Waldorf’s Varsity Boys Basketball Team faced the Lexington School for the Deaf, in their second game of the season, and the boys were looking to win there first league game of the season. During the pregame speech, Coach Flanagan urged the boys to stay focused and remember their assignments on the court, and that it would take a full team effort to secure the game.

Waldorf was off to a good start in the first quarter as they spread the floor and were able to attack the hoop for layups. The Waldorf boys moved the ball swiftly to the open man around the perimeter and made a few good shots to get an early game lead. Senior forward Caleb Yuan was the hot hand getting it done for his team early in the quarter. Yuan secured four rebounds to go along with his seven points for the quarter. Lexington simply could not keep up with him as he slashed and dashed through their defense. Fellow classmate Max Novick chipped in his four points, two steals, and two assists for the quarter to help Waldorf stay ahead. Senior Chris Ogunfowora was aggressive on both offense and defense. He had great post positioning and was able to draw the foul and sink one of two points from the freethrow line. Freshman sharp shooter William Strauss entered the game and immediately fired away from “the land of three” netting his first attempt. The Waldorf boys were tenacious on the defensive end forced Lexington to take tough baskets. Waldorf was able to establish a three-point lead after the quarter, holding Lexington to only nine points.

The second quarter began and Lexington made some adjustments on the defensive and offensive end. Lexington forced some key turnovers and made some easy baskets. Waldorf tried to stick to the game plan and force Lexington to make mistakes and take difficult shots; however, Lexington started making those shots. Waldorf played under control but the game’s momentum changed. Novick went “coast to coast” for a layup to try to help stop Lexington’s momentum. Freshman Max Sapuppo entered the game and caused havoc for the Lexington offense. Sapuppo was able to force three turnovers on Lexington with his pesky in the face defense. The freshman duo of Sapuppo and Strauss put combined for three 3-pointers (Sapuppo-2, Strauss-1). Sapuppo landed his second 3-pointer of the game right before the buzzer sounded. Waldorf was doen going into halftime, 21-24. During halftime, Coach Boyd and Coach Flanagan urged the boys to turn up the defensive intensity a notch and to maintain good court spacing on offense. Said Coach Boyd, “We also explained how Lexington was hungry to win the game and that we could not let them out-hustle us.” Coach Boyd also changed the defensive scheme in the second half to try and cause confusion to the Lexington offense.

During the third quarter, Waldorf took on on their new assignments and applied the pressure to the Lexingtons offense. Waldorf was able to create nine turnovers and converted them into 15 points. The senior trio of Novick (4), Yuan (2), and Cody Bach (4) combined for 10 of those 12 points off turnovers. The boys executed the task to the T, securing a 39-26 lead, and were able to hold Lexington to only two points for the quarter.

As the fourth quarter took off, Coach Boyd and Coach Flanagan decided to get some fresh legs on the court to help keep the intensity and defense up. Senior Orin Pearce chipped in three points as he hit a long range 3-pointer to help add to the lead. Junior Guillaume Prieur was very active on the defensive end as he deflected passes and helped cause turnovers for his team. Prieur also made a beautiful baseline move and finishd with a layup on the offensive end. Junior Jack Zhu also connected on his 3-point shot attempt. Senior Michael Wechsler was able to knock a shot down with a defender in his face. Waldorf out scored Lexington 10-9 in the fourth quarter and sealed the game with a final score of 49-35; thus secureing their first league win of the season.

Max Sapuppo – 11 points and 5 steals
Max Novick – 10 points, 2 steals 7 rebounds
Caleb Yuan – 9 points, 7 rebounds 2 steals
Cody Bach – 4 points, 5 rebounds
Orin Pierce – 3 points, 3 rebound 3 steals
William Strauss – 6 points, 4 rebounds
Chris Ogunfowora – 2 points and 3 rebounds
Guillaume Prieur – 2 points and 1 steal
Jack Zhu – 3 points
Michael Wechsler – 2 points