Boys Basketball (16-5) continued to show resilience and strength as its season nears an end. Despite a loss away against Williston last Saturday, the team outperformed St. Paul’s on Wednesday for a decisive win. The team delivered strong performances from all players, demonstrating strong collaboration and camaraderie.
Coming off a three-game win streak, Boys Basketball faced Williston in an away game. Despite vigorous preparation, the team ultimately fell to its opponent. Nick Hailey PG’26 elaborated on some points of growth from the game.
“A challenge was us starting slow. In this league, if you start slow, you can get beaten any day by any team. Us not taking advantage of the opportunity early in the first half and getting down really stopped us from winning the game, said Hailey.
Nevertheless, the team continued to push through despite the deficit, focusing on playing with determination. Hailey highlighted the motivational words of Head Coach Terrell Ivory ’00 (TI) and credited him for the team’s consistent play.
Hailey said, “I want to give a big shout-out to Coach TI for our second-half adjustment. It was him staying positive in the locker room and encouraging us to play hard, even though we weren’t really worried. We know the talent that we have. He encouraged us and instilled confidence in us to go out in the second half and play hard. I felt like we did that in the second half.”
This constructive mindset proved helpful to Boys Basketball when it played St. Paul’s on Wednesday. Zion Williams PG’26 recounted how the team’s effective practices throughout the week prepared them for the game on Wednesday.
“We had a really good practice yesterday, [and] we’ve had really good practices this whole week. We are playing with joy and playing hard the whole practice nonstop. Outside of practice, we were getting shots up as well,” said Williams.
Despite a deficit in the first half, the team rallied back to win by 15 points. Williams detailed the game’s obstacles and strengths.
“The challenges were honestly offensive rebounds, playing hard, playing together, and finishing layups. But, we did well as a team, and we got the win. We played hard in the second half after being down in the first half,” said Williams.
Jake Marcone ’26 added to Williams remarks and commented on Coach TI’s halftime motivation. He noted the sense of composure that the speech gave the team, allowing them to enter the second half with confidence.
Marcone said, “At halftime, T.I. was telling us to stay calm. We all know we’re good and can win those types of games. We had to believe in ourselves, and we came out and played much better in the second half, and we ended up winning by 15.”
As Boys Basketball prepares for its final two games of the season, Hailey narrated what the team should focus on. He added that physicality and aggressiveness from the start of the game will be imperative for success in the postseason.
“I want to say the biggest takeaway is [that] everybody should be staying aggressive, putting pressure on the rim, and starting out fast. When we start out fast, and we stay aggressive towards the rims, it’s very hard for teams to stop us, and it puts us at an advantage. When we do that, we can get a lot of teams to back down,” said Hailey.
The team will face Belmont Hill this Saturday.
