Tuesday 12/17 SHS vs. Jersey Village

We opened District play with a good victory against JV. We started off the game strong, outscoring them 12-6 in the first quarter. Vasili Fakaris was the leading scorer in the quarter with four, and four players contributed two points apiece (Trent Burke, CJ Williams, Elliot Harlan, and JD Cheeves). We really picked up our defensive intensity and held JV to only five points in the second quarter while extending our lead by scoring 15 points in the quarter. The halftime score was 39–17. In the second quarter, Trent led us in scoring with six, and CJ was right behind him with five. Elliot and Kobe Hines both contributed two points each in the quarter.

In the 3rd quarter, our defensive tenacity waned a bit and we allowed them to outscore us 16-14, but we still held on to a healthy lead. In the quarter, Elliot led us with five points, CJ scored three, and three players contributed two points each (Trent, Vasili, and Kobe). We recaptured our defensive intensity and held them to eight points in the final quarter while scoring 12. Cameron Coucheu led us in scoring this quarter with six points. CJ scored three, Trent scored two, and Elliot contributed a free throw.

The final score was 53-35. It was a very good and methodical victory for the home team. Scoring leaders for the game were CJ, who had 13, Trent had 12, Elliot scored 10, Vasili and Cameron contributed six, Kobe had four, and JD contributed two before he left with an injury.

Friday 12/20 SHS vs. Cy Fair

Big game!!! The defending District champs came to our house for an early season District tussle!!! The game did not disappoint! The game started off well for us as we held a 17-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. Vasili Fakaris played extremely well in the quarter with eight big points. It was probably Vasili’s best quarter of the year!!! CJ Williams scored five in the quarter, but he was just getting started!!!! JD Cheeves and Trent Burke each chipped in with two for the quarter.

In the second quarter, Cy Fair turned the tables and outscored us 16-8. We had some turnovers that led to easy buckets for them. But we did have very balanced scoring in the quarter with Kobe Hines, CJ, JD, and Vasili scoring two apiece. The halftime score was 25-31.

The third quarter was all Spartans. Our defensive intensity picked up and we took command during the quarter. Along with our improved defense, we were very efficient offensively. CJ led the scoring in the quarter with 10 big points, and Trent was a close second with eight. Elliot Harlan scored three, and Kobe contributed two points.

Cy Fair methodically got back into the game by full-court pressing us and making tough contested shots. They outscored us 19-10 to end the game tied at 58. Our usual suspects led us in scoring for the quarter with CJ scoring six and Trent with four. We had a chance to win in regulation but missed one of our free throws with under six seconds to play.

In overtime the game was a back-and-forth affair. We scored first, but they scored last, and the referee called a questionable foul on the out-of-bounds play that allowed Cy Fair to shoot a game-winning free throw with one second left on the clock. The final score was 63-64. It was a heart-breaking loss, but it is good to have it early in the District season rather than later. If we can get some of our injured players back soon, we can make a run at the District Championship by season’s end.

Leading scorers for the game were CJ with 26 huge points. By far this was his best game in his young Spartan career. His future is very bright. Trent contributed 14 points and is another young player that will contribute to the future being bright beyond this year for Boys Basketball at Stratford. Vasili contributed 10 points, JD contributed six points, Kobe contributed four, and Elliot contributed three points.

VYPE MAGAZINE TOURNAMENT AT BENJAMIN HIGH SCHOOL

Friday 12/27 SHS vs. Trinity Christian – Dallas

This first game of the tournament was a good way for us to shake off the Christmas break rust. It was also good to see senior Joaquin Andrews get back into action for the Spartans. Trinity Christian is based in Dallas and has a very good overall team. In the first half, we competed very well with them. In the first quarter, they outscored us 14-13. Trent Burke came out on fire and led us in the quarter with six points. CJ Williams came ready to play as well, with some nifty moves and knocked down a three-pointer. Both JD Cheeves and Vasili Fikaris contributed two points apiece. In the second quarter, they extended their lead to five, but we were still hanging tough with them. They scored 13 points in the quarter, and we scored nine. For the quarter, Joaquin led us with three points on a key three-pointer. Kobe Hines, CJ, and Elliot Harlan each contributed two points apiece in the quarter, and LD Hoskins made one of his two free throws.

The third quarter was disastrous for us. They scored 19 points in the quarter, and we only scored three. We did not do a good job containing their three-point shooters and it appeared that they did not miss any of them!!! Our three points came from a fast-break lay-up from CJ and a free throw from Elliot. We finished the game much better as we were only outscored by one, 11-10 in the fourth quarter. Trent Burke led us in the quarter with six points, and both CJ and Cameron Coucheu contributed two apiece in the quarter. The final score was 35-55.

Leading scorers for the game were Trent with 12 points, CJ scored nine points, Elliot and Joaquin each contributed three points, multiple players scored two points (Kobe, JD, Cameron, and Vasili), and LD made that free throw.

Friday 12/27 SHS vs. Veterans Memorial Corpus Christi

It was a very tough game for the Spartans. VMCC was a very athletic, fast, and deep-shooting basketball team. At the end of the first quarter, we were down 13-22. Their pressure was constant, and their pace was very up-tempo, but we had very good guard play from CJ Williams and Kobe Hines to allow us to handle their pressure. Our defense was solid, but this team shot the ball from very deep and made most of them. CJ led us in scoring in the first quarter with five points. His drives against this pressure were impressive. We got three points from Elliot Harlan, two points from LD Hoskins and JD Cheeves, and a free throw from Vasili Fikaris.

In the second quarter, we just could not score at all, while they continued their three-point barrage. We were outscored in the quarter 4-21. Our four points came from Trent Burke scoring two points and CJ scoring two points.

In the third quarter, we really competed hard and matched their intensity. Both teams scored 16 points in the quarter, and it was while their starters were still in the game. Defensively, we really started defending better and making them work very hard for their scoring opportunities. In the quarter we had three players who scored four points (Trent, JD, and Joaquin Andrews), and both CJ and Kenneth Owens each scored two points.

The final score was 47-83. JD led us in the final quarter with seven points, Trent scored three, and both Kenneth and LD scored two points. Overall, JD led us with 13 points. Both Trent and CJ contributed nine points. Joaquin, Kenneth and LD contributed four points apiece, Elliot chipped in with three, and Vasili made one of his two free throws.

Saturday 12/28 SHS vs. Barbers Hill

It was a very tough way to end the tournament, but we competed to the bitter end. Barbers Hill is a top-10 ranked 5A Texas high school with good size and athleticism. At the end of the first quarter, we were tied 16-16. Both Trent Burke and CJ Williams scored five points, and JD Cheeves, Elliot Harlan, and Joaquin Andrews each contributed two points. In the second quarter, we competed very well until the last two minutes. During that period, we had multiple turnovers and missed opportunities that allowed Barbers Hill to go into halftime with a 31-22 lead. In the quarter we had three players score two points (CJ, Vasili Fakaris, and Kenneth Owens).

In quarter three, we outscored them 13-9 to claw back into the game. Our defense stiffened and our offense started to create open looks for the good guys. In the quarter, Trent led us with five points, JD scored four points, and both CJ and Joaquin scored two apiece.

In the fourth quarter, it was a back-and-forth affair. We cut their lead down to one point with under a minute to play. With under 25 seconds to play, we had multiple rebound put-backs that would have given us the lead, but we just could not get any of them to fall. Eventually we had to foul to stop the clock, and they made their two free throws to give them the three-point victory, 45-48.

For the game, we were led by CJ with 11 points, Trent scored 10 points, and JD scored eight. Joaquin and Vasili both contributed four points, and Elliot chipped in with two points.

Saturday 1/4 SHS vs. Cy Falls

The new year unfortunately started the way 2024 ended, with a loss. We fought hard all game, but we struggled to consistently score throughout the game.

The game started as a back-and-forth affair that ended with Cy Falls leading 11-9. Cy-Falls had a very athletic and mobile 6’8” post, and it was a challenge for us to keep him from rebounding, but we rebounded the ball pretty well!!! CJ Williams was very aggressive in that first quarter, with five points. JD Cheeves and Joaquin Andrews each contributed two points. In the second quarter, we were only able to score six points in the quarter. Although Cy Falls played aggressive defense, we missed several shots that we normally make. With us only scoring six points, Cy Falls was able to extend its lead to seven, to end the half leading 22-15. Vasili Fakaris along with Joaquin and CJ all scored two points. We were still in striking distance but had to come out strong in the third quarter.

In the third quarter, we did cut the lead to four points mid-way through the quarter. We started making shots, and it gave the entire team life. Unfortunately, Cy Falls was still able to outscore us by three in the quarter. But it was good to see the ball go into the basket for us. CJ led us in the quarter with five points, Trent Burke scored four, Joaquin scored three, and JD scored two. In the final quarter, we tried to come back multiple times, but Cy Falls did a good job of keeping us at bay and not allowing us to chip away at their lead. The final score was 44-53, Cy Falls.

Leading scorers for the game were: CJ with 14 points, JD with 10, Joaquin with seven, Trent with six, Elliot with five and Vasili with two.

We return home on Wednesday, January 8th against Cy Ridge. This is a big game. We need to get back in the win column. One huge bright spot from this game was our ability to score 14 and 15 points in the last two quarters of the Cy Falls game. If we can continue that trend, we will be very competitive the remainder of our District schedule.