By Coach Rob Mathison

In a fast-paced game that saw a furious Seattle Swag comeback simply run out of time, the Loyal Heights 13-Year-Old Boys Basketball team lost to Bitterlake 42-30 this past Saturday.

Playing a zone defense for just the second time this season, the Swag was exploited early by Bitterlake for a series of short jumpers.

Despite several driving lay-ups by Antonio Diaz-Mitchell, a free throw by Josh Brown and a powerful three-point play by Michael Scherrer, the Swag trailed 32-10 shortly after halftime.

Bitterlake padded its lead before The Swag, wielding The-Never-Surrender attitude it has displayed all season, kicked its game into overdrive.

On defense, Robert Mathison and Remy Martin worked in tandem to shut down the quick Bitterlake guards, and Tim Malone played stingy defense underneath, drawing loud applause from the crowd with a perfectly-timed leap to block a layup attempt. Meanwhile, Scherrer and Diaz-Mitchell continued to pour in points.

By the time, Diaz-Mitchell drained a three-pointer, it was only a 10-point game with half a quarter to play, and the crowd buzzed with excitement. In the end, however, the clock worked against them, and the Swag rally fell short.
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Overall, the Swag players were encouraged. They outscored Bitterlake 22-10 down the stretch and showed continued improvement on both sides of the floor.

“We played a good game,” said Malone.

“We need to make some adjustments on defense,” added Scherrer.

With their improved play and the toughest part of their schedule behind them, The Swag hope to improve their record while preparing for the playoffs over the next few weeks. The next step in their journey is Saturday February 25th at 5 p.m. at Bitterlake Community Center.