The varsity boys basketball team tipped off their season with a 62-50 victory over district opponent Park Hill South High School in their home opener Wednesday. The team’s offense showed a scoring outburst and capitalized off takeaways from the defense.
The home opener for any sport is a must-win. Last season, the team fell short in their first matchup of the season to Oak Park High School with a final score of 44-48, as the Falcons attempted to defend their home court. This year, the team was ready for their first opponent as the high energy of play was displayed by an all around great game.
Two standout players made a difference for the team’s offense, starting with senior Kennison Stone, one of four seniors on the team and returning varsity. Stone led the team in scoring with 22 points, and displayed flashy dunks and a three-point ability to complement his defense which triggered takeaways for the team.
Senior Will Hansen also made a huge splash in the game as a new addition to the starting lineup. Hansen went 4-5 on all his shots, which were all beyond the perimeter for his 12 points, including a long trey at the end of the third quarter to boost his team to a 12 point lead.
“Kennison at the end of half had a big bucket,” head coach Chris Neff said. “Will Hansen had a big bucket at the end of the third. Those are backbreakers in what was a fairly close game, but I also thought the kids did a really good job having taken a scouting report and knew some things that were going to lead to what Kennison did or what Will did, so that helped a bunch.”
The first score from the Falcons didn’t come until 2 minutes into the first quarter, by a free throw made by Smith to respond to a bucket from the Panthers on the previous possession. The rest of the quarter was back and forth with several lead changes until a lob pass by Hicks connected with Stone completed the alley-oop cycle to give the Falcons the lead by one, until a fast break steal and slam also by Stone gave some life to the offense. The team did not give the lead back from that point.
“We weren’t in there very long,” Neff said about the post-game locker room. “ We just talked about how I was really proud of how hard they played. Then I talked about how much better we know we have a chance to be, and how many points we left out there. We just feel like we always feel that way, though, and that we search for perfection.”
In recent years, the team has one big goal: to always be in the hunt in the playoffs in the middle of tough conference competition. The State Championship win in the 2022 season set the standard for the future teams about how they should play, and that seems to be true enough as the team finds themselves ranked top 10 in the state for seven straight years. This year’s squad has the same goal in mind, and that’s to cap off a playoff run with a trophy.
“We want to go to the Final Four and compete for a championship,” Neff said. “We’ve been able to be in the hunt for seven years now. We’ve had good enough talent, good enough team and the opportunity to do that because of the landscape of Class 6.”
The team is working with four seniors on the roster after losing two starters last season. This isn’t a new feat for the team, as previous years have also seen few senior players. However the squad we saw in the home opener had several juniors with varsity experience under their belt, including Jakoree Hicks, Jackson Smith and Tra’Veon Moore. There were also new players who saw the varsity court, including junior Luke Wilson and sophomore Nolan Lewis who might not have lit up the box score, but did a great job spreading the offensive floor and stepping up on defense.
The varsity experience on the team has a huge impact, as the players are more familiar with the scheme and have a better understanding of their opponent.
“The youth in the program, Jackson and Tra, they’ve started quite a few games in the last couple years,” Neff said. “They’re juniors now, so they’ve stepped into larger roles. Luke Wilson is going to serve a role as a junior eventually, and Nolan Lewis is a sophomore.”
Neff said that outside of those players, they would only play six, seven or eight guys.
“All we do is talk about playing really really hard, and preparing incredibly well,” Neff said. “That’s really it.”
After their victory to start off the year, the team travels to a maximum occupancy Oak Park High School tonight in what is predicted to be a solid matchup. Both teams are coming off wins in their previous matchups, and both are looking to claim a rivalry win.
