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(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Jacob Omundi fights to make a shot at the net at a game earlier in the season. After making it to the playoffs, the team fell Tuesday, Feb. 18 to Forestburg Longhorns and their season came to end.
The Newcastle Bobcats fought hard this week to advance past the bi-district playoff round but fell 64-38 to the Forestburg Longhorns and saw their season come to a close.
The Bobcats had secured their bi-district playoff spot after a 49-33 win Friday, Feb. 14 over the Garner Longhorns during a tie breaker match for the spot. The team did not go down without a fight Tuesday, Feb. 18 against Forestburg.
The first half of the game was a close match between the two teams, with both quarters being less than an eight-point difference.
The first quarter had Keyton Newland, Ryland Hinoja put 3-point shots on the board while Jacob Omundi and Jayden Hemby both contributed one 2-point shot. The score was 15-10 moving into the second quarter, with the Bobcats down but not out.
“Even though we are young and inexperienced, we made it difficult for Forestburg to get quality shots,” head coach James King said. “Many of the shots they were able to connect with were on second chance baskets.”
The Longhorns were held to 11 points in the second quarter while the Bobcats put another nine on the board. Despite the game only having a seven-point difference between the two teams at the end of the second quarter, the third quarter is where things changed.
For the third quarter the Bobcats were held to only eight points while Forestburg scored 18 and pushed the scoring gap further. The Bobcats had their highest scoring of the night in the fourth quarter with 11 points, but the Longhorns also brought their game with 20 points on the board.
The fourth quarter had 3-point scoring from Joey Soito and 2-point shots from Martinez and Newland as well as a made free throw from Newland. The Bobcats never caught back up with the Longhorns who came away with the first-round playoff victory.
Leading in scoring for the Bobcats was Newland with nine points, followed by Martinez with eight points, Omundi with seven points, Joey Soito with six points, Hinojosa and Clemons with three points and Hemby with two points.
“It's huge that we made the playoffs, but we had higher goals than that. It's important that I value our kids and let them know how proud I am of the things they were able to accomplish this year and remind them of the growth I've seen throughout the season,” King said. “We will be better because of the hardships we faced this season.”
The head coach said this season has presented many learning opportunities for the team after struggling to find their identity losing senior leaders Isaac King and Ty Strawbridge.
“Guys on our team are having to take on roles that they were not used to or comfortable with. It showed throughout the season, how young and inexperienced we were. But, we never lost hope,” King said. “We took things one game at a time and kept reminding our boys of the improvements and process that our team was having.”
Moving into next season, King said he wants the players to buy into the program and make the most of every opportunity.
“In order to become the caliber of team/person that they imagine themselves being, it comes at a sacrifice and commitment to train like a champion, if you want to be a champion. It's not easy training that way, but if opportunities present themselves to you, take advantage of it. It's nice to be a part of a culture that believes that way,” he said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we're gaining on it everyday.”
