On December 20th, 2024, the Varsity boys basketball team played against 5A Seaforth High School for the first time and lost 46-24. This year, on December 4th, things would be different.

“Last year we came out really intimidated, and they gained a big lead in the first half,” said #34 Idris Abdullah (12). “Coach McNair was really passionate about playing a good game against them this time.”The Wolves kept a tight game, the score was 9 to 10 at the end of the first quarter.

“Nobody wanted us to win,” said #31 Atanas Milchev (12). “If we had won, Seaforth would have never wanted to play us again because of how bad they would have looked.” 

Many players suspected bias on the part of the referees. 

“I thought there were a few questionable calls that helped Seaforth get ahead,” said Holton Mody (12). “Some of the foul calls against us at the end … I didn’t really like them too much. It helped them get ahead by more than a possession.”

Though Seaforth is a public high school with over 1,000 students, the Wolves kept it close, trailing 16-23 at halftime. 

“When Coach used to play for Woods, he would play against the coach of Seaforth’s old team. He said that being a Woods student was holding them back, and Coach was really offended about it,” said Abdullah. “He never gets super angry at games, but he was really amped up about this game.” 

Within the last minute, the Wolves nearly tied up the game, the score being 39-36. They had to make a three-pointer to tie it up.

“Based on comments from both teams’ coaches, neither team was happy with the officiating,” said Richard Nuss, who runs the clock and scoreboards during the games. “I was very impressed that Woods kept it such a tight game and almost beat Seaforth.”

The final score was 36-42. 

“I think our team played really well. I think if they keep playing like this, they will win lots of games,” said Mody.