Boys basketball jumps into their 2016-2017 season with scrimmage against Loyola

On Nov. 22, the Samo boy’s basketball team played in their first scrimmage of the year against Loyola High School. Although the teams did not keep score, Samo took this game as a learning experience for future games that will count towards their overall record.In the first quarter, Loyola swiped the ball at the toss up and came out strong, making a three pointer within the first minute of the game.“Going into the game, I was just thinking about executing our game plan so we could work together as a team,” Daniel Schreier (’17) said.Shortly after, Samo retaliated, coming back with the determination to play hard and at the last 10 seconds of the game, Samo fought to make a shot, but ran out of time as the buzzer sounded initiating halftime.“We started off a bit slow, but started to pick it up, especially during the second half. I think we still have a lot of things we can improve on, but it definitely helped to have the scrimmage today so we can fix those things for when season starts,” Marcus Gee (’17) said.Throughout the first half the teams battled for plays and Samo raced to make a shot before the 35 seconds to shoot was up, but ran out of time. As the game continued into the second half, the team came out fighting, rushing the ball and defending the opposing team.“I didn’t think we started off the game that well, I think we lacked a little focus. I think our execution wasn’t sharp or crisp, but hopefully we’ll watch film and get those things fixed. The things that didn’t go well in my mind are correctable,” coach James Hecht said.At the end of the third quarter, Samo’s spirits began to dwindle, but were soon replenished with the cheers of the crowd and support from their parents and peers. Despite this surge, Samo only came out with a handful of shots compared to Loyola’s plentiful mix of three-pointers and layups.“Next time, [I think] we can work better as team and communicate and talk more than we did, which I think will happen over time as we play more games and become more comfortable with one another,” Gee said.As the third quarter ended, and the fourth quarter commenced, Samo came out full of aggression, ready to compete hard in their last 10 minutes of the game.“At the start of the second half we settled down a bit and our execution improved, our level of intensity improved and we can go off of what we had in the second half to springboard us off into the upcoming season,” Hecht said.In the end, Samo played their hearts out and competed at a high level against Loyola, which Hecht hopes will reflect and grow as their season continues.