Alamo City Hoops Tournament

Varsity opened the season with the Alamo City Hoops Tournament in San Antonio. The squad took on Victoria West in the opener. The Spartans jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, finishing with a 54-39 final. Stratford then took on Texas Military Institute. Against TMI, the team opened up a lead but never quite pulled away. TMI hung tough but the Spartans prevailed, advancing to the semifinals with a 83-77 victory. The next day, Varsity took on A & M Consolidated. AMC gradually built a lead with quick, aggressive defense which Stratford found difficult to counter. While the Spartans were able to chip into the lead for a few runs they were not able to sustain it all the way to take the lead, and eventually fell 54-41. In the third-place game, Varsity took on traditional TAPPS powerhouse Antonian Prep. Antonian came out of the gate hot hitting several threes and opening up a double-digit lead. Unlike the AMC game, Stratford continued to claw back into the game. Nearing the end of the 4th quarter, the Spartans had made it a one-possession game. With two chances to earn a stop and tie the game, Varsity was not able to convert and fell to Antonian 58-53.

vs. Bridgeland

Stratford then travelled to Bridgeland for a matchup against the Tigers on Tuesday. The Spartans opened up early with a huge lead and never looked back. Each time Bridgeland would try to make a run, Stratford would press the gas and open up an even bigger lead. In the end, Varsity took home a 72-51 win that was never really in doubt.

vs. Cy Ranch

Over the Thanksgiving break, Varsity traveled to Cy Ranch on Monday for an afternoon matchup. Cy Ranch jumped out to a double-digit lead against the Spartans, who were kept in the game early by the sharpshooting of Paul Skoutelakis, who finished with 18 points, including 5 of 5 from 3-point land. After trailing by 8 at the end of the first quarter, the Spartans inched their way back each of the next three quarters, led by Keanu Dawes' 21-point, 7-rebound effort, 5 steals and 4 assists from Cameron Cronin, 3 blocks and 4 assists from Kamari Stanfill, and a clutch 3-pointer late from Wes Wohlfahrt. Faced with chances to draw the game into a tie, the team was unable to do so, dropping the match 63-60.

To finish out the week, the team (3-3) will host Seven Lakes on Saturday for a 4 pm matchup. Work off some of that Thanksgiving turkey cheering on the guys in green.