Wildcat boys basketball is still on the prowl for their first win of the season after taking a tough 50-36 loss to the Limestone High School Rockets on Wednesday, Dec. 10.
Limestone started strong when they went on a 11-0 run in the 1st quarter to put them up, 15-6.
The Wildcats fought back in the 2nd quarter, making the score 22-17 going into half, with Limestone in the lead.
Unfortunately, Limestone found their stride in the 3rd quarter, going on a 18-0 run and firmly taking control of the game without looking back.
The Wildcats have battled multiple injuries this season.
Juniors Riley Larkin and Zach Marvel were significant starters on the team last year, and both have started the year with unfortunate injuries.
“We had to change some our lineup up around a little bit with Riley and Zack being gone and being absent… So we have some other guys that are having to step up and change roles,” head coach Ed Hafermann remarked.
In addition to the two already-established injuries, Junior Grant Marvel got injured going for a loose ball in the middle of this matchup.
Marvel will not miss any time, and his teammates are not surprised at the sacrifice Marvel made while getting injured.
“He’s going to give you your best effort, and he’ll get on the floor. I’m not surprised that happened to him just because he plays hard,” captain Junior Tyson Hernandez said.
With some of his key leaders down, Hafermann has had to rely on other Wildcats to step up and take on different roles.
Hafermann believes that senior leadership is one of the most important things to have on a team.
“[Having] four-five seniors, they really can take control of the team…” Hafermann noted.
However, the Wildcats are down to one senior: veteran Maliq Givens and with this youthful roster, led by captains Givens and Hernandez, the boys have simply have had to step up.
In particular, Hafermann and crew noted that Junior Charlie Hanks has been particularly impressive so far thus season.
Hanks is a utility player despite being undersized. He can play any spot on the court, and he never backs down from any opponent.
“He is undersized. He basically is playing the center… he never backs down ever,” Hafermann noted of Hanks’ gritty performance.
Sophomore Chase Sennett is another notable Wildcat, who like Hanks, has been entrusted to play a role and position he’s not particularly comfortable with.
Sennett led the team with 4 offensive rebounds and 3 defensive rebounds, which is a statistic that the Wildcats continue to work on.
As the Wildcats look forward, both Hernandez and Hafermann echo one another on their one main goal.
“I think a goal is to get us on a win streak,” Hernandez stated.
In particular, Hafermann noted that they need to start limiting turnovers and work on getting double-digit offensive rebounds.
Hafermann conveyed that if the team can start achieving these goals in practice, they should have no problem converting it over to the games.
“The basketball season: it’s a grind. It’s a long race. It’s not really necessary how you start a season; it’s how you finish the season,” Hafermann emphasized.
Regardless of the slow start, the Wildcats are resilient with one goal in mind: winning.
“This team showed a lot of grit and perseverance through it all and could have easily given up and they didn’t,” Hafermann noted.
The Wildcats know that their season isn’t close to over and they continue to show up and put in the work.
“We go with our motto ‘All for one. One for all,’ [and] good things will eventually happen,” Hafermann stated.
The Wildcats aren’t done yet and gear up to take on the Chatham Glenwood High School Titans at home next Tuesday, Dec. 16 at 7:00PM.
