The SCHS Bruins varsity basketball team traveled to the Los Altos hills to face off against the reigning Division 5 CCS champion Pinewood Panthers on December 10, in what appeared to be a one sided matchup, due to the Bruin’s greater size and physical strength. SCHS came into the game fresh off of a victory against Yerba Buena on Saturday, and looked to continue with another win.

The Panthers played better than they looked however, starting out the game with good defense and smooth offense, led by their most athletic and talented player Ryan Bryce. The Bruins turned the ball over consistently, and played sloppily for most of the first quarter.

Pinewood dominated the second quarter with crucial three-point shooting and capitalized on Bruin turnovers. Pinewood led at the half 36-27.

The Bruins would not be denied a victory, as they came roaring back in the third quarter. Led by the fantastic and clutch three-point shooting from Ronaq Virdi, and easy free throws off of Pinewood fouls the Bruins started to make it interesting.

The third quarter was finally capped off with two minutes of back and forth, heart stopping, crowd pleasing basketball, with neither team being able to score a single point in that time span. The third quarter ended with Pinewood leading 45-44.

The start of the fourth quarter was a continuation of the defensive performance seen at the end of the previous quarter. SCHS started to pull away, however, when point guard Ben Fales made the go-ahead shot. The bruins played good defense and were supported with great rebounding from Damont Hardnett and good work underneath the basket by Christian Lee.

The victory celebrations didn’t go on for much longer, as Pinewood started mounting a last second comeback. With missed free throws by Cole Lockwood and Keenan Smith of the Bruins, the Panthers had an opportunity for a last second game-winning shot.

Ryan Bryce took the open shot for the Panthers at the top of the key. The crowd went dead silent as the ball hit off of the back of the rim and bounced out of play. The Bruins came away with a close victory against a worthy opponent. The final score was 52-54 Bruins. Pinewood’s record dropped to 4-2, and the Bruins improved to 2-1. SCHS looks ahead to play Willow Glen, and the Panthers will take on Woodside Priory next.