BY AVERY PERSON
Sports Page Editor
The freshman boys basketball team had a tremendous season, finishing with an 18-3 record and a trip to the GMC finals. Overall, the team outscored their opponents by 14 points and won by double digits in 17 out of their 18 victories.
After starting the season 2-2, the team rallied and went on a 16-game winning streak. “The highlight of my season was probably when we played Monroe for the second time. Our first game we played against them, we lost, and then we beat them by 20 our next game,” explained Brandon Mullins. “That felt really good for me and the team.”
Cameron Olivencia led the team in scoring with 19 points per game. “Every game we won was a highlight for me. I am proud of my teammates and how far we came,” said Olivencia. “We all got better as one team and came very far for a public school.”
Team captain Jonah Pagulayan averaged 11 points per game and stepped up in moments when his team needed him. “My coach and my teammates believed in me to take control of our offense,” said Pagulayan, who increased his scoring to 18 points per game in the post-season. “I always took a deep breath to calm down and stop overthinking, and then I just played my game.”
Desmond McLaughlin played hard every game and contributed by hitting double digits against Colonia and New Brunswick. “This team is amazing, every single player on it made contributions every game,” said McLaughlin. “It’s just sad that we fell short, but we will come back next season better than ever.”
Although they lost in the tournament finals, the team exceeded expectations by making it to the GMC championship game. “I think our whole team highlight was working hard every day, every practice and proving everyone wrong by making it to the ‘chip’,” said Olivencia.
The Knights opened the GMC tournament with an intense game against Piscataway where Pagulayan scored 21 points on the way to a 53-27 victory. “I felt really good in that game,” said Pagulayan. “All my shots were falling, and the energy was amazing.”
Eight players scored to contribute to the win against Piscataway “The whole team worked together and beat them,” said McLaughin.
This group of boys plans to make an impact at the varsity and junior varsity levels over the next three years. “You can expect big things from us,” said Raayan Panjabi. “We’ve all been thinking about how we are gonna make up for this loss, and how we are never going to feel how we felt after that last game again. We are all in the gym already looking to get better and hopefully do bigger things next year and in the coming years.”
Posted on 3/4/24
Photos by Lors Photography
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