The anticipation in the gym could be felt as soon as you walked onto the basketball court, making your way to the bleachers. Crystal Lake South vs. Huntley was a game that shocked many in the crowd.

Huntley High School’s varsity basketball team has had a successful season thus far, but the Gators won by a single point, making the final score 53-54. The first quarter consisted of a distinguished defense, letting us lead with a score of 13-10. 

The Gators started to catch up during the second quarter and tied Huntley 24-24. Huntley’s coach, William Benson, tries to prepare the team to win.

“I think we gave them a lot of opportunities in the first half to score because of those offensive rebounds, and that gave them some confidence,” Benson said. “When they’re a confident team, they’re a tough team, South.” 

However, in the third quarter, Huntley started to step up. Ryan Crosby scored a three-pointer, which then gave us an overall score of 27-24. Luke DiFrancesca scored as well, settling the score at 31-29, after the Gators scored. 

The Gators brought some tough plays as Ryan Sroka brought the score up to 35, while they were in the lead with a total of 37 points. The third quarter ends with a close score of 37-40. 

Huntley begins fourth quarter strong with Uchenna Egekeze working alongside his teammates to score a three-pointer, leaving us at 39-43. Later, Egekeze got a free shot for the team, leaving us at 40-46. Shortly after Ryan Sroka steals the ball from the Gators to give us a close score of 43-46. Then the Gators scored two points, making it 43-48. 

Sroka passes the ball to teammate Ryan Vrugt. Vrugt then sneaked around the other players to shoot the ball, giving Huntley another three points. Huntley starts to catch up to the Gators, leaving us behind them only by two points, 46-48. 

The Gators stole the ball from Huntley to make the score 46-50. Vrugt gains momentum, and scores yet another three-pointer, 49-50. With the score being extremely close, the Gators make a two-point shot, 49-52. Vrugt makes two free throws, the score being 51-52. 

As the Huntley team passes the ball to one another, sweat dripping from their faces and fatigue showing, Vrugt gains access to the ball once again. He lunges towards the hoop, scoring a two-pointer, putting Huntley back in the lead with 53-52. The crowd goes wild as Huntley fans start chanting and jumping over our victory. 

However, that victory did not last long. Huntley worked hard for that score, but the Gators were quick to steal the ball once again and make a two-pointer within the last seconds of the game, leaving the final score at 53-54. 

“I trust our guys here in the end to make a play, and they did, we just needed one more stop but we couldn’t get it,” Benson said.