Boys’ varsity basketball fell to Vista De Lago Eagles, 70-66, on March 11 close their winter season.

The Cougars began strong on offense, scoring 15 points in the 1st quarter, but were lacking on defense, resulting in 19 points for the Eagles. “In the 1st quarter we were really fired up, and focused too much on scoring, and not playing knock-down defense like we usually do,” said senior guard Tom Caprio.

Campolindo maintained its scoring pace in the 2nd quarter, putting up 15 points while limited the Eagles to just 12.  The effort brought the squad to within just 1 point of tying up the score.

“Our halftime goal was to come out of the locker room with energy on defense, to help fuel our offense,” said sophomore guard Jake Chan.

A 27 point 3rd quarter helped the Cougars take the lead, 57-45. “[The 3rd quarter] was a huge quarter for us.” said Caprio. “It felt like everything was going right for us, which helped with our confidence and gave us momentum.”

The Eagles came back from a 12 point deficit however, as Campolindo gave up 18 points and only managed 6 of their own in the final period. “We were not playing at that same energetic way we were in the 3rd,” admitted Caprio.

The lapse allowed the Eagle to tie the score and send the game into overtime.

“In overtime we were exhausted, which made it even harder to knock down shots,” said Chan. The Eagles pulled away, scoring 7 points in overtime and allowing the Cougars just 3.

“This was a game that I thought we could have really won, and I wanted us to advance so we could keep on playing because this is a special group of guys that we have on our team,” added Chan.

“It was a very good year, and big improvement from last year,” said Caprio. “I am proud of all of my teammates who made this year great.”