Coming off a win against Sherwood, the Patriots went into break with a 3-1 record and were getting ready for their next match against Quince Orchard on Jan. 2. The Patriots worked hard during break in order to get ready for their game against Quince Orchard and keep their successful season on track.

“We trained really hard over break because we need to get better,” freshman Ryan Feldman said.

The Patriots headed to Quince Orchard on Jan. 2 where they took on the Cougars. The Cougars started off strong by knocking down three threes as part of their 15-4 run against the Patriots to start the game after the first four minutes. The Patriots bounced back with a short 8-2 run thanks to a couple of quick layups by freshman Miller Romm and sophomore Jack Moskowitz.

The Patriots then went back and forth with the Cougars to finish the half  28-22. Beginning the second half the Cougars couldn’t miss, making four of their next five shots.The Patriots kept up this effort by making their next three of six trying to keep up with the fast pace. Later the game came down to the final two minutes with the Cougars leading by eight points against the Patriots. The Patriots then scored three times to make the score 51-49 Quince Orchard, but there wasn’t enough time, so the Patriots had to foul and give Quince Orchard two final free throws to end the game with a Patriot loss and score of 53-49.

“We really needed to win this game but we didn’t win because they were better shooters than us,” Romm said.

After a devastating loss, the Patriots hoped to bounce back as they took on the Clarksburg Coyotes at home on Jan. 5. The game was going back and forth to start, with the score tied up 14-14 after the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Patriots took the lead, outscoring the Coyotes by six to make the score 33-27. The third quarter stayed mostly even, with the Patriots and Coyotes ending 49-42. With one minute left the Patriots were up by four at a score of 63-61. The Coyotes then scored a quick layup to with 37 seconds left to tie the game back up. After a made jump shot by sophomore Jack Moskowitz, the Patriots were in the lead by two with 14 seconds left. In the final seconds the Coyotes threw up a three at the end of the game, which hit the front of the rim and bounced off, giving the Patriots their fourth win on the season.

“It was a really exciting win for everyone, and there was great basketball on both ends of the court,” Moskowitz said.

Jonnie Voyta

News Editor