NC Basketball suffers defeat in first round of state playoffs
The NC Warrior varsity basketball team compiled a 10-13 record in the 2020-2021 season. Led by seniors Tyler Gorsuch, Jaiden Neville, Jared Dejesus, and Josiah Gooch, the Warriors expect to lose eight players due to graduation by the time next season rolls around. With a tough new region and unprecedented times, the Warriors look to combat these challenges with new underclassmen and veteran leadership.
March 1, 2021
As the regular season came to an end, the NC Warrior varsity boys basketball team (10-13) prepared to take on the Pebblebrook Falcons (23-3) on February 24. Following junior forward Alex Acosta and senior guard Tyler Gorsuch’s selection for the 3-7a all region team, NC hoped to capitalize on their momentum. Both the Warriors and their fans expected a win, but with COVID-19 restrictions and missing players, they did not bring home a victory.
Right out of the gates, the Warriors entered strong and took a 13-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. NC’s frontcourt duo of Acosta and senior forward Jared DeJesus played tough down low, while senior guard Sean Hamilton brought uptempo ball handling. The Warriors’ competitive energy towards the Falcons came to light in the back and forth first half. Both teams countered with amazing defense and put on a show for fans in the stands. The boys hustled up and down the court in attempts to score but by halftime the scoreboard read 21-28.
With a 62-33 score, the third quarter did not go the way the Warriors hoped. The usual teamwork and communication prevalent in the majority of the season faltered and the Falcons capitalized on that. While NC did make careless mistakes, they managed to snag several rebounds against several Falcons players who measured in at an average 6’7 stature.
“We got off to a good start during the first quarter and only down by 7 going into the half. Our careless turnovers and lack of energy would cause us to let the game slip away,” varsity junior forward Alex Acosta said.
With an 84-45 final score, the Warriors’ season came to an unfortunate end. NC put up twice the effort to play that night, but did not come out victorious. The Pebblebrook Falcons took home the win and will move on to the next round of the state. For the Warriors, they will head back to the drawing board and prepare for the next season. As they say goodbye to the class of 2021 team leader Alex Acosta shares his ideas on how to improve his game as well as the team as a whole.
“Throughout the offseason, I plan on improving my strength and conditioning even more, along with my confidence handling the ball. Working on my shot and getting it back to where I would like it is going to be one of my main priorities,” Acosta said.
