Nothing is better than gameday at Brashier. The basketball season is back in full swing, and the varsity boys’ team is thrilled with the prospects of a new season and the chance to go all the way. In the second game of the season against the Whitmire Wolverines, the Bengals dominated with a final score of 65 to 39 (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

On Friday, the team came with an agenda to win. Per usual, the boys warmed up before the game by shooting three pointers, practicing free throws, tossing up layups, and in typical Brashier fashion, dunking. Number 15, junior Riley Brown (pictured above) warmed up along with the rest of the team by getting into game mode (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

After warming up, the Bengals were ready to go, but not without some last minute advising and encouragement from head coach and athletic director, Gordon Stallard. The guys soaked up this advice as they geared up for the introduction of the starting line up (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

First in the starting lineup is number two, junior Trayvon Jones. “We played pretty good. I think we could have played better in some areas, but I think we played well overall. I’m excited about the season, and my goal is to improve my ball handling,” said Jones in a postgame interview with the Bengal Beat. During the game, Jones scored fourteen points, had two assists and had one rebound (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Up next is number ten, junior Nick Hutchens. Despite being a newbie on the team, Hutchens has worked his way into a well-deserved starting position. Friday was simply proof of how grateful the boys are to have him joining the team for these next two seasons. As the leading scorer of the game, Hutchens scored a total of twenty three points and had two assists (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Next in the starting line up is number three, junior Zach Laird. Three years ago, Laird started for the Greenville Technical Charter Warriors on their championship team as a freshman. Laird has been a huge addition to the Bengals, and in this game against Whitmire, he did not disappoint. Laird scored a total of sixteen points, alongside two assists and nine rebounds (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Following Laird is number eleven, senior Luke Calvert. “The game started out kind of slow. The offense was a little sluggish right at the beginning, but we picked it up in the second quarter and played strong. Then we came out at half time and played hard throughout. They kind of backed down and couldn’t handle the ball well. We had players like Zach [Laird] and Nick [Hutchens] making big shots all night. Everybody strapped up and we got the win,” said Calvert in an exclusive interview with the Bengal Beat. Calvert played a great game with two points, three assists, and five rebounds (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Last, but not least, was number twenty three, senior Thomas Kraus, who scored a total of four points, three rebounds, and two assists. Kraus is an excellent leader and has been playing for Brashier since his freshman year, making him the obvious choice as team captain for this season (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Another key player of the game was number thirty three, junior Dalton Bess. Bess is also a new addition for the Bengals, transferring to Brashier earlier this school year. Leading the team in rebounds during the game against the Wolverines, Bess racked up a total of ten offensive rebounds, four points and one assist (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

During the game, the Bengals worked well as a team to drive down the court to score. Pictured above, Brown drives down under the goal line with two Wolverine players on his heels (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Another key part of the game was the team's defense. Because the boys played extremely well in terms of protecting the net, they were able to hold the Wolverines to 39 points while the Bengals racked up 65 points. Pictured above, Kraus does a great job blocking the offense (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Overall the team converted seven out of the fourteen free throw attempts, causing a team percentage of 50%. Successfully making half of all free throws is a healthy percentage; however, if the team works on improving that small aspect of the game, they could become unstoppable (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

Pictured above, the Bengals, alongside Coach Stallard, cheer on their team in the last few minutes of the game, encouraging them to power through and hold the Wolverines. “I’m very excited for the basketball season. I think we played pretty well. We did well defensively and shot the ball well. We’ve just got to work on some things,” said number twenty, junior Andrew Frazier (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

The best part of home games is seeing the student turnout. Friday’s game was a blackout and it was packed out with students. Loyal students and fans, sophomore Lizzy Zito, junior Kamryn Mattison, junior Megan Weatherald, sophomore Abreona Fields and sophomore Micah Sullivan were some of the unofficial cheerleaders of the game. They helped lead the student section in cheers that helped pump up the team and the rest of the crowd (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

“I want to go to the playoffs, and I want to win more than we won last year. We’re off to a good start, and we’ve got some tough games coming up. But, we are off to a good start,” said Coach Stallard in a post game interview. The team is starting the season off strong with the intention to keep winning. As long as the gym is unlocked, the guys are practicing to achieve this goal, and as long as the guys are playing, the students will support them (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).

At the end of the night, the Bengals head home tired and proud with a 65 to 39 win over the Wolverines. Now the team is left to gear up for the upcoming games against strong teams, such as St. Joseph’s, Greer Middle College, and Southside Christian School. “We played pretty well in spurts. The guys played really well second quarter and then again in the fourth quarter. We have to get a little better at keeping the momentum. We had a rough start and fouled a little too much, but we shot the ball well. I thought we played better and it was a really good environment,” said Stallard. Friday, November 30th, was simply a glimpse of the hardwork the team has and will be putting in to be successful, and as we all know, hard work pays off (Photo courtesy of Mallory Smith).