Completing the Intercity Boy’s Basketball Tournament Monday night, the Wildcats lost to U High 43-41 at the IWU Shirk Center.

Normal West had a strong start: seniors Noah Wetzel and Josh Robinson shot 3 pointers to bring the Wildcats up by 10 points , 24-14, with only a couple minutes left in the first quarter.

Before halftime, Normal West was up by 10 points once again. However, by the beginning of the 3rd quarter the Pioneers were up by 1, 25-24. At the three minute mark in the game, West had a 41-39 lead against U High.

With only three seconds left in the game, Normal West had possession of the ball. Josh Robinson shot a 3 pointer that hit the rim, but bounced out of the basket; leaving the score at 43-41 and U High with the Intercity title with a record of 3-1. West finished 2-2.

Senior Noah Wetzel said the team was confident going into the game, however: “We just had a lot of turnovers, which ended up having an impact in the loss of the game.  For the next game, I am going to work on ball handling and passing.”

Junior John Sherman thinks that in order to improve: “We just need to come together more as a team and communicate.”

Similarly, junior Kyle Yoder commented, “When in tough situations the team needs to make sure they’re completely focused.”

While the West Varsity boy’s basketball team might not have taken the Intercity title, they look forward to an excellent season ahead.