The boys basketball team fell to the Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles 58-47 on Friday, March 9 in the state semifinal game.

The Golden Eagles started the game off with three straight field goals to take a 8-0 lead. The Jaguars battled back with a two-pointer from freshman Keeshawn Mason, two free throws by senior Sammy Rebeck and a three-pointer by senior Cooper Kaifes. At the end of the first quarter the Jaguars trailed 16-7.

The Jaguars started off the second quarter strong with a two-pointer by Kaifes as well as two three-pointers by Kaifes and junior Logan Talley. The second quarter was back and forth, but the Golden Eagles had the advantage with eight made three-pointers in the first half. At the end of the half, the Jaguars trailed 32-30. Kaifes lead the Jaguars in first half scoring with 10 points, followed by Talley with nine.

In the first half, according to head coach Michael Bennett, the team focused on tighter defense when the opposing team was shooting as well as on rebounds. Come the second half, Bennett said they focused on trying to “sharpen” those tactics employed in the first half.

“We were trying to really emphasize getting them in there on the catch, getting through the screens, trying to affect [Bishop Carroll’s] shot and disrupt their rhythm,” Bennett said.

Valencia was caught off guard by the success Bishop Carroll had at shooting three-pointers.

“We didn’t really expect [all the three-pointers],” Valencia said. “They had a ton of threes, especially in the first half, that they just kept hitting.”

Similar to Valencia, Bennett felt the 10 three-pointers Bishop Carroll completed not only affected the score, but also the game itself.

“It affects your mind and your psyche and coaching because you see shots go down, and it just puts more pressure on you to make shots and that’s tough,” Bennett said. “But in the end, they made more shots than us, and that’s the difference.”

In the third quarter, the Golden Eagles went on a 10-3 run to extend their lead to 45-37.

The Golden Eagles attempted 10 free throws in the fourth quarter, which accounted for five of their 13 points scored in the fourth quarter. The final score was 58-47.

“They had multiple leads, times where they had a 10-point lead, 12-point lead, and I thought we kept coming back. We kept fighting, kept fighting,” Bennett said. “Late in the fourth quarter with all their shots that were hit, we didn’t have an answer.”

Kaifes was the Jaguars’ leading scorer with 20 points. Talley added 10 points, along with Mason’s eight.

After a loss such as this one, Bennett said “the main key right now is staying together” as a team.

“After a loss, there’s adversity,” Bennett said. “We as a team have to stay together and keep fighting the same fight. We can’t point fingers, we can’t look at look at each other and try to place blame. … We’ve just got to make sure that we come out and stay together … to make this successful.”

The Jaguars will play Saturday, March 10 at 2 p.m. for third place in the state tournament.

For photos from the first half, click here.

For photos from the second half, click here.