Eagles advance to quarterfinals

After finishing the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, the FC varsity boys basketball team looked to carry over the momentum into playoffs. The Eagles received the No. 2 seed in playoffs and hosted the No. 15 seed, Avenal High School, in the first round, Feb. 22. FC struggled throughout the game but eventually won the game, 68-44.

Starting off the game, the Eagles jumped out to a quick, 8-0, lead. Throughout the first half, FC held a lead over the Buccaneers. A main factor in maintaining the lead was the sharpshooting of Nick LeBlanc, ’17, who had four three-pointers.

The Eagle’s lead was as much as 13 points, but the Buccaneers seemed determined to put up a fight. They cut the FC lead down to four points before the Eagles closed out the half on a, 5-0, run. At the end of the first half, the Eagles were leading the Buccaneers, 36-27.

FC came out of the locker room fired up and ready to put the game away. The Eagles lead grew very quickly with scores from Joel Martinez, ’17, and Trevor Trevino, ’17. As the game went on, FC’s home-court advantaged proved to overwhelm the Buccaneers as the lead continued to grow. At the end, the Eagles had won the game, 68-44.

Daniel Walker,’17, contributed 14 points to the Eagles offense. He felt like the team did not play up to their potential. Walker is excited for the second round matchup against Kern Valley High School.

“I don’t think we played very good,” Walker said. “We looked really messy and slow. We had a lot of fouls and turnovers that we need to fix. We shot well from the three-point line and that saved us. I’m confident going into the Kern Valley game. We all want revenge from last year’s Valley championship. It will be a good game. Our confidence is still really high and our team feels like we can beat anyone.”

The Eagles next matchup is against the No. 7 seed, the Kern Valleys Broncs. Last year the Eagles fell to the Broncs in the Valley championship game by three points. The game will tipoff at 7 p.m., Feb. 24.

To see the full CIF Central Section Division V bracket, click here.

To read another basketball article check out: FC boys basketball enters playoffs with high expectations.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @Phillip11499 and via email: Phillip Christopher.