The boys basketball team defeated Northwest 67-38 on Jan. 12.

This was the team’s second matchup with the Lions this season, after a 41-36 game handed the Falcons their first win of the season on Dec. 7. Head coach Sam Haug said that previously playing the Lions gave the team an advantage, as they were able to see Northwest’s strengths and improve their gameplay in response.

“I think we saw some things in that first game that they did really well, so we practiced the last couple of days to counter those. Our kids played much better tonight than they did the first time we played Northwest.”

 The Falcons started off strong, ending the first quarter with a score of 17-8. By halftime, the score had jumped to 33-23. Haug said that the team was able to succeed defensively by forcing Northwest to take farther shots. 

“We worked on trying to clog the lane and make them shoot. Tonight they [didn’t hit any] of their shots from the outside. They hit all of their shots from the inside, and our kids did a really good job executing gameplay,” Haug said. 

Senior Tyler Perstrope said that the Falcon’s win could be attributed to their teamwork.

“What contributed to our success was our ability to play as a team and make the extra pass along with playing solid team defense,” Perstrope said.

However, Haug and Perstrope both said that the size of Northwest’s team presented some challenges for the Falcons, but the team was still able to overcome it. 

“They were bigger than us across the board, so getting our kid’s to play big without fouling or getting them in foul trouble [was difficult]. But we did that really well tonight,” Haug said.

“They had a size advantage over us, but we were able to counter that by clogging the paint and playing help defense,” Perstrope said.

For the second half, the team was able to hold onto their lead with a score of 51-30 at the end of the third quarter. The Falcons further increased their point margin in the fourth quarter and finished the game with a score of 67-38.