The freshmen basketball teams left the Vista Ridge Rangers in defeat on January 19th as both A and B team came onto the court and left victorious. A-team won with a score of 71-44 as B-team added another victory to their three game streak with a narrow win and a score of 44-39, freshmen Lions taking the win on both sides.

“It’s a typical cross-town rivalry. Super competitive,” A-team Coach Bradley Washington said. “I thought we played well. The second half was very much like the first quarter. We made some adjustments on half-time and said ‘Go.’ They show that they’ve played together for a while and that they have good chemistry and they’re building each other up. Just no one person cares how they’re doing. Everybody cares how everyone else is doing and that’s a good trait to have in a tem. Get your stuff done and know that it’s not just about you, it’s about the team.”

The A-team came out tall in the first-half by earning 35 points against Vista’s 24. With 10 points gained by Landon Sisson, seven from Logan Clark, six from Hunter Stevens, four each from Rashad Carter, Ryan Amerson and Kyce Wilson, and two from Tay Brown. The freshmen Lions led into the second half with a total of 35-24, Lions in the lead. As the second half began and intensity radiated off the court as described by A-team players, the Lions nearly mimicked their first half scores by earning 36 points. As Clark gained 13 points, five each from Wilson and Amerson, four each from Brown and Stevens, three earned by Sisson, and two from Jake Reed, the Lions closed off the game against the Rangers to a final score of 71-44, Lions taking victory.

“Personally, I find playing on this team so rewarding because it’s making me not only a better athlete but a better basketball player,” B-team player Diego Segura said. “Every day at practice, we practice playing basketball as a team and there is a chemistry between everyone on the team that needs to come through on the court in order to win. You’ll see it; our guards setting screens for each other that weren’t in the game plan, or cutting back door for an easy pass and layup; these are simple “basketball” things that we’re all able to implement on the fly because we’re not playing for solely for ourselves as individuals.”

Continuing to add to their three game winning streak, the B-team added Vista Ridge to the list. With 10 points earned by Destin Pinkey, six by Addison Mings, five from Nate Pfeifer, four from Michael Thompkins, and two each from Brian Puckett and Kobe Cavanaugh, the B-team closed the first half of their game with four fouls and a total of 23-17 , Lions in the lead. Opening into the second half with the positivity as described by B-team Coach Dustin Pleasant, nine points each were earned by Diego Segura and Pfeifer, seven from Mings, and two each from Pinkey and Puckett. With six fouls on the Lions side, the game game to a close call but ultimately closed the night with a score of 44-39, Lions taking the win.

“We have improved a whole lot since the very first time we got on the court,” Coach Pleasant said. “Since the first time we stepped out there, our basketball IQ was very low but now that we are where we are now, our kids are learning how to play with each other. They played their butts off and took care of the ball so they stayed the course and won the game. We’re a different team.”