Boys Basketball fell to the Cupertino Pioneers 49-30 on Friday, January 28.

Needing to reverse a 2-4 record in the second half of the season, the Eagles lost their first game of the second half to a team they had previously beaten earlier this year 40-37.

“They are playing really well now,” junior forward Simon Rosenbaum said. “Like all teams, they play a lot better in their home gym [and] were really confident.”

The Eagles have not yet won an away game this season, as they are 0-7 in away games at non-neutral sites.

Cupertino started the game with a 5-1 lead and ended the first quarter 13-7. Most of the Eagles’ points came from fouls as the Eagles struggled to create offensive opportunities. Cupertino doubled the lead in the second quarter, as the Eagles failed to score till Simon ended the team and his own scoring drought with 4:13 remaining. The Eagles only scored 5 points in the second, and Cupertino drained a buzzer beating shot to end the half 22-12.

The Eagles couldn’t make any progress in the second half either, as no one seemed able to stop their center, Gokul Natesan, from scoring. He nailed several threes, and finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. The score at the end of the third was 37-20.

As they maintained the comfortable lead in the fourth, Cupertino replaced their lineup with subs with 1:29 left, which was greeted by roars from the boisterous, large home crowd, and they held steady till the game ended 49-30.

Though the situation is now dire, the Eagles have not given up on aspirations of a playoff birth.

“We now need to go 4 [wins] and 1 [loss] to make it to CCS,” Simon said, “and we just have to take it one game at a time [and] be ready to work hard.”

The Eagles next game is a home game against Palo Alto on Tuesday, Febuary 1.

On a brighter note, Girls Basketball notched their first league victory of the season with a 41-39 win over Cupertino in overtime right before the Boys game.

Photos coming soon