The Stevenson boys’ basketball team walks out of the huddle, taking their positions on the court. With under a minute left, Jack Dabbs ’24 inbounds the ball, passing to Rocco Pagliocca ’24. Desperately, they pass to their teammates, attempting to find an open man, until the ball is stolen and the game inevitably ends. 

In a conference rivalry matchup between Stevenson (13-6) and Lake Zurich (13-4) on January 19, Stevenson lost heartbreakingly to the Lake Zurich Bears with a final score of 58-52. In the first half, Stevenson had all the momentum. However, in the second half, specifically the end of the third quarter and the entire fourth quarter, Lake Zurich controlled the ball and effectively ended the game, despite Stevenson’s fierce competitiveness during those periods. 

“We played hard and competed well all game,” head coach William Benson said. “We just didn’t execute our offense and defense as well in the 2nd half.”

However, while Stevenson may have played hard throughout the game, their shooting was the deciding factor as Stevenson shot 35%, compared to Zurich’s 54%. Some of the reasons why they kept it so close were good ball movement and good effort.

“I think this was one of our best games where we had the ball moving,” Pagliocca said. “I was pretty confident and I know for sure my teammates were also; unfortunately, it wasn’t enough but I don’t think it was because of our effort.”

Instead, Pagliocca felt that Lake Zurich’s ability to manipulate the speed of plays by speeding up and slowing down the game allowed them to impede Stevenson’s scoring. This allowed them to stay competitive and eventually edge out the win against Stevenson. 

“There were too many quick possessions from us; they sped us up and forced us to take shots quicker than usual,” Pagliocca said. “Then they slowed the game down and found a great shot.”

Benson believes Stevenson competed well, but Lake Zurich played at a high level tonight. Therefore, he states players shouldn’t beat themselves up over the loss.

“[Lake Zurich is] a good team,” Benson said. “They have 14 wins and four losses and are tied for first place in our conference.”

Furthermore, Pagliocca believes that Stevenson can improve on starting off quarters strong. For example, Lake Zurich began the fourth with a 6-0 run, giving them momentum to hold Stevenson to nine points while sustaining a lead through the rest of the quarter.

“I would say that we all have our games where we score a bunch of points, some days it will be me and others it will be my teammates,” Pagliocca said. “No matter who it is, I will find them and I know they are always looking for me.”