Borgia Tournament- Game 1

Coming into the Borgia tournament as the 7th ranked seed, the boys varsity team didn’t let their ranking stump them. They came out ready to show off their talent and beat other teams; which was exactly what they did. Their first victims were the Soldan Tigers.

“Our number one goal going out onto the court was to win,” said senior Demond Tillman. “This was the first game of the season and we had been training for this for a long time. This was our chance to prove to everyone we were good.”

As the first game of the season, the boys showed early signs of teamwork and unity. They passed the ball, spread the floor and looked for one another. Three players, Travon Williams, Brandon Wagner, and Prince Cody, finished the game with double figures, contributing to their 85-77 win.

“We played really well that night, we were all going off of crazy adrenaline rushes because we were eager to play,” said senior Prince Cody, leading scorer of the night with 28 points.

Game 2

With the hype off their win, our boys weren’t going to settle with just that victory. They next faced the #3 ranked school in the tournament, the Borgia Knights.

“This was a really personal game for me because we had played them prior and lost,”said junior Maurice Washington. “But this time, playing them was a lot easier. We were all playing really well that game.”

The Lions battled point for point with the Knights until they finally pulled out a win. The excitement of the game left the boys feeling unbeatable.

Game 3

Ready to go home with the title, U. City went into the last game of the tournament with the utmost confidence. The McCluer North Stars didn’t stand a chance.

“At this point in the season, we were 2-0 against two state qualifying teams,” said head coach Gammon. “This was our chance to do something that we had never done before: win a championship.”

All the confidence in the world wasn’t enough, though. The boys lost their first game against the Stars 92-75.

“This loss was hard on us, but we couldn’t let this bring us down,” said junior Jeffrey McGhee. “They were good, but we are definitely better and I hope we get the chance to see them again.”

Still strong after losing the championship game, the boys are continuing to show heart through the remainder of the season. The boys knew they had to keep their heads up and play hard, considering their difficult schedule.

Bouncing Back

After the tough loss in the Borgia Tournament against McCluer North, the boys immediately faced their next opponent, Hazelwood East. The boys had to give it their all to come out on top, which is exactly what they did, winning 66-64.

During this game, junior Travon Williams scored 29 points, while seniors Prince Cody and Brandon Wagner led in assists. According to Tillman, this made the boys even hungrier for wins.

Devastating Loss

Next on the schedule were CBC, a school ranked the 5th ranked school in the area.

“We came out ready to win,” said senior Brandon Wagner. “We weren’t scared because there wasn’t a reason to be.”

A close game, the two teams battled it out the entire the whole time, taking every charge, foul, and bad call that might slow them down. They competed back and forth, grasping the lead vigorously down to the last second.

This game proved true the old basketball adage “Free-throws win games.” One of the opponents, known to be CBC’s best free-throw shooter, was on the line near the end of the game. He made his shot, and forcing the Lions to be a point behind. The game ended with the score 72-71, a disappointing loss.

Continuing on strong

However, the boys weren’t going to let a loss as close as that one pull them apart. To prove their talents, they went on a 4-game winning streak against McCluer South-Berkley (79-65), Normandy (59-48), Washington (63-53), and Parkway West (74-60).

“We’ve been working really hard all year round – even the summer,” said Gammon. “We are anticipating great things throughout the season.”