The high school varsity and junior varsity basketball teams flew to Jeju to visit Saint Johnsbury Academy Jeju (SJAJ) and Korea International School Jeju (KISJ) for the KISAC basketball tournament on Feb 23 and 24. A total of seven schools competed: DIS, SJAJ, KISJ, North London Collegiate School (NLCS), Busan Foreign School (BFS), and Fayston Preparatory School (FPS). With the strongest roster in a decade, the boys vied for the championship trophy.

Immediately, the squad faced off against the projected champions: SJAJ. The Jets fought hard but lost to the Hilltoppers 42-24. The Jeju school’s physicality proved too much for the Jets to handle and caused numerous turnovers. 

DIS faced BFS in the next game. If this ended in a loss, DIS would finish last in their respective pool. To avoid disqualification from the bracket, the Jets showed devotion to take the win. As the game began, Daegu led 15-0. The fairly easy matchup ended with the score of 49-29, a blowout victory for DIS. The first day ended with a guaranteed spot in the playoffs.

The semis began on day two. DIS matched up against NLCS. Unexpectedly, the game failed to flow smoothly. The Orca’s coach lost his temper and argued with the referee. He received two technical fouls which ejected him from the game. The coachless team continued to play on. The two teams went neck and neck through the last few minutes of the game, and at the end of the nail-biter, the Jets lost 43-35. 

Unable to reach the finals, varsity aimed for the 3rd place medal against KISJ. They started off slow as the scoreboard blared 19-13 at the half. The Jets picked up the pace and widened the lead to 30-19 halfway through the third. KISJ tried to close the gap, but the difference proved too great, and DIS cemented third place with a final score of 39-35.

The high school boys won their first KISAC medal of all time. DIS stood tall as 3rd place finishers amongst the bigger Jeju schools, 4 to 5 times their size.

“I think KISAC 3rd is most valuable to us. I think the fact that we are going to Jeju is not really common for us, and there are much bigger schools coming to KISAC. Jeju schools are more physical, and they have bigger players than Busan schools because there are just a lot of people there and more types of people,” said Justin Son (number 24), varsity shooting guard.

Additionally, Ethan Rossmeisl (number 5) received an all-tournament team medal and joined 9 other players for this top spot. “He has such a good vertical. He blocked me once, and he was the best defender on the team. He has a really high jump again, and he knows how to defend, shoot, and has great moves so I will pick number 5 as the best player in DIS,” said Juho Yang (number 22), captain of the Hilltoppers.

After the long and emotional weekend at SJAJ and KISJ, the squad will train during the off-season for a better performance next year against the Jeju schools.

Gallery • 9 Photos

Dylan Wang (number 1) turns the corner rapidly against his defender. A quick spin jukes his defender for an easy bucket at the basket. Photo by Ms. Katie Shin.