Down by nine with two minutes left, senior Evan Donesky threw up a three-point shot from the far-right wing. Despite being heavily contested, the ball clattered into the rim, cutting down Chaska’s lead to six. Moments later, senior Deontez Ross drove into the lane to bring it to four. 

However, despite coming back from a double-digit deficit at halftime, boys’ basketball lost the match against Chaska March 1 with a final score of 67-70.

According to senior Brady Walsh, although the team played with great effort, it wasn’t enough to make a comeback.

“We really fought at the end and I’m proud of us. We fought late but it didn’t work out,” Walsh said.

Head coach David Breitenbucher emphasized the need for consistency throughout games going forward.

“I tell the kids, you can’t play a third of the game the right way and play two thirds the wrong way and expect to get out of here with a win,” Breitenbucher said.

Fueled by the importance of the match, junior Stefano Giovanelli said the team pushed themselves to keep up with Chaska throughout the match.

“Towards the end of the game, we started playing hard,” Giovanelli said. “We realized that this game meant a lot to seniors, so we put a chip on our shoulder and started working harder but it just sucks that we came out a little too late.”

Breitenbucher said going forward, the team needs to work on its coordination both offensively and defensively.

“We (have) got to get on the same page. I felt like offensively in the first half, we just weren’t in the right position, so offensive togetherness has to be better,” Breitenbucher said. “ (Defensively) we’re missing box outs and our hands need to be up on defense more, so just little things.”

According to Giovanelli, the slow start and a multitude of mistakes lead to the tough ending.

“Everyone can tell that we started off really slow. Bad shots, turnovers,I  feel like if we would have came out stronger, we would’ve been in front most of the game and could’ve gotten a win tonight,” Giovanelli said. 

Park’s next game is against Bloomington Jefferson 7 p.m. March 4 at Bloomington Jefferson high school.