boysWinning at the Norm Stewart Classic has become something of a tradition for the RBHS  boys’ basketball team, as they have yet to lose a game at the exhibition since they began attending in 2012. Sunday night’s game against Vianney High School would be no exception as the Bruins won handily 71-50 to improve to 2-0 on the year.
Junior Isiaih Mosley and senior Drew Boswell combined for more than half the teams’ total points with 26 and 14 respectively. The scoring performance landed Mosley all tournament honors and Gary Filbert player of the game. This was all the more exciting as the team was able to play their game in front of their home town crowd, and in front of a nationwide audience on ESPN3’s online broadcast.
For head coach Jim Scanlon, the media attention didn’t seem to change the game plan. He says the coaching staff continued to pressure the team so they could gain something from the game no matter the score.
“It was really great to see the boys playing so well tonight,” Scanlon said. “It can be easy to let a quick lead go but the boys stuck with it which really helped us get our younger players in the game.”
Boswell would echo this sentiment as he felt the team handled the pressure well and was taken aback when he saw the final score.
“I remember looking up at the end of the game and being really surprised that we were up by 20,” Boswell said. “I think it goes to show that we just kind of play hard no matter what is going on.”
Although a blowout against a formidable opponent could lead to increased egos for some players, Scanlon says he won’t allow the team to get too ahead of themselves as they move forward to face Miller Career Academy Dec. 7 at RBHS.
“We’ve worked extremely hard this preseason, and I think everyone on the team recognizes that,” Scanlon said. “No matter what though, we keep the pressure on because we never want them to feel like we’ve at all made it.”
What are you most looking forward to for the coming boys’ basketball season?