The boys’ varsity basketball team lost to the Alhambra Bulldogs 68-51 on February 24 after a season of an 8-6 record. Although Tam started strong with a six point lead in the first few minutes, the Hawks started to lose their edge towards the end of the third quarter, and Alhambra capitalized in the late game. They out-hustled, out-muscled, and outscored the Hawks, which only fatigued the Hawks further. When fatigue settled in, and lack of boxing out and rebounding ended up in a loss for the Hawks. After the game, Morgan said:
“We just got tired. It showed in the way we moved and the way we shot. We stopped moving our feet on defense and the game got away from us.
After the first half, the Hawks had been down by four after Alhambra senior Dusty Langer went coast-to-coast and scored a layup. Throughout the first half, the game was very close, the lead for either team never extending past 6 points, although the Bulldogs finished the half up by two. Alhambra started the third quarter with an 8-0 run to go up by 12, and the Hawks called a timeout with the score 35-23 with 6:53 left in the third.
After the timeout, Alhambra outworked the Hawks even more. They scored basket after basket and stole the ball from a tired Hawk’s press break several times. Until the Hawks started to come back.
With 3:50 left in the fourth quarter, it started with a dish by senior Anthony Mazzini and drive by senior Jack Elias for the Hawks, which resulted in a successful layup and one free throw. The small crowd of Tam fans roared as Elias went to the line. However, Elias missed the free throw, and Alhambra came charging back down the court and Junior Michael Aboussie (#23) for the Bulldogs made a three pointer with 2:07 left in the fourth.
“In the first and the start of the second quarter, we did a really good job of executing and having a lot of energy and effort,” Junior James Finn, a Tam News reporter, said. “We moved away from that in the second half and I think that’s what really killed us.”
Overall, the Hawks just couldn’t hold their lead in the end. Although they started strong, the game got away from the Hawks in the second half.
The Hawks were eliminated in the first rounds of both the Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) by Redwood and the North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs. However, the Hawks have had an extremely successful season overall. Head coach Tim Morgan reflected on the season and talked about what would come next after the game:
“[Next season] we need to continue the success we had. Every program finished just above 500, and we’re just trying to build a winning culture here,” Morgan said. “The seniors who came in this year gave us everything they had, and really set the tone for the years to come.”