Garrett Lierman
Entertainment editor

The boys varsity basketball team made history over spring break by being the first team to go to the State Final Four Tournament in 14 years. Although they lost the semi-final game in Columbia, Mo., on March 16, the road leading up to the game was historic in its own right, taking the boys to a new level of play.
“You had to be smart; you couldn’t make simple mistakes that would cost you the game,” sophomore Jayden Littlejohn said.
In the semi-final game, the boys played against Bolivar, losing 41-63. The next day the boys played against Kearney in the third place game, losing 40-50.
While playing against Bolivar the boys had a serious height disadvantage. The game against Kearney was lost simply based on strategy. Kearney outmaneuvered the boys around the baskets.
“The downfall was not being able to carry out the level of play from the District Tournament.” Ntimba said.
Despite the outcome, the challenges the boys overcame throughout the season were immense.
“One of our players lost his mom,” junior Devin Rice said. “It was really hard to overcome that, but we all played for her.”
During the District Championship, the team was informed that junior Arthur Green’s mother had died. The team had known she was ill and had written her name on their shoes to show support for her battle with cancer. She succumbed to her illness the day before District finals. Still, the boys pulled out a win against MICDS 55-43.
“Our strategy was just to play the same we’ve been playing because that’s what got us there,” senior Francis Ntimba said.
Leading up to the State tournament, Coach Rick Kirby advised the team to continue playing as they had during Districts: making snap decisions and making sure the other teammates knew where to be when that decision was made and focusing on defense.
The dedication of the team went deeper than just following instructions.
Ntimba chose not to go on a family trip to Hawaii to play in the State semi-finals. He stated that his family had been very supportive and had wished the very best for him and the team as a whole.
“I skipped for something extremely important,” Ntimba said, “something I’ll never experience for the rest of my life, with a group of guys I’ll forever call my brothers.”
The trip to the university was exciting for fans and players alike, although for more reasons than the games alone.
“One of the buses for students on the way to Mizzou broke down,” freshman Brooke Lierman said. “It was kind of a mess.”
Around 30 minutes into the ride to Columbia, the lead bus for the fans of the team pulled over followed by it’s compatriot. The bus was leaking fluid and needed repairs. The students from the lead bus were instructed to move to the following bus. Students crowded four to five people per seat and passed the time by playing loud music on a speaker.
The varsity team took charter buses that were tasked with taking them not only to Columbia but anywhere around the city that they needed to go. When the team arrived at the campus they played video games and relaxed with one another.
“It was fun to go on such a cool journey with my brothers.” Rice said.

Shooting over the top, junior DeAndre Campbell tries to make a bucket against Bolivar in the State semi-finals on March 16 at the Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. Bolivar held a distinct height advantage over the boys with one player standing over 6 foot, 6 inches tall. Photo by Kayla Benjamin