The boys’ varsity basketball team already has one more win than last year, after a 52-50 victory over the Watkins Mill Wolverines on Friday Dec. 4. Sophomore center Tony Goodwin blocked a potential game-tying two point shot at the buzzer to preserve their victory. WJ won despite a poor shooting night in which they shot only 34% from two point range and only 27.8% from three point range. They also missed a couple critical free throws down the stretch. Watkins Mill cut the lead to two points late in the game on a three-pointer and actually had a chance to win or tie the game, but the shot never made it to the net.
“[The] first thing that came to mind was just stay with my man and then not let him score,” Goodwin said.
Goodwin’s block allowed WJ to escape with a victory, but the team can improve a lot more.
“We can improve on less turnovers and not taking as many bad shots,” Goodwin said.
The bad shots were evident during the game; the team had trouble taking care of the basketball, turning the ball over 18 times. Coach Jim Bort felt that the win was very important, since this win could be an important stepping stone in the team’s success for the rest of the season.
“You [have] got to get that first win in,” Bort said. “Getting that first win under your belt is huge, it gives the team a whole big shot of confidence.”
He also thought that WJ let Watkins Mill get back in the game with a poor showing in the second quarter.
“But in the second quarter we couldn’t hit any shots. As a matter of fact, we were 0 for 11 from the field and the only points we scored in that quarter were five free throws,” Bort added.
Bort was, however, impressed with the team’s ability to start fast and build a 19-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
“I thought we came out really strong in the beginning,” Bort said.
He thought the team played well to start the second half but was disappointed that they let Watkins Mill make a comeback and almost win the game.
“[The shot] would have at least tied the game and sent it into overtime if not won it. [The player who took the final shot] only needed to take a step back,” Bort said.
It was a big win for WJ. They ended their 26-game losing streak that dated back two seasons. Their last win was against B-CC during the 2013-2014 season. According to Bort, they shot about 70 percent from the field and scored about 90 points in that game.
Bort, as well as the rest of the team, is incredibly excited about what the future holds. It is encouraging for them to know that although the team did not play their best in the game and did not shoot a great field goal percentage, they still found a way to win.
Senior forward, Charlie Ali, who led the team in scoring with 16 points credited the team’s defense as to why the team overcame their poor shooting night to win the game.
“We played great team defense and our intensity on defense [caused] the other team to turn the ball over,” Ali said.
WJ lost their second game at home vs. Northwest 61-66 Tuesday, Dec. 8 to make their record 1-1 and lost their next game against Poolesville at home on Dec.11. They then lost to Blair last night to make their record 1-3.
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