On January 29 the Parker Varsity Boys’ Basketball team fell to Latin 40-55 in the teams’ second meeting of the season. The game was held at DePaul’s McGrath Phillips Arena, where Parker and Latin both had solid representation from their school communities, including students, faculty, and some parents. Momentum swayed back and forth throughout the game.

The first quarter began with a terrific offensive start by sophomores Jack McNabola and Alex Chapman, senior Max Chapman, and juniors Mark Taylor, Casey Barr, and Jason Lansing.  Lansing sank an exciting three point shot to open up the quarter, which contributed to six unanswered points scored by Parker.

Latin responded by scoring 9 points at the end of the quarter. Taylor, Parker’s star player, faced two and sometimes even three players guarding him throughout the game. Still he managed to scored his first point in the last two minutes of the quarter after drawing a foul and making one of his two free throws. The quarter ended with Parker leading 11-9.

The second quarter began with Johnny Moss from Latin striking first with a layup, and Casey Barr responding with a three point shot. Latin continued to double and triple team Taylor, which resulted in his going to the free throw line repeatedly. This was only the beginning of an exceptional quarter from the 6’6” junior. Taylor threw down an exhilarating two-hand slam dunk at 3:35 and in the next play drove to the hoop for a layup.

Latin made a series of two and three point shots after this, bringing the score to 23-19 Parker. The outstanding quarter became even more exciting when Taylor–yet again–thrilled the crowd: he ran from half court to block a shot by a Latin guard.  

The third quarter started with layups exchanged, making it 27-23, with Parker still leading. A Latin guard then made a three point shot to bring the difference to one when McNabola got fouled driving to the basket and made one of his two free throws.

Around this time tragedy struck for Parker when Taylor came off the court after suffering what appeared to be a lower right foot or ankle injury–an injury that turned out to be a season-ending torn Achilles tendon. With Parker’s leading scorer and rebounder out of the game, Latin took the lead and never looked back. Latin’s shooting guard Isaiah Freeman drained a three before the quarter was over, making it 33-28 Latin.

The fourth quarter only became worse for Parker. The Colonels made one two-point shot, and Latin followed with 9 unanswered points, which consisted of open three-point shots and layups.  Barr broke this streak to bring the score within 11 (43-32 Latin).

The rest of the game was back and forth, but Latin held their lead, and the game–mostly riveting and fast-paced–ended in a rough 55-40 loss for Parker.