The GDS men’s varsity basketball team came out victorious over D.C. International (DCI) on Sports Saturday. The two teams were locked in a tight game for the first three quarters, but in the fourth quarter, the Hoppers pulled away to end a two-game losing skid.
In the first quarter, GDS looked strong, led by senior Tobias Viorst. Viorst was dominant, displaying his court vision with multiple assists to lead the Hoppers to a 14–10 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter was a defensive battle, with the two teams combining to score only 14 points. A block and steal by senior Abe Badji highlighted the quarter for the Hoppers. Two three-point plays by DCI led the Dragons to a 20–19 lead heading into the half.
In the third quarter, the game was back and forth, with both teams attempting to pull away.
With just a minute left in the quarter, DCI took a four-point lead, their biggest of the game up to that point. Sophomore Khalin Patel hit a three-pointer late in the third quarter to cut the Dragons’ lead down to one. GDS was down 33–32 as the third quarter came to a close.
Early in the fourth quarter, a steal by freshman Rafriel Guthrie and a three-pointer by junior Christian Santos-Silva gave the Hoppers a two-point lead. Two three-pointers and a steal by Viorst allowed the Hoppers to pull away and take a 41–36 lead. A three-pointer by Santos-Silva forced DCI to call a timeout and got the home crowd on their feet. GDS never looked back from there, holding on to a 53–45 victory and improving their overall season record to 8–11.
After the game, Viorst told the Bit that the team’s defense played a large part in the win. “We didn’t want them to score that much. We did our goal,” he said. “We’ve been really coming into our own, this past week especially. That right there, that’s a solid team.”
“For them [GDS] to take the punches that they took early, then come out in the fourth quarter and pull it out, that’s everything we talked about,” head coach Marquis Bell said. The Hoppers outscored DCI 20–13 in the fourth quarter in order to come back and pull out the win.
Viorst also commented on his goals for his final season on the GDS team. “We have some games coming up that we would really like to win [to] really shake things up in the MAC (Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference),” the guard said.
Throughout the game, the team worked together and showed good chemistry on and off the court. “In order to build culture, you gotta start by loving one another and playing for one another,” Bell said.
The Hoppers resume action on Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 4:30 in a game against the Saint James Saints. The Hoppers will look to build on their big win in an in-conference competition with the 4–12 Saints. Saint James is coming off a win against the King Abdullah Academy Falcons.