The Varsity boys basketball team showed promise and potential at their first two games of the season, which were part of a tournament held at Langley High School.
They won their first game, led by junior Nathan Pewett who scored 18 points.
The second game started off slow, setting the Atoms back. They picked up their pace and scor later on in the game but the hole they dug themselves into was too deep. Winning their first game of the season was a great start and will send them in the right direction if their goal is to win the district championship.
Pewett said, “I felt really good during the game and just kept it going with my team.”
The first home scrimmage was packed to say the least. Woodbridge’s freshman team arrived almost an hour late, so both Freshman and Junior Varsity games were played with a running clock to catch up on time.
Both the Freshman and Junior Varsity teams fell short of winning, but the varsity team was able to secure the win. The crowd rumbled as senior Fesshaye Bekuretsion left his defender stumbling and lost. Bekuretsion and Pewett were firing up the crowd as they got past their own defenders and either scored or passed it back to someone to shoot the 3 point shot.
Another positive contributor to the Varsity game was senior Tyson Perkins. Perkins said, “I liked how the team kept it together and was able to outcompete Woodbridel. We stuck to what we knew and it worked out well for us.”
Friday, the Atoms took their talents to Fairfax High School. Despite their efforts, Annandale fell short of winning the game. Both teams started strong, Fairfax starting the game with a powerful dunk, followed by a midrange jumpshot by senior Otto Tune. The Atoms were down 27-11 at halftime, but managed to climb back and make it a 6 point game in the 4th quarter.
The final score of the game was 54-44, ending in an Annandale loss. The obvious factor in this game was size, Annandale is an undersized team, but they make up for it in skill and energy.
Perkins said, “we have a lot to take from that game but we also have things to be proud of. We will keep working on our game in practice and not let the losses get in our heads.”
Fairfax has a lineup of very tall and talented players but so do most varsity basketball teams, so Annandale must learn to combat size with hustle and skill.
As of now, the team is not living up to expectations, but it’s still very early in the season, and there is much to be learned from this game. The Freshman, Junior Varsity, and Varsity boys basketball teams all have lots of talent and depth, but all fell short of winning on Friday.
Looking at the upcoming weeks, the team now has an idea of where they stand. There are areas of improvement that the team needs to work on.
Senior Esaw Ghiorghis said, “I think we need to start our games off stronger, we take a long time to pick up our tempo which can make it harder for us in the final stretches of the games.”
In practice the team has been focusing on getting more shots off. There is a lot of ball movement which is good, however too much can hinder how many points end up coming from a possession.
Pewett said, “we need to focus on shooting more shots. We move the ball around a lot and it decreases how many points we put up. You can’t score without shooting.”
Panning over to the stands, the Atoms have a big supporter. Jeff Pewett, an alumni of Annandale who participated in Varsity basketball sits on his younger brother Nathan Pewett’s games.
Jeff Pewett said, “It is nice looking at the new squad. They do a good job hyping up the stands with their performance and it makes me miss the times I was on the court.”
Nathan looks up to his brother and finds inspiration when he sees him cheering him on in the stands.
The team has good confidence and a good bond. This translates in games with enhanced communication.
Perkins said, “Our communication is pretty good, I like our team chemistry and it helps us perform better as a whole team.”
The tournament at Langley helped establish a tronger bond between the team and got everyone on the same page.
Looking at last year’s performance, the team did pretty good and ended in a solid spot. This season they plan to continue where they left off.
Senior Otto Tune said, “We definitely have improved from last year and I think the whole team can vouch and say we have a great shot at going deep past the regular season. The communication and skill is there, we just need some more time to perfect it.”
The boys have a lot of work to do, but they have fans and each other. They plan to go well into the playoffs and try and take home a district title. Look out for the boys basketball schedule @atomsbasketball on instagram to catch some games.