The Boys Basketball team came off a heartbreaking league game loss against the Lynwood Knights in order to defeat the cross town rival Warren Bears, with an official score of 49-44 on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at the Bear’s home court.
Senior Josh Carreto said, “The year so far has been frustrating because of the hard work we put into this game and to lose.”
The historic rival match-up between the Vikings and the Bears started off slow, ending the first quarter with the Vikes on top with a 10-8 lead. Later in the game, the team used the crowd to guide them to a victory. By consistent and effective shooting, senior guard Tyler Ellis led the team in scoring with an average of 12.6 points a game and, along with 6’3 junior Dami Adefeso’s strong rebounding, put Downey on top with 47-39 in the fourth quarter.
“I have been playing basketball since I was 8 and I have put in a lot of hard work to be the player that I am today,” senior Tyler Ellis said.” I practice about 4 hours a day and in the off season I play pick-up games at gyms and at parks to improve my game.”
They continued the game without letting their guard down and emerged victorious with a score of 49-44.
“We knew we would beat them because of how we prepared,” said senior guard David Rivera. “[It was] the determination and we are just a better team overall, and we proved that in the game by winning.”
The Downey Vikings proved that hard work and determination were the perfect elements for a victory.