Samo boys' basketball wins first round of state playoffs

Francesca BillingtonStaff Writer Samo boys’ basketball defeated Narbonne High School 73-68, moving the team forward to the second round of California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Division 1A State Playoffs on Wednesday, March 6.The team led consistently throughout the game, leaving half-time 37-23.According to coach James Hecht, the team played defense and offense equally well throughout the entire game.“Our intensity level was high and we competed on both ends of the floor,” Hecht said. “We pushed the ball on offense and pursued the ball relentlessly on defense.”In the last quarter, Narbonne began to catch up to Samo, however Samo ended the game on top with a score of 73-68.According to Jordan Mathews (’13), the score got too close near the end of the game.“We hit a wall in the last three minutes, which we need to fix,” Mathews said.Hecht agrees that the team lowered their intensity as the defense decreased in the last quarter.“There was a bit of a letdown in the fourth quarter.  We were not as patient offensively as we could [have] been,” Hecht said. “We settled for some quick shots instead of running more time off of the shot clock.”fbillington@thesamohi.com