Eagles hoops season ends in state playoffs

West Valley's varsity boys basketball team made it to the state playoffs against the defending state finalists, the Sacramento Dragons, on Tuesday.

The Eagles took the early lead for the first four minutes, but the speed and the athleticism of the Dragons overtook the Eagles, beating them 74-32.

"They are a really good team. They're athletic, they're quick and they are really well-coached," Eagles coach Josh Schwerdt said of the Dragons.

Schwerdt had no complaints about the way his team played against one of California's best basketball teams.

"They weren't intimidated. They came out and played a much better team, and they came out and played hard," the Eagles coach said.

In fact, an official came up to Schwerdt during halftime and told him how impressed he was with West Valley.

"At halftime we were down 35-16 and the official came up to me and told me how much he like our guys, and how well they played," Schwerdt said.

The coach said his team can be proud of themselves. They had lost the section finals to Enterprise just days before and were able to shake off their nerves for another tough game.

"We hadn't seen a team like Enterprise with their speed and quickness, so we were a little nervous at first in the Enterprise game," Schwerdt said. "But in this game we had seen it before, so we came out and played better at the start."

West Valley's Donny Anondson scored 14 for his team, while Justin Naber, Ben Bradshaw and Levi Cox each had 5.

Schwerdt said this seasons varsity boys basketball team was one of only six who had made it to the section finals.

"They're weren't a lot of people who gave this team a chance at the beginning of the season," Schwerdt said. "We had ups and downs but overall we had a good year."

The team's accomplishments will be memorable for the players.

"We made it to the section finals and got to play in a state playoff game, and that's something these seniors will remember," Schwerdt said.

He said he hopes the juniors and sophomores who got to compete will look at there experience this season as something to strive for.

"Hopefully that becomes our goal every year," Schwerdt said.