The varsity boys basketball teams next game will be on Friday, Jan 16 against Parkway North. This

comes after the teams win against Troy on Tuesday. The game against Troy marked the halfway point in the season. So it’s a pretty good time to  take a look at how the team has done so far. 

After Tuesday’s win against Troy the team is currently 5-6. That puts them third in the division because of their 1-1 record against division opponents. Overall their winning  percentage of 45% is only better than Troy’s at 41%. 

“We watch game film and then shoot a lot to prepare for Parkway North,” senior guard Gabe Grote said.

The teams problems start on offense where they only average 43.7 points per game. Compared to division frontrunner and rival Howell Central, who averages 68.6 points per game, it is easy to tell that that is where major problems lie.

“[The seniors] have had to take leadership and motivate underclassmen so they perform at their best,” Grote said. 

The team is lead by top scorers Gabe Grote and Elliot Montgomery who have both passed 100 points on the season. They also lead the team in other categories such as assists and three-point field goal percentage.

“The past two games we’ve been in the 60 point range, so I think our offense is evolving,” Grote said.

On a little bit of a brighter side, the team is pretty decent on defense. Their opponents average only 54.2 points per game putting them third in the division in that category. That’s stats pretty good but it has to  be better considering they only put up 43.7 points per game, it needs to be better.

On defense the team is lead by senior Calvin Wellmaker, and junior Corey Willis. Wellmaker anchors in the post where he has 44 rebounds and 12 blocks. Willis leads the team in steals, with eight on the season.

“We hope to get as far as we can and hopefully win districts like last year,” Grote said.