The 2025-26 varsity basketball season has been a tough rebuilding year for Wilcox and the young Chargers squad was desperate for a win going into its Martin Luther King Jr. holiday matchup against cross-town rival Santa Clara. The Bruins, meanwhile, entered the holiday matinee game with the first renewed sense of optimism within the program in three years.

With the two programs in distinctly different situations, but heading towards a more equal playing field, or more equal hardwood court in this case, it made for an intriguing matchup. Would Wilcox continue to play big brother to Santa Clara, or would the upstart Bruins come away with the upset? Midway through the first quarter, the Bruins appeared primed to come away with the underdog victory when the team jumped out to a 16-3 lead. Wilcox settled down in the second stanza but still found itself trailing 31-22 at halftime. 

Coming out of the break, the Chargers found the higher gear they needed to get back into the game. Head Coach Ruben Camacho implemented the full-court press defense, and his squad’s intensity at both ends ratcheted up to the point where it pulled even at 40-40 after three quarters. Missing four key players from their lineup, the Bruins struggled in the final quarter to stem the Chargers’ momentum. The fact that Santa Clara gave Wilcox that much of a fight despite its short-handed roster was an impressive performance despite an eventual loss, 60-48. 

“I’m proud of the way we all played,” chimed Bruins junior Vishva Ravi, who shined with an impressive three-point shot and strong inside presence rebounding on the glass. “Especially in those first three quarters, but when you are missing guys like that who are so important to the program, you really miss them in certain moments like we had today. To be tied with Wilcox after three quarters, we have never done that in my time here.”

While Ravi might have been the best player on the floor for the Bruins, he was far from the only player who gave Santa Clara positive minutes. Seniors David Ovasisi, Brenden Lendsey and Marcus Arroyo each stepped up in different moments with key plays, whether setting up teammates, getting steals or making clutch baskets to keep the game within reach in the fourth quarter. Most impressive, though, was the fact that Santa Clara’s two freshmen, Ibrahim Abdelrahman and Dylan Miranda, both looked like they are stars in the making with their ability to score. 

The young stars weren’t enough to overcome the Chargers, who stormed back on the backs of Winston Wang, Isaiah Smith, Laith Huzayyan, Jordan Slate and Michael Morgan. The latter, which was a menace on the boards, had multiple crowd-energizing blocks on the defensive end. Wang and Smith delivered crafty performances all around, while Huzayyan and Slate excelled when they got the three-ball heated up in the second half comeback.

“I think at first, honestly, we weren’t taking them fully seriously,” admitted Smith on the team’s poor first quarter. “After the second quarter, we played a lot better.” 

“Inexperience,” remarked Camacho on his team’s disappointing start. “We only have one guy who played varsity last year. It’s a new team, there’s a big crowd, a different kind of atmosphere, they had those butterflies.” 

After settling down those butterflies, Wilcox eventually took the win to improve to 3-12 on the season. Santa Clara sees its record drop to 8-7. 

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