The UHS Boys Basketball team was victorious against Laguna Hills High School with a score of 62-41 during their home game on Wednesday, December 10, 2021. The game was the team’s sixth win of the season.

The team’s winning performance was preceded by weeks of intense preparation.

“Through our first 10 games we had some injuries, but that meant other people had chances to step up,” sophomore Christian DeBarge said. “We have also been practicing and watching film basically every day helping build our chemistry.”

During the first two quarters of the game, UHS played competitively, actively capitalizing on opportunities to score. 

“We knew that Laguna Hills wasn’t good at dealing with pressure,” senior Jad Hajj-Shehadeh said. “We were able to hold Laguna to only 9 points in the first quarter.”

During the second half of the game, Laguna Hills caught up to the UHS offense, which seemed to grow tired after many attempts at scoring. Laguna Hills almost tied the UHS team during the third quarter, but the UHS defense was able to deliver, preventing Laguna Hills from scoring. 

“Our opponents played zone defense on us so we tried to push the pace to get easy fastbreak buckets before they could set their defense,” junior Kasra Behnamjou said. “Our team’s defense was very alert, giving them a lot of trouble with getting open shots.”

Following their game against Laguna Hills, the team played and lost to Ocean View High School.