It’s that time of the year. Basketball season. Nothing puts a smile on my face more than stepping into the humble Academic Magnet gym and being welcomed by the aroma of blood, sweat, and tears out on that hardwood court. On the night of December 4th, the varsity Raptors gave their audience exactly that.

Beginning with the varsity girls team, who had a 2-0 record going into their first home game, the Lady Raptors stormed the court to the cacophonous instrumental of the wholesome Irish Jig for their pre-game warmup. Pushing through their shooting and passing drills, the girls showed that they were ready to put up a fight.

As it came time for the game’s tip-off, Susannah Ryan (Junior) won the jump ball, but our girls lost possession and Garrett High School quickly threw up several points against them. Basket after basket, the Raptors were growing in concern for what their first home game had in store for them. After collecting 14 points within the first 4 minutes, their opponents were abruptly stopped in their tracks. In fact, our Raptors began running circles around the Garrett team, completely shutting them out for almost two entire quarters of the game.

The Lady Raptors wrapped it up with a score of 49-25, establishing a satisfying victory for their first home game of the season. Elevated by their success, they hyped our boys team up for their game at 7:30. Along with the members of girls varsity, the crowd of students in the stands cheered them on, thanks to the encouragement from Spirit Leader Baxter Barrett (Senior).

The boys game received much more excitement, and with good reason. Consistently battling on the scoreboard, the Raptors pushed hard against Garrett Academy, who had a 2-1 record at the time. Within seconds of the last quarter, Luke Freudenheim (Senior) sank a three-point shot in order to put Academic Magnet in the lead. The birdcage erupted with cheers, as all students were relieved that their boys had pulled through when all hope had been lost. With exactly 1.0 second left on the scoreboard, spirit leaders began screaming their “I Believe That We Will Win” chant, and the excited students followed suit. There was simply no way Garrett’s team could bring the ball back in, pass it all the way down the court, and score 3 points to tie it up.

That’s what everyone thought.

After a Garrett player was tossed a ball from the referee, he chucked it all the way down to the key on the other side of the court. Max Windom (Senior) deflected the ball off his forearm, and sent it on a path towards another Garrett player. The player passed it out to his teammate standing within the 3-point arc and he quickly shot it up as the buzzer sounded.

He made it, earned 3 points, and tied up the game. 

Garrett’s student section almost flooded the court out of excitement, while our birdcage was filled with outrage. Not only was the shot inaccurately recorded as three points, but the clock had also be delayed in the last play of the game. Despite the expressed anger, the two varsity teams moved forward into a four minute overtime.

Whatever our boys’ head coach had said to them in the pre-game huddle worked. The Raptors, putting their frustration aside, ended up defeating the Garrett Falcons with a 14 point advantage in overtime. With a final score of 58-44, the varsity boys also reigned supreme on the court, securing another win for Academic Magnet.

“The basketball gods saw that play, and knew what had to be done,” Max Windom said after Tuesday night’s victory. Despite the fact that both varsity teams have suffered losses from the departure of players, both teams persisted and probably made Rachel Ackerman (Sophomore), Samantha Smith (Senior), Alec Goldberg (Senior), and Ben Garner (Senior) very proud. As the season goes on, it becomes more and more necessary for our boys and girls to continue fighting for the ball and winning their games. So far, so good.

To the readers, be sure to come out to the next couple games before Winter Break to support your school!

• December 12th, Wednesday, St. John’s (Home)
  • Girls Varsity: 6:30PM
  • Boys Varsity: 8:00PM
• December 14th, Friday, Garrett (Away)
  • Girls Varsity: 6:00PM
  • Boys Varsity: 7:30PM
• December 20th, Thursday, Stratford (Away)
  • Girls Varsity: 6:00PM
  • Boys Varsity: 7:30PM
• December 21st, Friday, Lowcountry Leadership (Away)
  • Boys Varsity: 7:00PM