Boys’ basketball (7-1) won against Beckman High 37-35 at Beckman High School on Jan. 24. With the teams being tied at tied in league, this win pushed the Bulldogs to first place in league.

“The first half we played really well and everything was going smoothly, but in our second half, we only scored nine points,” head basketball coach Brian Smith said. “We ended up playing just good enough to win, and when it comes to league games that’s what you have to do. You have to survive and advance.”

The Bulldogs had a strong start with a score of 28-16 after half, then collapsed as the game continued.

The Patriots caught up on the 12-point lead as the Bulldog’s defense fell a bit short. Smith later called a play that enabled the Bulldogs to score an extra two points to break the tie one second before the final buzzer. 

Within the last few minutes of the game, the Patriots switched to a man-to-man defense, affecting the Bulldogs’ play. Senior Mohsen Hashemi passed the ball down low, missed the first shot, but rebounded his own ball and scored with approximately one second left in the game, putting the Bulldogs at a 37-35 lead.

“It felt great,” Hashemi said. “Our team had worked so hard all these years, and we deserved a shot like that.”

Though this game gave the Bulldogs first place in the league, boys’ basketball will continue to fight through the season and try to continue their winning pattern. 

“I think the key to winning the next four games is continuing to play together as a team; it sounds cliche, but looking out for each other is important,” shooting guard and junior Josh Steinberg said. “Playing as a unit together is also important, because when we play to our full potential we are unstoppable.”

With this being the last year for seniors to play high school basketball, the next generation will only try and further improve the legacy they have established.

“Our team is basically all seniors, and it’s gonna be a big change next year when they leave,” Steinberg said. “We have been around them for three years, and it’ll really impact me because they’re all brothers to us, and they’ve done so much to build the legacy of Portola basketball.”