On Jan. 29, the Oak Park Eagles faced the Hillcrest Christian Saints for their senior night game. In a tough back-and-forth match, the Eagles prevailed with a final score of 60-52. This win brought their season record to 10-16, and league record to 5-2.
The Eagles kicked off the game against the Saints down 12 in the first quarter. Hillcrest’s defense clamped up the Oak Park Eagles and it wasn’t looking good. Fast break led to dunk and it seemed as if the game was over before it had even begun. Regardless of the score, the Eagle’s chose to persevere.
That was until suddenly, after a quick flurry of points, twelve points soon became nine, then five and soon two. The Eagles found themselves tied 35-35 to start the third quarter, and things were looking up. Oak Park’s offense had tapped into a flow, and were consistently scoring nearly every possession.
“The game went well. We played together as a team and that allowed us to come back and win the game after being down,” senior Talon Han said. “We played good defense and made key shots towards the end.”
The Oak Park Eagles conquered the second half of the game, even responding with a dunk of their own from junior power forward Jadon Holmes. Recognizing the obstacle at hand, the team only fought harder and came out victorious.
“It was nice seeing the whole team come together to win, even though we were down in the beginning,” senior team manager Mason Lewis said.
The senior night comeback represented the graduation of the team’s seniors from the roster, and was an incredible way to sign off their time at Oak Park High School.
