Last night, the Mclean Highlanders faced off against the Langley Saxons in a close game, McLean ultimately losing 52-45.

Langley first took possession of the ball, scoring early with a 2-0 lead. McLean didn’t fall behind for long, with senior power forward Issac Bell tying the game. They quickly took off, scoring a two pointer and three pointer in the first few minutes of the quarter.

The Saxons were able to regain their lead with a score of 15-13 at the end of the first quarter.

“I think we may have come in a bit overconfident,” junior small forward Rece Bowser said.

McLean started the second quarter with the ball, Bell tying the game once again with a two point shot. The score remained close as Bell finished off the quarter with a slam dunk to put McLean in the lead 26-25.

The spirited McLean crowd brought a positive energy to the second half of the game, but the tired players could not match their enthusiasm on the court.

“I think we just let the energy speed us up a little bit,” Bowser said.

In the end, the Highlanders tried to close the gap, with senior point guard Caf Eaton and freshman small forward Simas Kacerauskas making back to back three pointers to raise the score 44-35 with Langley still in the lead.

The McLean Highlanders put up a strong fight in the last quarter, although ultimately ended the game with a disappointing loss.

“Sometimes the moment gets pretty big and sometimes they’re ready, sometimes they’re not,” Coach Eric Stokes said.