Boys will be Boys, but Celtics will be Men

-By: Connor McCarthy-

The Titans once again unleashed a battle of epic proportions at the 11th/12th grade House Basketball Championship on Monday night. (2/22) It was time for the greatest display of athletics from out-of-shape kids in all of 2010.
Senior George Benitez and the Lakers faced off against senior Travis Fitzpatrick and the Celtics. After a motivational speech and prayer from Celtics coach Mr. Rogers, the game was nearly ready to start. As all players nervously suited up and tied their shoelaces, the fans on the opposite side of the court were growing. One by one, students added to the large amount of children there to support the Celtics, because no one seems to like the Lakers.
The game started off with both teams missing easy lay-ups. There was little score for the first three minutes, until finally both teams got into gear and stepped up the game. After a riveting 19 minutes of play, and a large amount of booing for George Benitez and “freshman” Brent Eppley (senior), the game came down to 11 seconds left with a rebound by senior Charlie Taylor.
As Taylor weaved carefully to the half court line, peer pressure set in. “Shoot it” was chorused from around the room. So Charlie pulled up a little beyond the half way line, and popped a three with a beautiful arc. The crowd waited in anticipation as the ball flew gracefully through the air, and, with a satisfying swish, went straight through the hoop. This brought the Celtics within three points at the end of the half.
The second half saw more of the same excitement (except for junior Sam Nelson was air-balling left and right). Benitez continued to run the court, with quick footwork that split any defense the Celtics had. But the crowd was on the Celtics side. With a minute left, the Celtics saw themselves down by four points. After a few strategic time outs, the Celtics finally had an opportunity to almost level the score. Fitzpatrick stood stealthily in the corner, and hit an amazing three point shot with around 40 seconds left. This brought the score to 47-46 in favor of the Lakers.
After a quick turn over, Fitzpatrick had another opportunity to score, but could not finish. The ball ended up in Benitez’s possession, and unsurprisingly, the Celtics were unable to catch him to even foul him. The game ended 47-46, and joy was seen, tears were heard, and the fans were disappointed.
As the Lakers won their trophies (a lovely t-shirt each), the Celtics could just look on in avid wonder as to why the underdog story was not fulfilled. Kudos to senior Justin Miller, who played like a champ, and also to senior Billy Griffiths, who was unstoppable beneath the boards. All in all, the game was one of the most exciting this season, and everyone who was a part of it will be sorry to see House basketball end.