The boys basketball team faced their crosstown classic rival, Niles North, on Jan. 23. The team suffered a loss by 25 points with a final score of 59-84. Currently, West sits at a 3-5 record and fourth in the Central Suburban League North standing.

Since the basketball season’s start in December, consistency has been key in preparing for games, and the rivalry match was no different. The athletes recognized North’s play style and tactics in order to get ready.

“We prepared similarly to how we would for any other game,” coach Michael Sneed said. “Multiple days of film and on court preparation to get a better understanding of how we will attack a team’s weaknesses and defend against its strengths. The only thing related to the rivalry that was mentioned was we need to win for it to get back to being one. Period.”

Although West suffered defeat, the game proved to be entertaining like previous crosstown classics. For some students, they watched the game in a bittersweet perspective as this would be their last North versus West game of their high school career.

“I was really excited for the North versus West game because of how good the last matchup was,” senior Emily Vo said. “The whole time I was thinking about how this is the last ever North versus West game we’ll all be watching together as seniors and cheering for our basketball team. Even though it was a tough loss, we all still had a lot of fun.” 

Every game proves to be a learning experience whether it’s a win or loss. The team reflects on their loss, noticing both what they did well and what they need to improve on.

“I thought our seniors did a great job setting the pre-game tone,” Sneed said. “I thought our trainers did a phenomenal job getting two starters healthy enough to participate. We achieved our shooting percentage goal from [the three point line] and got to the free throw line 30 times!  We fell short of our transition defense goal and North’s ability to score off offensive rebounds was a big factor in the game.” 

The boys team has five more games to play in the regular season. Each loss is motivation for improvement and the athletes are striving to make a playoff run.

“My hope for the rest of the season is that we finish strong, playing our brand of basketball for all 32 minutes,” senior and forward Devin Macapinlac said. “If we do that, it puts us in a position to win the game we need to win heading into the playoffs. Once the playoffs begins, every team record resets back to 0-0, and at the point, the focus should be executing our plays and wanting to win over the teams we play. If we do this, we will give ourselves a good chance to make a run in the playoffs.”