As the biggest snowstorm rolled into Columbia, boys’ basketball took home a win 130 miles away in their first game defeating Kansas City Center in the Smith-Cotton Tournament on Jan. 11. With a final score of 85-48, the boys were excited about the win, however, Junior Jack McCallister said they don’t want to get too ahead of themselves until they take over the full tournament.
“It felt good. We got our first win and we are all excited about the great team win, but we all realize that we aren’t done yet.” McCallister said. “This is just one game and we want to win the whole thing. So I guess I would say we have gotten a slight taste of the enchilada.”
One of the factors for the team to win is all players have to work on themselves individually..
“I have been working so hard that I make myself and everyone better,” McCallister said. “Because when I work hard it pushes my teammates better. Also I shoot lots of free throws.”
By halftime, the Bruins lead by 21 points giving the athletes confidence and a push to stay focused. Junior Brant Bowers even felt the confidence after the first quarter when the bruins were in the lead by 17.
“At halftime we knew we were going to win the game but we still weren’t going to stop putting it to them until the game was over.” Bowers said. “After the first quarter we were confident that we were going to keep us from slowing down, everyone wants to score and get involved and that’s what we did.”
Although the RBHS boys won their first game, RBHS boys basketball Coach Jordan Showalter says they need to play well the next couple games in order to win the whole thing.
“There are several very good teams in the tournament this year, and we’ll have to be at the top of our game if we want to win it.” Showalter said. “Or defense has to be good, and we have to continue to limit our opponents to one shot so that we can get out and run in transition. If we defend and rebound, we trust that the rest will take care of itself.”
Final Score: 85-48 Season: 9-2
What did you think of the game?
