On January 23, the boys varsity basketball team ended in a close loss after a hard fought battle against North Hagerstown. The Lancers fell just short with a final score of 74-75. 

From the first whistle, it was apparent that the Hubs would put up a hard battle against the Lancers. However, the Lancers had a strong performance and took the lead by the end of the first quarter. 

The boys tried to pull away with an aggressive second quarter performance. Sophomore Jake Vollmer had many three pointers to finish off the period. By halftime, the score was 33-27, with Linganore leading by 6 points.  

By the start of the third quarter, the intensity rose as the game stayed close, consistently within 2-6 points. 

When asked what the team does well, Junior Tommy Walsh said, “I think we are a great shooting team, we can score the ball well.” This was apparent throughout the game, the Lancers shot 45% from the 3 point line, and 72% on free throws, beating North Hagerstown in both. 

Lancer students were feeling optimistic about the game. However, the close game brought out emotions for all fans, including parents. At the start of the 4th quarter, the stress of the game brought parents out of their seats. Junior spectator Annabel Geisler said, “A couple parents from North Hagerstown and a couple parents from Linganore started to argue over a small disagreement between a couple of the players and the referee.” However, the argument was soon resolved, and the boys continued to finish out the game. 

Down to the last couple minutes of the game, the score was extremely close, not exceeding more than a single point from each team. Down to the final seconds, score being 74-74, North Hagerstown was able to draw a foul resulting in 2 free-throws just before the end of the game.

Although the Lancers fell short, fans and players are still confident about what the rest of the season holds. When asked how the team will rebound and what they will accomplish in playoffs, Tommy Walsh said, “I think we’ll shock people. We believe we’re still the best in Frederick [county] and we’re ready to prove it come playoff time.”

Although the Lancers fell short, they still have 7 regular season games remaining, and from the looks of it a lot left to prove. 

Linganore boys basketball plays their next home game against Governor Thomas Johnson High on January 31. Come out and support the march to the playoffs!

See the schedule for the remaining boys’ varsity basketball games here.