On Friday, January 24, the Irvington Boys Varsity Basketball Team dominated American High School with a 71-57 win at home. Their victory was largely due to impressive teamwork, preparation, and adaptability, which allowed Irvington to maintain a steady lead from start to finish.
The team started off strong in the first quarter, gaining an early lead, and a big role in that was Irvington’s ability to score quickly off the transition in rapid fastbreaks, sharply executed. This strategy came from an in-depth review of game films from previous games against American.
“We prepared specifically for this game by watching film of American’s past performances and finding their weaknesses,” explained one of the team captains, Aneesh Malyala (11). “We also focused on focusing on our strengths, which was offense, and so we played aggressive from the start.”
“We wanted to focus on minimizing their inside scoring and get out in transition,” said Head Coach Ron Littleton, elaborating on the team’s game plan going into this game. “That gave us a lot of high-scoring opportunities, which we have been trying to improve on in previous games, and successfully executed in this one, which really set the tone for the game”
They maintained the early lead for the rest of the game, playing a key role in motivating the players to continue to perform well.
“We got everyone involved early,” said Team Captain Arul Bhardwaj (11), talking about Irvington’s early lead, “which allowed us to keep the momentum that carried us throughout the game.”
American’s offense stayed strong too, and throughout the first three quarters, while trailing, kept the score fairly even, often climbing back within one point of Irvington. Because of this, adjustments to Irvington’s defense were necessary throughout the game, especially as American made their own changes from more inside scoring to shooting threes.
“We started playing in help defense originally to limit their inside scoring opportunities and capitalize in the transition,” explained captain Aditya Narasimha Ragavan (11), “but we shifted to playing up with more press once they started shooting from range.”
However, this more aggressive style was not without drawbacks, as it often led to more fast breaks for American, getting many easy points in transition in the 4th quarter.
“I did end up getting into foul trouble a lot,” said Arjun Akkavajhula (11), elaborating on another one of the issues with playing more aggressive defense, “but I worked through these mistakes and tried to make an impact regardless.”
Despite all of the defensive changes in the fourth quarter, it still ended up being an electric quarter for Irvington, greatly expanding and maintaining their lead, capitalizing with a commanding 14-point victory.
“We’ve been working on running the ball in transition,” explains Coach Littleton, “and tonight it really just came together.”
Looking forward, the team remains focused on growth, especially since almost all of them are juniors or younger, with only two seniors. This gives them a large capacity to improve, and do even better next year.
“We’re in the build, build, build mentality,” shared Akkavajhula, a sentiment shared by the rest of the team as well.
“We look at our mistakes as opportunities to improve and get better,” said Bhardwaj, “and next year, when most of the team is seniors, we’re aiming to make the playoffs, but for now, we’re just focused on improving.”
Irvington’s exciting victory over American was a testament to the hard work and preparation that the players and coaches put into the team, as well as the team’s adaptability in necessary situations. The team seems eager and confident in continuing this winning streak, and as the season draws to a close, ending with a bang.
