GILROY – Forced to have to play from behind throughout the game
and with its best post player, in Peter Hilkene, sitting on the
bench in foul trouble for much of the second half, the Christopher
High junior varsity boys basketball team dropped a tough 42-35
decision to Pinewood on Friday.
GILROY – Forced to have to play from behind throughout the game and with its best post player, in Peter Hilkene, sitting on the bench in foul trouble for much of the second half, the Christopher High junior varsity boys basketball team dropped a tough 42-35 decision to Pinewood on Friday.
“Credit to our kids, they never gave up,” head coach Kaden Bahner said.
The Cougars found themselves in an early 8-1 hole, but finished out the first quarter on a 6-2 run on lay-ups by Brian Tapparo and Hilkene.
The Panthers, however, increased their lead back up to 10 points, firing at will from behind the 3-point arch.
“We’ve definitely done better in the past,” said freshman Travis Hill, who finished the game with four points.
Untimely turnovers ultimately did the Cougars in, who narrowed the gap to 32-26 by the end of the third quarter.
“We made a few mental mistakes with the turnovers,” Bahner said. “But I think those are things that we will continue to get better at.”
After a Nick Cordova steal and assist to a running Marcus Harrell, who finished with a left-hand lay-in, the Cougars were down by just five with three minutes to play. But a dagger in the way of a Pinewood 3-pointer seemed to take the air out of the Cougars’ sail.
Cordova led the way with seven points and Hilkene had six in limited minutes.
