McNary Boys Basketball wins an uphill battle after being down 10 in the first quarter and coming back to beat West Salem 53-46, snapping the Titan’s 14-game win streak.

Head coach Mr. Ryan Kirch said he had himself and his team well prepared mentally and physically going into the game against West.

Every game the team goes into coach Kirch and his players create game plans that will provide the best environment for them to succeed, but makes sure the team focuses on themselves first. They spent a lot of time this week practicing end of game scenarios and how to handle games when it comes down to the wire. So when the team got into that position, the players were ready and confident.

“Understanding the personnel on the other team and what their player strengths and weaknesses are. And then as a coaching staff, we put together a game plan of what we think we need to do to be able to beat them. Then we practice that,” Kirch said. “We were really clear with our players and our scouting reports of what we want to do and what we want to get accomplished.”

Just as important as it is for the coaches to be prepared, the players also need to be focused to put in the best performances they can.

“I personally just try to breathe in big moments and calm myself down before the game. Then I lock in mentally and it’s all ball,” Junior Steven Adams said.

As game day hit the team felt really confident going into it. Having won the past two games and a really good practice before going into Tuesday night, everything was ready for gametime.

After the hard fought battle, it was all celebrations from there.

“An amazing feeling hit when the buzzer sounded. Me and the guys were so hype to get this one,” Adams said.

The coaches were especially happy to see how much improvement came from the team as well. From all the hard work put in each time they practice, every win for them feels good.

That is part of what coach Kirch loves about his team so much.

“The biggest thing is I always enjoy watching the growth of our players individually, but more so collectively, by taking individual parts and watching them grow together as a team constantly improving throughout the season. I think the game on Tuesday was a great example of how far we've come and how much this team's grown over the last three months,” Kirch said.

Kirch looks forward to what the rest of the season has to offer for his team and every game following up.

“I think so far we've had a great experience and we want to ensure that the final two weeks just continue with good luck,” Kirch said.

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