For the first time, Venice High boys basketball has made it to Division one Semifinals. This is an improvement from last year, when they made it to the second round of Division one playoffs.

The boys’ basketball team finished their season with a 14-15 overall record, as well as a 5-7 record in league games. Although their league record may not seem impressive, they were a very scrappy bunch and played many strong teams very closely. Due to them finishing as the number four seed in Western League, they qualified for Division One Playoffs as the number seven seed.

They defeated the 10 seed, Sylmar, 61-59 in the first round Feb. 15, before completing one of the biggest upsets in Venice basketball history by defeating Fremont, the number 2 seed, 68-65 in a hard-fought road game Feb. 21. Venice was eliminated by Washington Prep 67-41 on Feb 24 in a game closer than what the score indicates.

“From the start, we were not making shots,” said senior captain Nnameka Nwiwu. “We were playing hard and aggressive and everything but the shots would not fall.”