Boys’ basketball hopes to continue hot streak on the court

Though they started the season on the wrong foot, the boys’ basketball team has been able to find their groove heading into December. As they continue their season, they hope to continue this momentum into district play.

Similarly, the team last year took a few games to work out the kinks. They won only one of their first six games to start the season. Despite the rocky start, they ended up 21-12 overall, 8-2 in district, and finished 2nd place in the district.

“We really focused on bonding more as a team and focusing on the little things,” junior Mason Heredia said. “Executing what we do in practices was really important.”

After losing three of the first four games, the boys won their next four in a row. They beat Faith Christian 57-51, Canutillo 54-43, Burges 62-44, and Mayfield 67-40. Their win streak was broken on Dec. 4 against Las Cruces, losing 59-60. The squad hopes to get on another win streak as they continue their season.

Team captain Hank Hayes has been playing well to start the season, dropping 27 points, 2 assists, and 11 rebounds in the win versus Faith Christian. Sebastian Alvarez has also been a key player this season, with his best game coming against Burges, where he had 13 points, 4 assists, and 4 rebounds. Lastly, Junior Garrett Levesque has also been excelling, with a 16-point, 3 assist, and 8 rebound game in the Mayfield win.

“Ultimately, we want to win a district championship and make a deep run in the state playoffs,” Alvarez said. “We need to improve individually and as a team to put ourselves in the best position to achieve those goals.”

The basketball team returned from a road trip to Lubbock this past weekend where they took down teams like Brownfield with a score of 65-39 and Seminole with a score of 51-47 finishing with a record of 3-1.

The boys will not begin district play until Jan. 14, but until then, the team will have a week’s rest before facing Canutillo on the road on Dec. 17.