After a superb first varsity season, Vista del Lago’s boys’ basketball team has picked up where they left off in the section semifinals last season.

The Eagles have had a strong summer season, which included a win over perennial powerhouse Sheldon, and a second-place finish in the Sacramento State Tournament. Vista coach Jeff Bridges estimates his team’s summer record to be about 24-4.

“It’s been a pretty good summer,” Bridges said. “It’s nice that all the guys are seniors now. I would say the biggest improvement has been physically. Everyone is bigger and stronger and their conditioning is good. They’ve all really worked on their games.”

In their most recent tournament held last weekend at Sheldon, the Eagles lost to the host Huskies in the semifinals by eight. Despite the loss, Bridges was satisfied with his team’s performance.

“We beat them earlier, so I know they had revenge on their minds,” Bridges said. “It was a one or two-point game with two minutes to go, but they made more plays down the stretch. We gave a good effort and fought hard, though.”

The highlight of the summer was the second-place finish at Sac State, where the Eagles beat Sheldon by 20 and lost to Rodriguez in the championship game by a point.

“It was fun to play Rodriguez even though we lost,” Bridges said. “It was both teams’ fourth game of the day and both teams were exhausted. It was a good experience.”

Vista’s also placed third in a tournament in Reno and won all five games at a get-together at Jesuit. The Eagles finish the summer with a tournament hosted by Folsom High July 11-12 and then travel to Palm Springs July 17-19.