After finishing their regular season 18-7, the boys basketball team moved onto the postseason district championships. They won their first game against Colonial 68-60, but on Feb. 8, fell to University 73-57 in the semifinals—resulting in the conclusion to their season.
In the game against University, the boys collectively totaled 57 points, 13 assists, 34 rebounds and nine steals. Top performers included forward Caden Douglass with 18 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, center Julian Declou with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, guard Asa Kohn with 10 points, four rebounds, and three assists, and forward Alex Dipaolo with seven points, eight rebounds and one assist.
“Last year, I had a smaller role, because I was a freshman, [with] a lot of seniors on the team,” Dipaolo said. “So this year, I kind of had to step up and do bigger things.”
By the end of the first quarter, the boys were up 13-12, but by halftime, University had reached 34 points, and Hagerty had only scored 28. Despite numerous blocks and aggressive offensive plays from Hagerty, University maintained their lead for the entire second half.
“There’s always going to be good plays and bad plays,” center Kyle Bailey said. “But I feel like we all work together [well] as a team.”
2024 Boys Basketball District Tournaments 7A District 4
Though this round lost the team their chance to win the district tournament, there remained a chance that their season could continue if their overall performance had earned them a high enough rank. However, on Feb.11, the region released their rankings, and the boys team did not qualify to move on.
“I’m not happy with [the loss],” Bailey said. “It happens. They were just the better team that night.”
This season, the boys team has been averaging 68.9 points per game, so that night was something of an off game.
Though the team will not compete in any more games this season, the players continue to be optimistic about their potential for next year, which much of the team will return for.
“We fought hard,” Dipaolo said. “And we have a really young team. So I’m excited to see what we can do next year.”
