Wolverines look to brawl with Bengals in first round of playoffs tonight

Hezekiah Likekele and Salekri Sayeh|February 28, 2017

Markel Grant jumping for the tip

Boys varsity basketball looks to storm into playoffs at 7pm tonight at Blake High School and avenge their devastating last-second loss from their last match against the Bengals. The boys played the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Barons on February 17.

The boys lost to the Barons on senior night by a score of 46-64. In a lot of the players’ last game at the Mill, they played their hearts out but just could not pull out a victory. In one of the best starts of the season, the boys managed to build a halftime lead. “We played well but just could not deal with BCC’s sheer size,” senior AJ Snyder said.

In the second half, Snyder helped the team stay close near the end. “We came out and fought hard but could not hold on in the end,” Snyder said. On the other hand, senior night was a success.

In front of a loud, cheerful, and supportive home crowd, Orange Nation honored the four seniors: Amara Clemens, Dante Steele, Bryson Faison, and Snyder. “It was a good experience. I was glad to see everyone’s family come out and support their child [and have fun],” Clemens said about the night.

The Wolverines butted heads with the Rockville Rams on February 14. They managed to catch a late-season win in a much-needed victory, 54-44, receiving much love for a Valentine’s Day home game.

Junior forward TJ Williams led all scorers with 18 points. Paired with junior center Markel Grant, the big-man tandem continues to prove themselves to be one of the best in the county.

The boys lost a close match-up on February 10 against the Springbrook Blue Devils. “Although we lost, we saw that we could hang with a talented team like Springbrook,” Clemens said. The final score being 47-59 gave the boys in blue an indicator of how hard they need to work in practice and what they need to execute a win in the important first round of the playoffs.

In the boys’ second game against Damascus this season, things did not go as the boys wanted this time. The team lost focus of their goal and gave an easy win 66-69. “We tried to get in their heads in the first and second quarter, but could not keep up in the second half,” junior guard Jamie Castillo said.

Now that the ‘Rines are entering the playoffs, they’ve left the past behind them and acquired a tunnel vision ready to make a deep run into the state playoffs.