Originally published on March 13, 2015

The Lowell Junior Varsity boys basketball team dropped out of the season, falling to Mission 50–41 in the semifinals.

The Cardinals played struggled in their game against Mission, the team with the best record this season after only losing once — to Lowell. Mission held the lead for most of the game, despite the Cardinal’s solid defense. Lowell came out ahead for a brief period during the fourth quarter with aggressive offense, but at a price. Sophomore forward Amaan Shaikh fouled out in the third quarter, and sophomore guard Makoi Gacula and other players were injured as Mission drew fouls and kept up the pressure by playing aggressive defense. “Not many of our sophomores played, because some were hurt,” sophomore guard and team captain Maxwell Hum said. “A lot of responsibility rested on the freshmen that game.”

“Although we fell short of our goal of winning the championships, we played well this season, and had a good record.”

Overall, the Cardinals had a great season. With a season record of eight wins and three losses, the team was proud of their progress. “We were very excited for this season when we were freshmen last year.” Hum said. “Although we fell short of our goal of winning the championships, we played well this season, and had a good record.” The team gained confidence from games early in the season, and won most of their matches with that momentum, according to Hum.

A key concept that the Cardinals need to refine is their ability to stay calm while under pressure. It is a lot easier to speed up a basketball game, which can be accomplished by applying defensive pressure through full court press, double-teaming, and other defensive tactics, than it is to slow it down. Since the Cardinals’ strategy revolves around keeping the tempo of the game slow, the team needs to learn how to keep calm while being the target of aggressive defense, as panicking and and making a bad pass or shot can often lead to a steal and an easy layup for the other team.

MVP: Maxwell Hum

The Lowell chose Hum as the MVP of the JV boys basketball team. He proficiently handled the pace of the game by passing to teammates when under pressure and outmaneuvering defenders, and was one of the team’s top scorers. “One of my favorite moments was when I scored the game winning shot against Menlo Atherton.” Hum said. “I made my team proud.” Hum is looking forward to

“One of my favorite moments was when I scored the game winning shot against Menlo Atherton.”

next year, but he recognizes that varsity basketball will prove more challenging than this season. “Now we sophomores are moving up to another level of basketball, and we are going to face stronger and faster opponents.” Hum said. “Personally, I think I need to get stronger, and work on my jump shot so I will be ready for next season.”