MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- The Matthew C. Perry High School Samurai boys basketball team fell short of victory to the Yokota High School Panthers, 52-36, at the M.C. Perry Gymnasium here Saturday.
The Samurai’s loss to the Panthers leaves them with a 2-12 record and lots of needed improvement.
On the other end, the Panthers find themselves improving their season record to slightly over .500 and on the right path to a successful season.
Although this game ended on a bad note for the Samurai, it was still a nail biter.
The Samurai may not have put up many points, but they did make the Panthers have to work themselves to the bone for the win.
”Everybody stepped up and did pretty well. We just didn’t shoot today,” said Chris Clark, coach for Samurai. T
he Panthers, on the other hand, did shoot well as they easily moved the ball from one side of the court to the other. At the beginning of the game, the Samurai looked as if they were the team to beat, opening with a 5-0 lead.
“These morning games are tough. It’s a little hard to get going,” said Paul Ettl, coach for the Panthers.
Although the Panthers started slow, they found their groove fast and took a lead of their own, scoring 13 unanswered points before the Samurai hit another basket.
Coach Clark called a timeout a minute into the second period to fire up his team.
“All we tell them is to trust what you’re supposed to do and trust each other,” said Clark.
The Samurai record of 2-12 doesn’t really show how far this team has come throughout the season.
Clark said when the Samurai play teams of the same caliber, that’s when the Samurai will find out who they really are.
When most athletes lose a game, they seem to hang their heads low as they go to the locker room, but the Samurai walked tall with their heads held high with pride.
“I like a lot of things I’m seeing,” said Clark. “Its all about what we do in the Far East Tournament.”