The boys basketball team defeated the Pittsburg Purple Dragons in the first round of substate 61-40 on Thursday, March 5.

According to senior guard Mitch Perkins, the victory stemmed from the team’s unprecedented intensity.

“We came out [tonight and], brought a lot of energy. The day before we talked about what [Pittsburg was] going to do and made sure we played our game,” Perkins said. “Overall, we played really well tonight; we brought the energy we needed to. When we bring that and play good defense, we always play good offense.

Senior guard Evan Kopatich said the team needs to improve on some offensive flaws.

“We played good defense against their plays and really worked against the press,” Kopatich said. “[We need to work on] executing on offense and making layups.”

The team plans to carry its vigor to the next substate game on Saturday, March 7, where it will play at St. Thomas Aquinas at 6 p.m.

“When we all got out of the game, we all just held up ‘one,’ because [we have] one more game until we go to state,” Perkins said. “We’ll definitely carry the same energy we brought today over to Saturday to bring us a W.”