The boys varsity basketball team’s first games of January, the team had strong performances against Mt. Vernon and Woodbridge Senior. However, when facing Hayfield and West Potomac, the games resulted in losses for the team. Against the Hayfield Hawks, the Atoms lost by a slim two-point margin. In addition, the Atoms were defeated by the West Potomac Wolverines in a home game.
In terms of the West Potomac game, the Atoms did not have a good start to the game because as the Wolverines were fast to score, putting up the first points of the game.
Despite the set back, the boys continued to give it their all and kept the margin close until they reached the third quarter. By then, the Wolverines had opened up a large lead.
“What went wrong was that we stopped rebounding the ball,” head coach Diedrich Gilreath said.
The players also reflected on their performances that night.
“I think what went wrong is that we came out a little too slow in the third quarter,” senior Alejandro Casquino said.
Even though the game did not go as planned, the players found various strengths as well.
“I wouldn’t change much,” Casquino said. “Just that we have to play hard all four quarters and not have any mental lapses.”
The team has had a decent season so far. With only three more regular season games remaining, it is the team’s goal to finish the season strong and then, start preparing for districts.
Gilreath does not expect to change much for districts because he believes that the team has already completed enough preparation during the regular season.
“We will not do anything different for districts,” Gilreath said. “Everything we’ve done so far should prepare us for districts.”
The boys have played three other games since then against Centreville, T.C. Williams and Hayfield and have won one and lost the other two.