The varsity boys’ basketball team fell to 5-10 record after losing 73-32 to the Cocoa Tigers on Tuesday night. Last year, the Wildcats ended their season with a 17-10 record, the best in school history. Inexperience and injury may be causes for the regression.

“We’ve been working hard all year,” senior Tony Hedrick said, “but I feel we have come up short in a few of our games.”

Junior Armando Santamaria shared a similar perspective on the season.

“The season has been pretty solid, but we could do better,” Santamaria said. “Because a lot of our players are young and inexperienced, it’s been a little more difficult to reach our full potential.”

Santamaria, a first-year varsity player, has been sidelined for much of the season due to a fractured finger.

“It’s been really frustrating,” he said. “I only have one season left of high-school basketball, so I feel like I missed out on a lot of opportunities to grow as a player and become closer to my teammates.” 

Junior Matt Marcinkowski has also missed playing time due to a concussion he sustained after colliding with a teammate in practice. He likely will miss the remainder of the season.

“It’s one of the most frustrating things I’ve ever had to deal with,” Marcinkowski said. “It’s more frustrating to be unable to play than getting homework from all of my classes.”

The boys’ varsity basketball team plays its next game Friday at Cocoa Beach.

By Cullen Capaldi