The Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team lost to Houston Christian 60-53 on Thursday, Jan. 24 despite a massive second-half half surge and excellent games by senior captain Daniel Perrier and junior Cliff Guidry.

The team started out slow but made a run in the second half to tighten up the score.

“We really showed a lot of composure despite the pressure,” sophomore Genson Hooper-Price said.

Hooper-Price credits Coach Harold Baber for lighting a fire under the team during halftime.

“He encouraged us to put aside any griefs for 32 minutes, and that’s what we did,” Hooper Price said.

Although they lost, their SPC aspirations are still alive. Now the team is preparing for SPC by improving their defense and rebounding. At 17-15 overall, the boys’ team has qualified for SPC and is striving to win their first championship since 2014.

On the same night, the Girls’ Varsity Basketball team lost to Houston Christian 70-40.

The Mavericks ended the 1st quarter down 15 points, and spent the rest of the game trying to shorten that lead.

“We had some good defensive moments, but it wasn’t consistent enough,” senior Camila Chabayta said. “If we had started the 1st quarter playing defense as well as we did later in the game, then we wouldn’t have been at such a disadvantage.”

The girls’ team is still trying to adjust to having only two upperclassmen, seniors Chabayta and Caroline Johnson. Still, they have already secured their place in the SPC tournament after a double-overtime win against John Cooper on Jan. 13 and another win against St. Stephen’s on Jan. 6.

 Girls’ basketball sits at 8-15 overall and 2-3 in league play, but remains hopeful to win SPC for the first time since 1989.