Sophomore forward Sammy Pollard releases the ball from the three-point line during a 43-29 victory over the Washington Eagles on Jan. 27. Photos by Elijah Alperin
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The boys’ JV basketball team regained their dominance on Jan. 27, defeating the Washington Eagles 43-29 in a Battle of the Birds match.

The game started out rough, but the Cardinals pulled through to lead the Eagles 9-7 after the first quarter.

The Cards then proceeded to increase their lead in the second quarter, scoring ten additional points. With the clock stopped at 1.5 seconds left, a Washington player sunk a free throw ending the first half 19-13.

The Cardinals then surged in the third quarter scoring 17 more points, while the Eagles made only six, finishing the third quarter 36-19. Seven of the Cardinals’ points in the third quarter were free throws: sophomore forward Sammy Pollard made five of them and sophomore guard Evan Louie made two.

The Eagles attempted a comeback in the last quarter of the game, scoring ten points — six of them free throws — but their efforts were in vain, as the Cardinals added 9 more points to their already double-digit lead.

Pollard scored 16 points — the greatest number of points in the game for the Cardinals. Sophomore center Alvin Norman came up second for the Cards with 11 points.

The boys excelled at many aspects of the game, especially defense. “As a whole, I thought the team did a good job of staying focused throughout the game,” coach Jon Lee stated in an email. “The guys followed the game plan really well and executed on both sides of the floor. Defensively, the boys turned in one of their best efforts of the season. Offensively, they shared the ball and did a nice job of finding the open man and making the extra pass.”

The game also showed the team where they needed to improve. “The team definitely needs to work on free throw shooting and taking care of the ball by limiting turnovers,” Lee stated in an email.

The victory was a crucial one for the team. “We still need to beat Balboa and June Jordan in order to secure a spot in the playoffs but this was a huge first step,” Lee stated in an email.

Cheer on the Cardinals at 4 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Balboa as they confront the Balboa Buccaneers.