Sacramento Waldorf on Friday, Feb. 17.
— By Ishaan Sekhon and Saheb Gulati
