The Wakefield Varsity Basketball team knew they were in for a tough test going into Tuesday night’s home game against Millbrook. Wakefield entered the game 3-15 and 0-10 in conference, while Millbrook was coming in number one in the Cap 8 with a 8-1 conference record and a 17-1 overall record.

The game started with a 9-0 Millbrook run, showing their early dominance by full court pressing and trapping Wakefield guards behind half court. Wakefield had a shaky start to the game, struggling to limit turnovers. Midway through first quarter, Millbrook found themselves up 25 to 6, but would only score one more basket to close out the quarter, while Wakefield showed improvement getting past the full court press and scoring 10 points.

“We never could break the press,” said Assistant Coach Trent Wilson. “We didn’t do it effectively. Once they had us against the wall they kept us there. They are a very good team and took advantage of the mistakes we made.”

The second quarter had a similar start, Millbrook was relentless with the full court pressure causing turnovers by Wakefield. As the quarter went on, Wakefield became more aggressive and started to draw fouls and eventually got themselves in the 1 and 1 bonus. Halfway through the second quarter, Millbrook went on multiple scoring runs and ran the score up to 46 while Wakefield struggled to score with 13 points.

Wakefield got the crowd back into it with a couple of blocks on the defensive side and layups getting past the press. Millbrook quieted the home crowd with a monster dunk, finishing the half with a 59 to 17 lead.

“Millbrook has some of the greatest talent in the state,” said senior Philip Protz. “What sets them apart is their ability to play as a team. Even with two of their top players out, they had players willing to step up and contribute. We did not do a great job playing as a team, and we definitely shot ourselves in the foot with turnovers.”

The start of the second half showed some improvement from Wakefield, scoring early on in the third quarter and making defensive stops. But once again, the pressure and hustle from Millbrook’s defense was too much for the home team, as they scored more than 60 points halfway through the third quarter. Both teams remained aggressive and got in the bonus during the fourth quarter, but in the end it was all Millbrook winning by 55 points.

“In my opinion, the bottom line is that they played better as a team,” said Protz. “Whether it was passing, screening or team defense.”

Protz was the leading scorer for Wakefield with 9 points, followed by senior Aaron Burress with 8 points, and senior Kyle Lim with 7.

“I think Kyle Lim played well,” said Wilson. “Kyle has been solid for us pretty much all year. He played his heart out and really was a standout in my opinion. He handled the press well and was able to knock down a couple shots for us.”

Faison Brock led Millbrook with 19 points, along with Patrick Dorsey and Trejon Jacob, both scoring 12 points.

“Faison Brock is a friend of mine,” said Protz. “I have watched him play both as an opponent and as a teammate.He has a great set of attributes and always manages to dominate in many different stats. His energy is what always sets him apart.”

Wakefield looks to stay positive and get back in the win column Friday against Broughton.

“We have a winnable game this Friday against Broughton,” said Protz. “We are going to work on functioning as a team on defense. Our defensive intensity must be better.”