Written by Bella Wise

The Wildcats went head-to-head against the GCDS Tigers on January 6 at the Tigers’ Den. With a record of 4-5 heading into the game, the team was eager to stamp another victory into the record. Because key starter Captain Amir Hogans ‘26 suffered an injury, the Wildcats starting lineup consisted of Caiden Howard ‘27, Captain Lucius Liu ‘26, Henry Kosann ‘27, Shamar Williams ‘25, and Teddy Cooper ‘25.

The game began with the Tigers claiming the first possession and within the first 15 seconds, GCDS scored a layup, followed by a three-pointer just 30 seconds later. Despite this rough start for the Wildcats, Cooper secured a rebound and passed the ball to Captain Liu at the top of the key, where he scored a three-pointer to put the ’Cats on the board.

RCDS called a timeout three and a half minutes into the game after a GCDS fast-break layup gave the Tigers the early lead of 11-6. Despite a slow start, the Wildcats fought to regain momentum. A rebound from Captain Johnny Gasparro ‘25 led to a fast-break layup by Howard, followed by Captain Liu adding a three-pointer to bring the Wildcats’ score to 15-23. Closing out the half, Francisco Luz ‘25 assisted Captain Liu with yet another three-pointer, but GCDS scored a buzzer-beater three, leaving the Wildcats trailing 23-43 at halftime.

Captain Liu led the Wildcats in the first half with 14 points, four of which were purr-fect (Tiger pun) three-pointers.

The Wildcats began the second half with high energy as Liu scored five points within the first 60 seconds. Before returning to the court, Captain Gasparro promised the scorer’s table he would score, and just two minutes later, he maintained an offensive rebound and made a layup. However, despite these efforts, the Wildcats struggled to catch the Tigers. The game ended with a final score of RCDS down 36-73.

PLAYER STATS

• Lucius Liu: 14 pts (3p: 4), 2 reb
• Caiden Howard: 6 pts, 2 ast, 10 reb
• Francisco Luz: 5 pts, 1 ast, 2 reb
• Johnny Gasparro: 2 pts, 3 reb
• Teddy Cooper: 2 pts, 1 ast, 2 reb
• Henry Kosann: 2 pts, 2 ast

Stay tuned for the Wildcats’ next game as they bounce back and improve their record.