First-year Kennard-Dale boys' basketball coach Greg Freese insisted that the surprise was in the past, not the present.
"Coming into the season, districts was right there among our goals," Freese said after Tuesday's 71-57 victory over Delone Catholic that extended the Rams' win streak to six games. "We really expected to make a run at districts. Quite honestly, we didn't expect to be 2-9, let's put it that way. We expected to be beyond this point by now, so it's been an uphill battle."
Talking about making districts a year after finishing 4-18 overall and winning only one game in YAIAA competition seems like a bit of a reach. But key returners like Matt Romoser (above), Duncan Leftridge and Brenton Mitchell stepped up their play and showed more maturity on the court to help the Rams improve their record to 8-9.
"We're starting to play more as a team as the season goes on," Romoser said. "We're starting to jell as a team and put it all together. There's been more communication on the court, ball movement and team play, looking to get other people the ball to score. Everybody's scoring."
Six Kennard-Dale players had at least six points in Tuesday's victory.
Freese highlighted his team's energy on the court, which could be the most important factor, as long as it's paired with confidence. Those two are a proven recipe for playoff success.
"We had a real nice energetic practice yesterday and wanted to come out hard from the start and we did," Freese said. "We gave up a lot of points in the first quarter, but they hit all their shots. Our energy level stayed high and that was really the key. We didn't let down the entire game."
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