WEEK OF DECEMBER 9TH

The boys played twice this week - one game was at home against Lake Creek and the other was on the road against Aldine Nimitz.

vs. Lake Creek, December 10

We played another quality out-of-District opponent that will prepare us well for our upcoming tough District schedule. We started the game very well, scoring 19 points in the quarter and holding them to seven! Our defense was very aggressive as we utilized our full-court press to create turnovers and then turned those turnovers into easy points. We had very balanced scoring in the quarter with JD Cheeves leading the way with four points and LD Hoskins, Trent Burke, Elliot Harlan, and Vasili Fakaris each scoring three points.

In the second quarter, they outscored us 12-9, but we still had a comfortable 28-19 lead at halftime. Kobe Hines led us in scoring for the quarter with four points, LD contributed three, and CJ Williams, in his first game back from his ankle and wrist injuries, chipped in with two points.

In the third quarter, the even nature of the contest was evident. Every time we scored, they scored, and while they chipped away at the lead by scoring 11 points in the quarter compared to our 10 points, we still held a 38-30 lead. It was good to get CJ back, as his ball-handling was much needed. Employing a back-court of CJ and Kobe allows us to press full-court more and put more pressure on our opponents. In the third quarter, we were led by CJ with six points, and Elliot and Vasili chipped in two points apiece.

In the fourth quarter, for the most part, we were in control. But in the last two minutes, we got careless with the ball, which led to turnovers. We also became less aggressive on the offensive side of the ball which caused us to become stagnant and allowed them to get back into the game. They made some shots in the last two minutes to make it uncomfortably close, but we were able to score just enough at the end to pull out a 53-50 victory.

Leading scorers for the game were as follows: CJ led us with 14 points, Elliot scored 8, both Kobe and Vasili had seven points, JD chipped in with six, Trent scored five, and LD ended up with three.

vs. Aldine Nimitz, December 13

In the final tune-up game before District play begins, we travelled to Nimitz to play an aggressive and attack-oriented team from North Houston. This was one of the more well-attended games we have played this year. As expected, they came out aggressive in the first quarter and really jumped on us quickly. Their defensive pressure was suffocating, and they made some threes to get the crowd into the game. But as the quarter continued, we settled down and started handling the atmosphere much better. At the end of the first quarter, we were down 14-20. In the quarter, Vasili led us with five points, CJ had three, and LD, Trent, and Kenneth Owen each scored two points.

In the second quarter, we matched their intensity and subsequently matched their scoring, as both teams scored 11 points in the quarter. JD was the catalyst for our improved play in the quarter, as he led us in scoring with six. Both CJ and LD chipped in with two, and Kobe scored one point. The score at half was 25-31.

Unfortunately, we could not sustain our improved play to start the third quarter. Nimitz was able to quickly extend their lead, and we were just not able to counter their run. We missed some shots we normally make, and they capitalized on our miscues to outscore us in the quarter by seven. CJ led us in scoring in this quarter with five points, both Trent and Kobe chipped in four points, and JD scored two.

As in the second quarter, we both scored the same amount in the fourth, with both teams scoring 14 points. Final score was 54-67. CJ and JD each had 12 points; Kobe had 10; Vasili, LD, and Trent each contributed six points; and Kenneth Owen chipped in with two.

WEEK OF DECEMBER 16TH

Coming up is a big week for the team as we start District play. Our first District game is Tuesday (12/17) at Stratford against Jersey Village. They have traditionally been a very hard-playing and aggressive team to play. Tuesday should be a very fun game. Varsity starts at 7:00 pm. Then on Friday (12/20), we play defending District champions Cy Fair at Stratford. We need everyone to come out to that game and cheer us to victory!!!! The Varsity game starts at 7:00 pm.