After an outstanding 70-37 win at Maine East last Tuesday the Trevs headed off into playoffs this Tuesday with hopes of advancing to State.
The win at Maine East tacked on another win to the Trevian’s 25-4 record but also gave the New Trier boys basketball team a chance to celebrate senior night. This was the last time for the senior Trevians to play a game in the regular season at New Trier.
According to senior captain Steven Cook, who will be heading to Princeton University in the fall, “It was a little sad knowing that it was the last time we would play in New Trier’s gym but it ended up being a blowout early on and everyone got a lot of playing time which was great. It was a fun game to end the regular season.”
Although the Maine East win came easily, the team’s strength was tested against Maine South on Feb. 15. In an overtime battle, with Maine South, the Trevs really were pushed to the limits by the aggressive Hawks team.
“We played well overall, but couldn’t execute at the end of the game to win. But Maine South is a good team and it was a good test for us,” said junior Matthew McCaffrey.
The supportive crowd at New Trier cheered the Trevians on, but the game ultimately ended in a nail biting 49-46 loss.
In more positive news, the Trevs blew their long time rivals away in a 70-39 win at Evanston on Feb. 8. New Trier had a rocky start to their game, trailing 10-0 in the first quarter.
“We started to run the fast break and our guards were doing a good job of finding shooters who were hitting their shots,” said junior Ricky Samuelson. The Trevians brought it back and defeated their long time rivals at Evanston.
“We dominated Evanston in every aspect of the game. We are a much more experienced team than Evanston and we showed that with our poise during that game,” said junior Jordan Thomas.
The games against both Evanston and Maine South highlighted the team’s strengths and weaknesses. According to McCaffery, the team struggles to close out games, costing them crucial wins as they head into the playoffs.
“We’ve lost twice to Maine South in overtime when we had the ball [and] opportunities to win the game but we need to execute better in the fourth quarter,” he said.
However in the eyes of senior, Aaron Rosen, it is also the weaknesses in rebounding and free throw shooting that is causing lost points in games.
The team widely agrees that it is mainly their unselfishness and camaraderie that has contributed to their success.
“It’s amazing how much you can accomplish when nobody cares who gets the credit. We all just want to win and the senior leadership has been great,” said McCaffery.
It also is their dribble penetration and effective turnovers that has opponents stumped.
“Our dribble penetration is working well for us. No defense can really keep up with us when we are aggressive and attack. Any time we pressure a team defensively and cause turnovers or get a stop, we run the floor and get easy baskets on the other end,” said Cook. It is these strengths that has led the Trevs to victory time and time again this season.
The team team is heading into the playoffs with a positive outlook in mind. They hope to advance on to super sectionals and play more teams in the city ultimately chasing after a state championship.
“Based off of our regular season success, I expect us to do pretty well in the playoffs. I think we showed that we can play with other talented teams in our state. If we shoot the ball well, I think we have a chance against anybody”, said Samuelson.
For the latest results of the Trevians, be sure to visit newtriernews.org.