As the end of January inches closer and closer, the basketball season reaches its climax. Section games are holding unimaginable weight in standings. Wins and losses are proving to be determining factors in a team’s playoff chances, and the boys basketball team is hoping that they can still make their mark on the 2024-2025 season.

The team had some struggles early on throughout the season, but through practice and teamwork, the team is starting to see some promising chemistry. Although the team’s playoff chances are not zero, it would be a tough hill to climb to even get the final seed in their section. With an overall record of 1-13 and a section record of 1-6, they are currently 5th place in their section. Since Riverside and New Brighton currently have records of 2-6 and 3-4 respectively, with section losses from both of these teams, they may still have a chance to reach the playoffs.

At the culmination of the year, the team will part ways with three of their star players:seniors Adam Rhoades, Jordan Delon and Isaiah Leasha. These three players have led the team with their experience and in game skills, as well as being mentors for the younger players on and off the court. 

With the team still being quite young, the future may be more important for the team rather than immediate success. The youth will allow for the skill sets of the young players to grow over the offseason and into next year. The team’s future is headlined by upcoming seniors Xavier Robbins  and Mason O’Donnell, along with sophomore William Kumrow, and freshmen Maliek Piersol-Rippy and Malikhi Piersol-Rippy.

“Hopefully we can get a few more wins throughout the rest of the season,” Robbins said. “I think that if we can improve on our skills and chemistry over the offseason, we can get more wins next season and hopefully make it into the playoffs in the future.”

Over the month of January, the team has played five games. On Jan. 7, the Bulldogs took on the Riverside Panthers, where they fell by a score of 56-37. On Jan. 10 and Jan. 14, the team took on New Brighton and Mohawk respectively. They lost in both games and picked up another two losses against Hopewell and Ellwood City on Jan. 15 and Jan. 17. The team still has six more games, four of which are section games. The regular season will officially end on Feb. 7, when the boys take on the Mohawk Warriors in a home section game.

The team hopes that they can make their final pushes to get a seed in the playoffs, but they will need to put in the hard work and dedication in order to reach their goals.

“Although our record isn’t the best, we still have some hope for a postseason berth,” Delon said. “If we really stay focused on our games these next few weeks, we can hopefully get a spot in the playoffs.”