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Senior guard Jay Cherokee steps his way to the basket.

‘Rines basketball looks to rebound tonight against the Poolesville Falcons after their two tough losses against the Blake Bengals, with a score of 34-78, and Magruder, with a score of 39-84.

In a tough game against Blake on December 21, the ‘Rines got behind early and couldn’t climb back in the game after the early deficit. At the end of the first quarter the Wolverines were down 20-7. Blake played a very good game and imposed their will on Watkins Mill.

Though the game was rather rough, the ‘Rines got good contributions from juniors Kendale Sewell and Rodney Opoku-Amankwah. Watkins Mill will be looking to use this game as motivation throughout the season to play better games.

Prior to the Blake game, the boys suffered a loss that they had no choice but to put behind them. It was a nail-biter at the end of the first quarter, with a score of 19-13, but the ‘Rines had a hard time stopping the three-point drives.

Junior guard Amara Clemens gave credit where it’s due by saying, “[The Magruder Colonels] shot the ball, and ran the offense very well.”

However, Sewell continued to carry his team, playing his hardest to put points up. Sewell was clearly exhausted, but still managed to keep his consistency with his three-point shot, shooting three of them in the first quarter alone.

“I knew that in order to keep the game close, I had to start [shooting three pointers],” Sewell said. He ended the game with 19 points, which was an addition to his 15+ point games.

In order to defeat their next opponent, sophomore forward Markel Grant believes the team must, “Take practice seriously, and play with energy and effort.” Grant added that, “[The team has to] play with heart because that is what it’s all about when playing a sport.”

The boys do not aspire to give up here, and are going on a hunting trip in their next game against the Poolesville Falcons tonight.