Cam High and Rancho Cucamonga High School (RCHS) went head-to-head for the CIF Tournament playoffs on Feb. 14, 2019.

Cam High lost with a final score of 86-83. The game was finalized in the last 0.9 seconds in the final quarter when an RCHS player shot a three pointer. The Cam High basketball team was devastated by the defeat. Brandt Skolnick, senior and varsity basketball team captain, explained that he had spent endless hours at the gym, working out in order to prepare for the upcoming game. “It felt like having something you love ripped out of your chest,” he said, “It was one of the hardest losses we’ve ever gone through.”

Andrew Wetter, senior and varsity basketball player, prepared for the game by watching and studying footage of around ten hours of Rancho Cucamonga’s previous basketball games. He said, “It didn’t hit me until I got back into the locker room … I have never heard our team so quiet before.” Other members of the team were equally disappointed by the loss. Tai Thompson, senior, said, “When I saw it happen, it didn’t even feel real.”

Cam High’s boys basketball team is ranked number one in their division, and they finished the season 25-4, one of the highest ratios in the state. As a team, they broke five Ventura County records as well as several school records.

The team members have been playing with each other for years, spending numerous hours at practice and games. Some of them have been playing for more than eight years together. The idea that this game was the final time the boys will play together made a huge impact on them. “It definitely hurts to think about,” said Wetter, referencing the idea of the seniors of the team separating and attending different universities.