STORY CELINA BLOUNT | PHOTOGRAPHY

East senior basketball player Charlie Kenrich jumped up at the sound of the whistle signaling the tipoff, hitting the ball towards senior teammate Kobe Peck.

The first moments of the game set the stage for the events that followed, resulting in an 83-70 Thunderhawk victory against Princeton this February.

Junior Jack Kronauge, who put up 22 points, and Peck, who put up 23 points, were lighting up the scoreboard during the duration of the game. 

“Unselfishness and toughness won us this game” East varsity basketball head coach Clint Adkins told Spark. 

East’s team mentality showed with the high number of assists across the roster. Senior Nate Adkins led the team with 5 out of the 17 assists. 

 The first quarter ended with the scoreboard reading 28-11 with East leading by 17 points. Kronauge scored 12 of these points with his four three-pointers in the first quarter, which helped the team maintain the lead. 

The atmosphere of the game was intense and before the whistle blew signifying the second half, Princeton’s head coach, Bryan Wyant, got the first technical of the night. 

During the second quarter, the lead that East had started with got narrower. Princeton senior Bowen Hardman shot three three-pointers, which put Princeton in a closer game.

Princeton was in the bonus for the second half of the second quarter and started to make a slight comeback when East started making turnovers and missing open layups and jumpers.

Adkins took Kenrich, Kronauge, and senior Daniel Mulumba out with 3 minutes left because of their fouls. 

“When practicing, we always prepare for these kinds of things,” Peck says. “We just have to keep our cool during that time.”

The end of the second quarter brought Princeton junio Riley Woods his first technical of the night. East took this with momentum, taking back the lead and ending the quarter with a score of 48-41.

After halftime, the two teams went back and forth scoring. East was able to take the lead from seven to 13 by the end of the third quarter.

During the fourth quarter, on a fast break, Kronauge dunked the ball, which caused the student section to go crazy. Parents of the vikings started a commotion when Woods obtained his second technical, this time on Peck, which resulted in his ejection from the game. Deputy Doug and assistant athletic director Jill Myering had to escort about 10 parents out of the game.

“He pushed me, and I flopped and sold it pretty well, I was able to get them to call the tech and I was pretty happy about it,” Peck says.

The high tension game ended with East coming out on top with a final score of 83-70.

“It was a great team win,” Adkins says. “A lot of players stepped up.”