On Friday, January 27, many Parker students ended the first week of the new semester with the second boys’ varsity basketball game at DePaul’s McGrath-Phillips Arena.

For the seniors in the stands and on the court, it was sentimental: the last DePaul game, a marquee event that is always marked on calendars.

The Colonels lost to Morgan Park Academy 58-53 at the beginning of the week, to fall to 4-7 on the year, in a game that should have been won. Parker beat MPA 65-51 in early December, and the score reflected a closer matchup than it really was. Morgan Park does not even field a JV team, and losing to the varsity team in a tense competition was not what Parker needed to get their week started right.

Latin had lost earlier in the week, too, by four points to Northridge just two days before. The Romans then owned an 8-8 record and needed to hope for short term memory loss and focus on Parker.

As was the case in the first DePaul bout on December 2, senior captain and Williams College commit Marc Taylor, a 6’8” center, went head-to-head with Latin’s star sophomore, Ysrael “Ys” Hernandez, a 6’3” guard/forward.

The matchup was tightly contested, with the biggest lead being just five points. Each quarter was won by only one point, with overtime the same way. It felt as though neither team could make a run and blow the game open. If junior Alex Chapman hit a big shot, Latin would go right back down and score. The lead went back and forth throughout the game, and it became an instant classic.

Like the last DePaul game, Parker had a chance to win it. And, like the last game, the Colonels couldn’t, and Latin seized the opportunity. Junior Zach Lansburgh missed a runner from the middle of the lane late in overtime, and last game’s hero, Latin junior Charlie Moss, came down with the rebound. The Romans advanced the ball past halfcourt and called timeout.

All I could hear was, “It all comes down to this.” The crowd was subdued as various spectators were recalling what happened the last time.

Latin struggled to inbound the ball because of Parker’s airtight defense, but they got it in without having a five seconds violation called. They ran a play, and when that broke down, junior guard Alec Kotler got the ball on the wing and hit a game winning three with three seconds left. Parker’s side had their hands on their head. Latin’s side was ecstatic. Though Parker had enough time to get a shot off, it was going to be hard. The Colonels called timeout in the backcourt and therefore had to go the length of the court.

During the timeout, coach Kevin Snider drew up a play for Taylor. The play was executed well: Taylor caught the ball and heaved up a halfcourt shot. Certainly low percentage, but it was all Parker had time for. The shot didn’t go in. The Colonels lost. Devastation reigned on one side of the crowd. Happiness flowed from the other. One team went into the locker room with their heads in their hands, the other went in jumping for joy.

Though it was not the outcome the Parker community was hoping for, the game was one for the ages. The two DePaul games this year, though both have been losses, are two of the greatest Parker basketball games in recent memory.

Only time will tell what the future holds for this team, but they can do big things if they so choose. It will be exciting to see what happens in the State tournament.