Jan. 10, 2025
By Joseph Brennen
Staff Writer
With a 5-6 record as of Jan. 9, the boys basketball team has had a rough start to its season.
The team began its regular season on Dec. 17 with a 47-49 loss at an away game against Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology.
Junior point guard Johnny Chaname, who joined varsity last year, said the team did its best in the face of tough competition.
“We knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Chaname said. “It’s always going to be fouls on fouls, and we have to play hard, physical[ly].”
Last year, the team–which included high-achieving Class of 2024 graduates CJ Baillie, Anthony Pizzuti and Matthew Slaby–finished its regular season with a 17-9 record and made it to the quarterfinal round of states.
Chaname said the team will stay motivated by holding itself to a high standard despite losing six graduating seniors, five of whom were starters.
“We’re just looking forward to the next game and showing that we can go out and prove people wrong,” Chaname said.
Freshman point guard Avery Cano said the team’s defense shined in the season opener, as LHS prevented Paterson Charter from scoring and kept a victory within reach. However, he said there are many areas in which the team could improve.
“[Paterson Charter] was good at getting rebounds and scoring off of that,” Cano said. “We could have done that better.”
Like Chaname, Cano said he is focused on proving the team’s ability.
“We have a great team…. We always communicate,” Cano said. “I think we can shock people.”
Freshman small forward Filoteo Mosca said the team is motivated to win because of the lack of recognition it is receiving from other teams in the league.
“We’re just looking forward to the next game and showing that we can go out and prove people wrong.”
“We’re going to surprise a lot more teams throughout this [season] because no one thinks that we’re good because we’re rebuilding,” Mosca said.
He said despite being a freshman, he is prepared to step up as a key player.
“Being a freshman, you gotta hustle out there, knocking down shots. That’s what I’ve got to do,” Mosca said.
He said to be successful, the team must prioritize teamwork.
“We’re talking, we’re skillful, we’re hustling out there and we all want it,” said Mosca.
