On Tuesday, Dec. 3, the Kaneland boys basketball team played their first home game of the season against Sandwich and kept a lead the whole game, resulting in a 78-34 win.
Kaneland started strong with sophomore power forward Jeffrey Hassan winning the jump ball and senior forward Freddy Hassan scoring the first three points of the game. Scoring the first three points of the game helped the team end the first quarter with a 10-0 lead, and their lockdown defense is what carried them to a win.
“I’m just talking on defense,” Freddy Hassan said. “Making sure everybody knows what they’re doing, trying to be a good leader for the team.”
Freddy Hassan helped his team on defense with his strong communication and leadership skills. The whole team followed Freddy with tight defense, causing a total of 18 turnovers and easy transition buckets for the Knights. Many players had an outstanding first home game of the season, but most have different things that they still want to work on.
Jeffrey Hassan had three defensive rebounds but no offensive rebounds, which in Jeffery’s eyes is something that he can work on throughout the season.
“I could have done better,” Jeffrey Hassan said. “Sometimes a guard would knock the ball out of my hand, but I worked to fix that in the second quarter along with my rebounding.”
The Knights led 38-8 heading into halftime. They kept that lead throughout the game, leading 59-23 after three quarters. The Knights had the opportunity to improve and work on different skills throughout the game. By utilizing their lead, it gave everyone a chance to contribute.
With it being the first home game of the year, there were many fans to support the Knights. The student section was full of support for the team. . The atmosphere was loud and full of excitement while the Knights put on a dominant performance.
“It felt good having the crowd by our side and giving us lots of energy,” junior small forward Evan Frieders said. “It was fun to play out there.”
The crowd energized the team and supported them throughout the game with different cheers and chants, always clapping and screaming when the Knights caused a turnover or scored a basket.
At the end of the game, when the Knights left the locker room, there were smiles and claps from the team and the fans. Hugs were going around along with laughter and highlights from the game. The 3-1 Knights open conference play at Ottawa on Friday, Dec. 6.
