After a tough week of narrow losses in late January, the Runnin’ Rebels, the boys’ varsity basketball team, returned in February to win three of their last four games of the regular season. Improving their record to 10-8, the Rebels now focus on the postseason, scheduled to begin in late February.
The Rebels got their first win since January 9 when they defeated the Titans of Bayard Rustin Educational Complex, 57-38, on Friday, February 1. Junior Nolan Becker continued leading the team in point scoring, scoring 21 against the Titans. He currently averages 18.44 points per game. Senior and captain Jake LaMountain achieved a triple-double with 12 points, 10 assists and 13 total rebounds.
Eight different players scored for the Rebels against the Titans, including several bench players who rarely saw playing time this season. “When we have the confidence to play like that and can get everyone in the game, that’s always fun,” LaMountain said.
By using different players throughout the game, the Rebels were able to get fresher legs on the court, coach Phil Fisher said. “In the third quarter, we probably played some of our best basketball of the season,” Fisher said. The Rebels outscored the Titans 22-4 in the third quarter alone.
But the Rebels could not match up to the Eagles of the High School of Environmental Studies, currently 13-5 and second in the division. The Eagles defeated Stuyvesant, 45-28, on Monday, February 4. “Environmental is a good team. They are very well coached, very methodical. They take the air out of the ball and take their time so that we don’t take any extra opportunities from them,” Fisher said.
The Rebels bounced back to win the last two games of the regular season. Following their 66-42 victory over Louis Brandeis High School on Wednesday, February 5, the Rebels defeated High School for Math, Science and Engineering two days later, 79-43.
Despite these two wins, the Rebels realize that some things need to change in order to have a shot at winning in the postseason. “We need to work towards having fewer turnovers. We cannot afford to turn the ball over on our first play of the game,” senior Suraj Cheema said.
The Rebels will have plenty of time to perfect their game. The first round of the playoffs is not scheduled to be played until at least February 28.
