Things get Wild Against Wildorado

JJ+Jarmilio+going+for+a+layup+against+a+wall+of+blue+Mustangs.

DeDe Delgado

JJ Jarmilio going for a layup against a wall of blue Mustangs.

Lynnsey Mahler, Writer

The first-round playoff basketball game between the Springlake Earth Wolverines and the Wildorado Mustangs Tuesday, February 22nd at Canyon Randall was an intense game for any crowd to enjoy.  

“We wanted to go in there and give them a spanking,” senior Alex Alvarez said. “Ever since the girls lost to them last Tuesday, I wanted to go and win.”  

The previous Tuesday, the Lady Wolverines lost against Wildorado by 11 points, and the boys were ready to take revenge. The Wolverines went into the game and started off strong, but at the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs were two points ahead with a score of 8-10. 

“In the first half, we were confident that we could pull out a win and we were up three points going into halftime,” Alvarez said. “They started making a lot of mistakes and their best player was in foul trouble early so he had to sit out.” 

The Wolverines took the lead in the second quarter, leading to a hot streak that recovered lost ground. The lead went back and forth but going into halftime the score was 19-16 with Springlake Earth taking the lead.  

“I think those two teams were equally matched, so it was a good game overall,” spectator and teacher Marlana Tanaro said. 

The game was a back-and-forth struggle with each team bringing everything they had. The first half had belonged to the Wolverines, but at the start of the third quarter, the Mustangs got a 9-point lead on the Wolverines.  

“The second half we kind of started off slow and they started hitting some big shots,” Alvarez said. “It got us by surprise a little bit and we couldn’t adjust to it fast enough, so our confidence went down.” 

Junior JJ Jarmillo shined in this game, scoring a total of 22 points, 10 of them in the third quarter. However, that hot streak was just not enough to recover.  

“JJ started hitting some big shots towards the end. When our offense wasn’t flowing smoothly, he took control and started doing his own thing,” Alvarez said. “He’s fearless and he’s relentless and that kind of relieves me knowing that they’re not going to be so far off next year.” 

The intense game finished with a score of 48 to 42 with a Wildarado Mustang win. The Wolverines are only graduating one senior, Alex Alvarez, and have a bright future for next year.  

“It was a close game the entire game, our boys fought hard, but it just didn’t come out the way we wanted it to,” junior Taytum Goodman said.