On Tuesday, the boys basketball team traveled to South to take on the very talented Willoughby South Rebels. Both teams were 1-0, and they both did not want to get that first loss. Chardon was a lot smaller than the Rebels, and not as athletic either. But the Toppers did not care. They were confident in themselves, and they knew, that if they could execute the game plan, they could leave with a win.

“We knew that they were bigger. We knew that they were more athletic as well. But we had a plan for the game, and this plan would work if executed correctly,” said senior forward Drew McCartney. And this plan did work, at least for the first half.

The Toppers played hard, and the lead changed multiple times. Freshman guard, Mike Laudato, cashed in four three pointers which helped the Toppers a lot. At the end of the half, the Toppers were down two, with a score of 22-24. The Toppers knew that South was cracking, and they just needed to pull away a little in the third quarter to seal the deal. However, that’s not exactly what happened.

The Toppers came out in the third, and right away hit a three to take the lead. However, South responded, and in a big way. The Rebels scored 10 straight points, and Chardon called a timeout with the score 34-25. Coach Snyder needed to get his team back on track, and calm them down. At the end of the third, the score was 31-48, Rebels leading.

“We were down, but we aren’t the type of team to give up. We knew we had to keep fighting,” said senior guard Riley Thompson.

The fourth quarter started and the Toppers were battling. They came back, bringing the game within eight. Unfortunately, the Toppers couldn’t capitalize with a win. They lost 65-54, and what was even more disappointing to them, was the fact that they could’ve won that game. Something positive that the Toppers left with, is that they showed a lot of heart and talent that game. This gives them hope for the future, and should excite fans, as the team this year, could be something special. Their next game is Friday, December 12th at home against University. If you enjoy basketball and want to see a good game, I would suggest coming to the game.