Ever since try outs for winter sports began, the varsity boys basketball team has been looking for their starting five. When the coaches found what they were looking for, the team

started their season right away. Their first tournament began Monday Dec.8 at St. Charles West High School. On Monday, the team played Kirkwood High School and lost 33-65, but on Tuesday the team played Lutheran North and won the game 52-41.

“The first was a shocker, we went in very confident and ended losing by a lot,” junior Cameron Landers said. “But in the second game we went in motivated, as a unit we knew we could play much better than the night before.

The team continued the tournament on Friday playing against Ritenour. Howell North struggled to keep up with Ritenour and ended up losing the game 66-42.

“Kirkwood and Ritnour were two huge challenges for us,” Landers said. “They both were quick teams who found ways to force turnovers against us.”

The boys and the coaches looked at this tournament as a learning experience as to what their strengths, weaknesses, and what needs to be improved before their next game. The team is motivated and ready to take on other schools.

“ We just got to keep our head up and move on to the next game,” senior Gabe Grote said. “Things won’t always go our way but we can still give it our best.”

The team ended up taking sixth place in the tournament and are looking forward to their next tournament which is the Seckman Tournament starting on Dec. 26.

“The next tournament we plan to move the ball more effectively around and running our offense more,” Grote said. “We also need to learn how to beat the press and reduce the other teams second chance opportunities.”